Best Free Weather Apps For Android (2026)
The best free weather app for Android depends on whether you want a simple forecast, minute-by-minute rain alerts or a serious radar map.
Most of the apps below are free with ads and sell a paid tier that removes them, so check the paid options before you commit.
Quick picks: which free weather app should you install?
| Award | App | Why it wins | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best all-around | The Weather Channel | Forecasts, severe alerts, radar and widgets | Google Play |
| Best for rain timing | AccuWeather | Free MinuteCast and RealFeel | Google Play |
| Best radar | MyRadar | Free live radar with NWS alerts | Google Play |
| Best hyperlocal | Weather Underground | Forecasts built on personal weather stations | Official site |
| Best for wind and storm maps | Windy.com | 50+ weather maps and several forecast models | Google Play |
1. The Weather Channel: best all-around
The Weather Channel app covers everything a typical user needs in one place.
Specs: Free with in-app purchases | Android and iPhone | severe alerts and radar included
Pros:
- Hourly and daily forecasts, radar and severe weather alerts.
- Lightning and pollen alerts, plus home screen widgets.
Cons:
- It is a large app with many features you may never use.
- Some features sit behind a paid plan.
2. AccuWeather: best for rain timing
AccuWeather is the app to pick if you mostly want to know when the rain starts.
Specs: Free with ads | Android and iPhone | paid tiers remove ads and add alerts
Pros:
- MinuteCast, RealFeel and a hurricane tracker are listed as free features in AccuWeather’s own announcement.
- Radar and maps are included.
Cons:
- The free version shows ads.
- Advanced severe weather alerts require a paid tier.
3. MyRadar: best radar
MyRadar opens straight to a live radar loop centered on your location.
Specs: Free to download, with ads and optional premium | Android and iPhone | data from NOAA and the National Weather Service
Pros:
- Animated radar loops of up to two hours.
- National Weather Service alerts and extra layers for wind, wildfires and earthquakes.
Cons:
- Pro radar, the hurricane tracker and ad removal are paid.
- It is a radar app first, so pair it with a forecast app.
4. Weather Underground: best hyperlocal forecasts
Weather Underground builds its forecasts on data from personal weather stations, so readings can be very close to your street.
Specs: Free with ads | Android, iPhone and web | extended forecasts need a paid plan
Pros:
- Hyperlocal forecasts from neighborhood stations.
- Rain and heat map overlays and severe weather alerts.
Cons:
- Longer forecasts require Premium.
- The free version has ads.
5. Yahoo Weather: best fully free option
Yahoo Weather has no subscription tier at all, which makes it the simplest free option here.
Specs: Free with ads that cannot be removed | Android, iPhone and web | forecasts of 5 to 10 days
Pros:
- Alerts and an interactive radar map.
- No subscriptions or in-app purchases.
Cons:
- Ads appear throughout the feed.
- The feature set is basic compared with the apps above.
6. Windy.com: best for wind and storm maps
Windy is a map-first app for people who want to see wind, rain and storms rather than read a forecast.
Specs: Free with in-app purchases | Android and iPhone | forecast models include ECMWF, GFS and ICON
Pros:
- More than 50 weather maps, from wind and rain to snow and air quality.
- Radar and satellite layers, plus a hurricane tracker and custom alerts.
Cons:
- Longer forecast outlooks, longer radar loops and model comparison are Premium features.
- It is a map tool first, so it is less simple than a plain forecast app.
How do the weather apps compare?
| App | Cost | Radar | Strongest feature | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Weather Channel | Free, paid tier | Yes | All-in-one | Large app |
| AccuWeather | Free with ads, paid tiers | Yes | MinuteCast | Ads, paid alerts |
| MyRadar | Free with ads, premium | Yes, core feature | Radar loops | Pro radar is paid |
| Weather Underground | Free with ads, paid plan | Yes | Station data | Long forecasts paid |
| Yahoo Weather | Free, ads only | Yes | No paywall | Ads cannot be removed |
| Windy.com | Free, in-app purchases | Yes, plus 50+ maps | Wind and model maps | Longer outlooks are Premium |
How do you set up location and alerts for a weather app?
A weather app can only warn you about your area if Android lets it see where you are.
To check an app’s location access:
- Open Settings and tap Location.
- Tap App location permissions.
- Tap the weather app and pick an access level.
- Turn Use precise location on if you want street-level accuracy.
Android’s choices are Allowed all the time, Allowed only while in use, Ask every time, and Not allowed.
Per Google, approximate location only places you within an area of roughly 3 square kilometers, so precise is better for rain timing.
| If you see | Check |
|---|---|
| Forecast for the wrong place | Location permission is not set to Not allowed, and precise location is on |
| No alerts for your area | The app’s own alert settings, then its location access level |
| Missing government warnings | Settings > Notifications > Wireless emergency alerts on Pixel phones |
Menu names for emergency alerts differ between phone makers, and weather apps cannot replace the government alerts built into Android.
Which weather app fits your situation?
| If you want | Install | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One app for everything | The Weather Channel | Forecasts, radar, alerts and widgets together |
| To know when rain starts | AccuWeather | MinuteCast is free |
| To watch storms move | MyRadar | Live radar loops up to two hours |
| Street-level temperatures | Weather Underground | Personal weather station data |
| No subscription pitch | Yahoo Weather | No paid tier |
| Wind, marine or model maps | Windy.com | 50+ map layers and several forecast models |
| A quick check with no install | Google Weather | Built in, but no radar |
Pairing one forecast app with MyRadar covers almost every situation, and both are free to start.
Do you need a separate app, or is Google Weather enough?
Google’s built-in weather gives hourly and 10-day forecasts, wind, humidity, UV and sunrise times, but it has no radar.
That is enough for a quick check, though you need MyRadar or a similar app for storm tracking, and our Google Weather frog guide explains how to bring it up on your devices.
Which free weather app should you choose?
Choose The Weather Channel for an all-in-one app, and add MyRadar or Windy.com if you live where storms matter.
You can also check the forecast with Bing and put a forecast on your home screen with the best clock widgets for Android.
Which weather app gives the best 7 to 10 day local weather forcast for android phones….kw
1weather is horrible now.
Yep – my Weather Channel app finally locked the on-screen info to info as at 2107hrs on 12Feb2025.
Every minute of every day it was 2107hrs and 24 deg. Uninstalled!
If you’re considering downloading the once highly rated 1Weather app, DON’T!!! Due to their developers constantly trying to “upgrade” it so many times over the years with patches and supposed bug fixes that they’ve finally managed to completely kill and prevent their animated radar portion of their app from loading at all anymore and hasn’t functioned properly since late 2024 and I’ve sadly had to pull the plug on it just like thousands of other former users have as well due to that very critical exact same reason which has left me in search of a similar nicely accoutremented replacement weather app for free but have downloaded and briefly tried at least a half dozen other apps which all seem to have varying issues I just didn’t care for whether it was a total lack of radar or radar that doesn’t show storm movement or the graphics were hideous, cluttered and confusing or just poorly laid out often without the ability to show the wind chill factor or the real feel or feels like temperature which is pretty crucial to know in the winter where I live and some apps don’t have any useful widgets if any at all and some other would just bombard you with ads every time you open the app or touch any button all and any of those issues were total deal breakers for me! So with all that being said, I’m now going to give the Awesome Weather Yo Window app a try and hope for the best! It’s so frustrating trying to find any app without having to determine if they have legitimate reviews and ratings or fake misleading click bait icons that were most likely auto-generated or over-hyped by either Ai or their software development teams in order to drum up more clicks and downloads. It’s become so very misleading and frustrating on the G????gle Playstore as or late that it’s really starting be overly time consuming to find exactly what you’re really looking for on there anymore and with that being said, I wish you all the best and good luck with your quest to find anything that actually fits the bill and checks off all the boxes! ????
The free Weather Channel app is no longer any good. The changes they made make is almost impossible to launch and radar does not work. Their push to use the paid version has ruined the free version.