Zoom Earthvs
Windy
Windy: If you want detailed forecast models and layered weather data rather than raw satellite imagery
Zoom Earth
Free browser-based satellite weather and storm tracking, no account or install
As of 1 September 2026, Zoom Earth is free to use. A free website showing near-real-time satellite imagery from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites, with live storm and cyclone tracking overlaid. Softwr lists it under Weather. Zoom Earth is available on Web.
Overview
What Zoom Earth does
Zoom Earth renders near-real-time satellite imagery in a browser, combining geostationary feeds from NOAA GOES, JMA Himawari and EUMETSAT Meteosat that refresh roughly every ten to fifteen minutes with higher-resolution NASA MODIS passes twice a day. It overlays active storm and hurricane tracks, wind speed, precipitation radar and historical imagery reaching back over two decades. The distinguishing fact is that it remains entirely free with no paid tier, no account, and no app to download, at a time when most competing weather products such as Windy or the premium tiers of AccuWeather and Carrot Weather gate their better data behind subscriptions. It works entirely through a browser, so there is nothing to install and nothing to keep updated, but that also means no push notifications and no offline access. Buyers are not really buyers at all since nothing is sold; the audience is storm watchers, journalists, pilots checking weather informally, and anyone who wants a quick global satellite view without registering for a service. The trade-off against a dedicated weather app is the lack of hyperlocal forecasting, alerts and a mobile-native interface.
What people use it for
- Watching a hurricane or typhoon track develop without installing an app
- A quick global satellite check before deciding whether a local forecast app is worth opening
- Journalists or researchers needing a citable, no-login satellite view of a weather event
- Comparing current satellite imagery against archived imagery from years earlier for the same region
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Zoom Earth.
- There are no push notifications or alerts, so it cannot warn you proactively the way a mobile weather app can.
- It has no offline mode, so it is unusable without an internet connection, unlike apps that cache forecasts.
- Forecasting is minimal; it shows what the satellites and radar currently see rather than a detailed hyperlocal forecast.
- Being free and unaccountable to a paying customer base, there is no committed support channel if the site or a data feed goes down.
- The browser-only interface is less convenient for quick daily checks than a home-screen app icon with widgets.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Zoom Earth
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Zoom EarthvsAccuWeather
AccuWeather: If you want hyperlocal forecasts, alerts and a native app with notifications
- Zoom EarthvsNNOAA Weather Radar Live
NOAA Weather Radar Live: If you specifically want US radar rather than global satellite imagery
Pricing
What Zoom Earth costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Zoom Earth
Free
- Full satellite and storm tracking access
- No account, no ads-gated tier
- No offline mode or push alerts
Capabilities
Features
Global satellite view
Geostationary imagery from GOES, Himawari and Meteosat refreshed every 10 to 15 minutes
Storm tracking
Live tropical cyclone and storm tracks with wind speed and pressure
MODIS high resolution
Twice-daily higher-resolution polar-orbiting satellite passes
Historical imagery
Archive of past satellite imagery reaching back more than 20 years
Precipitation radar overlay
Rain and storm radar layered on the satellite base map
No install required
Runs entirely in a browser on desktop or mobile
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Do I need to create an account?
No. Zoom Earth works without registration or login.
Is there a mobile app?
No, it is a responsive website that works in mobile browsers rather than a native app.
How current is the imagery?
Geostationary imagery updates roughly every 10 to 15 minutes; higher-resolution MODIS imagery updates about twice a day.
Keep looking
Where to go from Zoom Earth
- Zoom Earth alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Zoom Earth pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Zoom Earth badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Weather softwareThe full category
- Best Weather softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Weather software for
Compare Zoom Earth with
- NOAA Weather Radar Live
- AccuWeather
- Windy
- Planet Labs
- EPA AirNow
- Yr.no
- Storm Radar
- WeatherBug
- RadarScope
- RainViewer
- Weather.gov
- Weather Mate
- Foreca
- Clime: NOAA Weather Radar
- Yr.no
- Weather Underground
- Weather Underground PWS
- WSI (The Weather Company)
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Zoom Earth, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Zoom Earth
Zoom Earth alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Zoom Earth pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Zoom Earth
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Zoom Earth badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Weather software alternatives
Superior accuracy with proprietary RealFeel technology
