I tried 2 of the best third-party Android weather apps. Here's the one I'm sticking with

I’ll admit that for the last few years, I’ve been pretty lazy about testing new weather apps. I’ve almost exclusively used a combination of Samsung Weather or Pixel Weather alongside AccuWeather. Ready for something new, I decided to dive into the alternatives. What I was looking for was something that bridged the gap between the two services. That meant something easy to jump into, with a fair amount of customization, and a reputation for accuracy.

Ultimately, I found two apps that best fit what I was looking for, even though they took somewhat different approaches: Gradient Weather and Breezy Weather. While they both were a dream to use, neither was perfect, but one of these apps ended up winning me over a tad more than the other.

Breezy Weather is a power user’s dream, with one notable flaw

There’s a lot to like about the open-source Breezy Weather app, but its privacy-focused nature and customization options are probably at the top of the list. The app gives you a ton of data metrics to choose from, including common ones like the daily and hourly forecast, as well as options like Visibility, Pressure, Sun, and Moon. 

You might wonder if too much data will result in a cluttered experience, but thankfully, the UI does a great job here. Not only is it easy to get the hang of — since all central data is pretty much in one spot — but it is also presented in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming or bloated. Speaking of bloat, there are absolutely no ads, trackers, or other similar privacy offenders found in the Breezy App. There’s also no premium tier, as the app is 100% free. 

Those looking for deeper control over their weather data source will be pleased to find they can choose from options such as NWS, AccuWeather, OpenWeather, and a handful of others. It’s not just data, either. You can even customize Breezy’s appearance with optional icon packs.

No matter how good a weather app is, we can’t forget about widgets. Breezy Weather does a great job here, with a clean, minimalist approach that will seem familiar if you’re coming from an app like Pixel Weather. 

As much as I loved Breezy Weather, nothing is perfect. First, it’s important to note that it doesn’t exist on Google Play. You’ll need to install the app from GitHub or a place like F-Droid. Keep in mind that the F-Droid version only uses freenet standards, while the GitHub version has more weather sources and a few other small differences.

Another issue is that there’s no radar. This is largely because there’s no free, open-source radar API that can compete with other weather apps out there right now, and so the app developers feel this is an impractical feature that doesn’t match the open-source nature of the project.

Gradient Weather looks great and has excellent radar

Breezy Weather isn’t just about providing great customization and a solid UI. At its core, Breezy’s mission is to provide an open-source alternative to the big weather apps. Gradient Weather might not share the same open-source DNA, but it perfectly nails just about everything else.

Gradient’s layout is quite a bit different from Breezy, but both are equally clean and easy to parse. You certainly have more glanceable options with Breezy, but Gradient does a good job of showing the most important information and hiding the rest out of the way. Where Gradient edges ahead is in the little finishing touches, like how it uses different colors for alerts, making it easy to know what the alert is for before you even fully read it.

Gradient’s alerts are also very detailed, which is nice, as many alternatives (like Pixel Weather) tend to push you to a web browser for more detailed information. It’s not just more detailed alerts, either; Gradient also does a much better job with notifications.

While Breezy keeps notifications fairly basic, Gradient goes the other way and can deliver custom notifications based on a wide range of weather conditions. Whether you want a frost alert or a notification that rain is coming, you’ll find an option here. Heck, you can even ask it to send basic alerts every morning so you know what the weather is like without turning to the app or its widgets. Speaking of widgets, Gradient offers a highly customizable experience that might not work the same as Breezy, but I’d argue the widgets are of the same quality.

As I already mentioned, I love the idea of radar. Whether it’s tracking incoming storms or just checking wind speed, I find radar a critical part of a modern weather app. Gradient does all this and so much more from its weather map. It also tracks cloud cover, temperature, and pressure. There’s even the ability to report real-time changes in weather conditions, which can help improve accuracy in your local area.

Outside of the radar and better customizations, you’ll find a lot of similar features in Gradient that you’d already get from Breezy. Gradient’s proprietary app just takes a different approach. For example, you might not be able to manually change your data sources as you can with Breezy, but at least you’ll rest assured knowing that Gradient combines multiple data sources to improve accuracy rather than relying on a single fixed source.

In many ways, I love how Breezy is open source and has a more manual approach to its feature set, but it also means that you have to mess around a lot more to find the right options. Gradient seemed to be a bit easier to “get right” out of the box. The only real downside is that you have to pay money to unlock the full experience.

If you don’t want to spend a thing, I’d say Breezy Weather is the better choice here. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference, though.

Both are great, but Gradient is the one for me

Breezy Weather is excellent if you can live without radar and want a completely free experience that doesn’t hold features behind a paywall. It’s easy to use, easy to dive into, and, if you don’t mind the sideloading hurdles, a great choice for many.

I personally didn’t mind paying the $33 for lifetime access to Gradient Weather in order to enjoy radar and the advanced notifications that Breezy just can’t compete with. There’s also the option to pay $3.50 per month or $22 annually.

For me, Gradient’s deeper notifications and radar aren’t just nice; they could make a real difference during storm seasons. This is coming from someone who lives in the rural Midwest and is no stranger to sudden tornadoes or massive thunderstorms.

Still, both apps remain great, and considering Breezy is free, it might not hurt to try them both and see for yourself.