FishNerd vs Fishing Points: forecast app or catch log? (2026)
Fishing Points and FishNerd are not really the same kind of app, and pretending otherwise would make for a worse comparison. Fishing Points is a forecasting tool: fish activity projection, tides, solunar data, saved spots and nautical charts, with a catch log attached. FishNerd is a catch log first: one photo, species identified, conditions attached, shared with your group.
Where they meet is the question every angler asks after a good day — what were the conditions, and can I find them again? Fishing Points answers it by forecasting forward. FishNerd answers it by recording what actually happened. Below is what each one costs, what each one does, and which question you are really asking.
Side by side
| Feature | FishNerd | Fishing Points |
|---|---|---|
| No in-app purchases at all | Yes | No |
| Catch log | Yes | Yes |
| AI species identification | Yes | No |
| Conditions attached to each catch automatically | Yes | Partial |
| Tides | Yes | Yes |
| Solunar / bite windows | Yes | Yes |
| Bite forecast / activity score | No | Yes |
| Local regulations per catch | Yes | — |
| Private groups with a shared feed | Yes | — |
| Public community feed | No | — |
| WhatsApp catch cards | Yes | No |
| Tackle box with barcode scan | Yes | — |
| GPS trip track recorded automatically | No | — |
| Smartwatch app | No | — |
| Depth / bathymetric charts | No | Yes |
| Offline maps | No | Paid tier |
Yes / No / Paid tier / Partial / — = not stated on the store listing
What it costs · FishNerd
No in-app purchases
What it costs · Fishing Points
- Premium — $9.99 / month
- Basic Premium — $29.99 / year
- Advanced / Yearly Premium — $49.99 / year
- Premium (Brasil) — R$ 8,90 – R$ 99,90 / year
What Fishing Points does well
Forecasting. The listing leads with fish activity projection, tides, solunar windows, saved spots and nautical charts, and the ratings say it delivers: 4.7 stars across 31,000 US ratings and 4.8 across 9,900 Brazilian ones.
It is also the one app in this comparison that is properly localized. The Brazilian App Store lists Portuguese first among eleven languages, with Spanish, German, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Croatian, Slovenian and Indonesian behind it. If you fish in Brazil and want a forecasting app in your own language, Fishing Points is the obvious pick and we say so.
What Premium costs
In the US, Premium is $9.99 a month, or $29.99 to $49.99 a year depending on the tier. In Brazil the App Store lists prices from R$8,90 to R$99,90. The charts and offline use are the Premium features; the forecasts and the basic log are free.
That is a reasonable price for good charts. It is just worth knowing before you build your fishing around the offline maps that the offline maps are the paid part.
What FishNerd does differently
FishNerd does not forecast. What it does is record: one photo, and the species is identified by AI — Fishing Points' listing does not include species identification at all — with the weather, pressure trend, moon phase, solunar window and tide of that moment attached automatically. Over a season, that log becomes your own forecast, built from your own water.
Then it shares. Private groups with a shared feed, map, album and leaderboard, joined by code, link or QR, mirrored into WhatsApp as catch cards. A barcode-scanning tackle box and local regulations on each catch. In English, Portuguese and Spanish. And all of it free — no Premium, no in-app purchases, free forever as stated on the homepage.
What FishNerd does not have
Nautical charts, depth maps, offline maps: no. Fishing Points has them and FishNerd does not. If you navigate by chart on a boat, this comparison is over and Fishing Points wins it.
A forward forecast: not as a product. FishNerd shows you the conditions your catches happened under; it does not project next Saturday's bite.
Who should pick which
Pick Fishing Points if you fish saltwater or from a boat and plan around tides and charts — and especially if you want that in Portuguese. It is the forecasting specialist and it is translated properly.
Pick FishNerd if you want the catch itself recorded with no effort — species and conditions from a photo — and shared with the people you fish with, for free. Plenty of anglers will sensibly run both: one to plan, one to remember.
The honest verdict
Fishing Points is the better forecasting app, and it is not close, because FishNerd is not one. FishNerd is the better catch log, because Fishing Points' log does not identify the fish or fill in the conditions on its own. If you must pick one and you fish tides, Fishing Points. If you must pick one and you want the free app that remembers everything, FishNerd.
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