RideByWeather vs Epic Ride Weather
These two tools answer different questions, which is why plenty of riders end up with both. Epic Ride Weather is a route specialist: hand it a 100 km GPX and a start time and it tells you the weather at every point at the moment you'll reach it. RideByWeather starts a step earlier — should you go out today, and when — and then keeps going through kit, the ride itself, and getting home.
What Epic Ride Weather does well
For forecasting a specific planned route at a specific start time, Epic Ride Weather is the best tool in this category and it isn't close. It pulls routes straight from Strava, Ride with GPS, Garmin, Komoot, Plotaroute, MapMyRide, Trailforks and Runkeeper, plus raw GPX, FIT and TCX, and it will compare start times across the day so you can see that leaving at 10 rather than 8 is the difference between a soaking and a dry ride. If you ride brevets, gran fondos or long point-to-points, that is the whole job and it does it properly.
- Platforms
- iOS and Android, with live data fields on Hammerhead Karoo
- Price
- Free to install; $2.99/month or $19.99/year after a 30-day, 1,000-forecast trial
Side by side
Ten questions a rider actually asks. Where Epic Ride Weather's own material doesn't say, we've written “not listed” rather than guessing.
| Question | RideByWeather | Epic Ride Weather |
|---|---|---|
| Is today worth going out, hour by hour? | Yes A 0–10 Ride Score for every hour, 48 hours out, re-weighted for your sport and bike type. | Partly Compares start times for a route across the day; no single daily condition score is listed. |
| What will the weather do along my route? | Yes Route planner with the forecast on each leg; the 24-hour "best hour to leave this route" view is Pro. | Yes This is the product — minute-by-minute conditions at each point, timed to your arrival there. |
| Which legs are into the wind? | Yes Headwind or tailwind called out per leg, with a reverse-the-loop suggestion when the wind turns. | Yes Wind speed and direction along the route, for tailwind and headwind planning. |
| What should I put on? | Yes Photo-led what-to-wear from the live feels-like, and free without an account at /wear. | Not listed Not listed. |
| Does it do running and walking too? | Yes Cycling, running and walking each scored on their own weighting — dew point matters more than wind for a run. | Partly Route-based and sport-agnostic — it imports Runkeeper routes — but no separate per-sport scoring is listed. |
| Is it on my watch or head unit? | Yes Garmin Connect IQ app for watch and Edge, plus Android and iPhone apps. | Partly Live data fields on Hammerhead Karoo; Garmin appears as a route source rather than a watch app. |
| Does it record the ride afterwards? | Yes Live ride screen, history, streaks, journal, and a training plan that moves your long day onto the better weather. | Not listed Not listed — it plans the ride rather than logging it. |
| Does it warn me about what's on the road? | Yes Lightning map, air quality, pollen, reported hazards and road facts spoken to you as you ride. | Partly Air quality insights are listed; no lightning or road-hazard alerting is described. |
| Does it know my city? | Yes 127 city ride guides with local prevailing wind and signature loops. | Not listed Not listed. |
| Is there a real free tier? | Yes Free forever and completely ad-free — scores, forecast, routes, recording and gear all included. | Partly A 30-day trial capped at 1,000 forecasts, then a subscription. |
Compiled 2026-09-08 from epicrideweather.com and its App Store listing. Products change — if we've got something wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
So which one?
Choose Epic Ride Weather if…
Pick Epic Ride Weather if your rides are planned routes you've already built somewhere else, they're long enough that conditions change materially from one end to the other, and the question you need answered is "what happens along this line at this hour." A $19.99 year is a fair price for that and we'd rather you had the right tool.
Choose RideByWeather if…
Pick RideByWeather if most of your riding is decided the morning of, from your front door, and the real question is whether it's worth going at all — then what to wear, and whether the wind will punish the way home. It's also the answer if you want one app across cycling, running and walking, something on your watch, a record of what you rode, and a heads-up when there's lightning or bad air on the way.
No ads on any tier. The free plan is permanent, not a trial.
Frequently asked
Is RideByWeather an Epic Ride Weather alternative?
Only partly, and it's worth being straight about that. If you specifically want minute-by-minute weather along a route you've already planned, Epic Ride Weather does that better and you should use it. RideByWeather overlaps on route forecasting but is built around the earlier decision — is today a ride day, when's the window, what do I wear — and around everything after it, including recording the ride, safety alerts and a Garmin watch app.
Which one is cheaper?
They're the same monthly price. Epic Ride Weather is $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year after a 30-day, 1,000-forecast trial. RideByWeather Pro is $2.99 a month — but the difference is the free tier: RideByWeather's free plan is permanent and ad-free, and includes the Ride Score, the 7-day forecast, route planning with wind on every leg, recording, and what to wear. Pro adds training plans, the pushed best-window alert, spot ranking and the 14-day outlook.
Can I use both?
Yes, and a fair number of long-distance riders reasonably would. Use RideByWeather for the daily go/no-go, gear and the watch readout, and Epic Ride Weather when you've got a big planned route and need the conditions along its length nailed down.
Does RideByWeather forecast along a route?
Yes. The route planner shows the forecast and the wind on each leg, including whether that leg is a headwind or a tailwind, and suggests reversing the loop when the wind direction makes the return the harder half. Pro adds a 24-hour view that picks the best hour to start that specific route.
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