Windfinder
Windfinder is a wind and weather forecasting platform founded in 1998 in Kiel, Germany, serving kitesurfers, windsurfers, sailors, anglers, and paragliders worldwide via mobile apps, a website, and a paid Plus subscription layered on a freemium base.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersKiel, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Windfinder does
Windfinder is a wind and weather forecasting platform founded in 1998 and headquartered in Kiel, Germany, focused on serving wind-dependent outdoor sports communities including kitesurfers, windsurfers, sailors, anglers, and paragliders. The platform combines the GFS global forecast model with a proprietary high-resolution hourly Superforecast model and real-time observations aggregated from more than 20,000 weather stations across 160,000+ forecast locations worldwide, with severe weather warnings sourced from NOAA and Meteoalarm. It is delivered through iOS and Android mobile applications, a recently rebuilt website (Astro framework for content pages, React for interactive elements), and embeddable weather widgets, with additional webcam imagery provided via a partnership with Webcamgalore covering 10,000+ cameras.
Windfinder operates a freemium consumer model: a free tier provides core forecasts, observations, and basic spot information, while Windfinder Plus is a paid subscription priced at €1.49/month or €9.99/year, unlocking wind alerts, the Superforecast model, real-time wind reports, precipitation and temperature overlays, webcam access within a 25km radius, home-screen widgets, and an ad-free experience. A 7-day free trial is offered. Beyond consumer subscriptions, the company monetizes through advertising, commercial historical weather data sales, and an API/business services offering for organizations integrating weather data into their own products. There are no publicly disclosed funding rounds, parent companies, or institutional investors, and the company is operated by a team of 1-10 employees.
The company also operates a sponsorship and partnership program supporting marquee industry events including the Multivan Kitesurf Masters, Multivan Windsurf Cup, Windsurf World Cup Sylt, and the Kiel.Sailing.City Camp 24/7 sailing school initiative, and donates €1 per annual subscription to charitable causes including maritime search and rescue, ghost net recovery, and reforestation. The platform claims millions of daily visitors and is available globally with multi-language support, though active development and recent expansion efforts have focused on the United States and European markets.
Windfinder firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Windfinder
- Legal name
- Windfinder
- Website
- https://windfinder.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Windfinder is a wind and weather forecasting platform founded in 1998 in Kiel, Germany, serving kitesurfers, windsurfers, sailors, anglers, and paragliders worldwide via mobile apps, a website, and a paid Plus subscription layered on a freemium base.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Windfinder industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wind and Weather Forecasting Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Surf, Kitesurf & Wind Sports Adventures (THAJABAK)
Keywords
Where Windfinder is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kiel
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Windfinder business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Windfinder Plus Subscription: Premium subscription service offering enhanced features including wind alerts, Superforecast high-resolution model, more detailed map features, real-time wind reports, specialized widgets, and ad-free experience. Available as monthly or annual subscription.
- Historical Weather Data: Commercial service providing archived weather data for work planning, research, education, travel plans, insurance cases and other applications.
- Advertising: Platform offers advertising opportunities for businesses wanting to reach Windfinder's large user base of outdoor sports enthusiasts.
- API/Business Services: API and data services for businesses, including weather widgets and data services for professional projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Windfinder Plus monthly subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Windfinder Plus annual subscription |
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Windfinder product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Windfinder operates a wind and weather forecasting platform delivering forecasts, live measurements, and weather reports for over 160,000 spots worldwide via iOS and Android mobile apps and a web platform. The free core product provides basic forecasts while the Windfinder Plus subscription adds premium capabilities such as wind alerts, a high-resolution Superforecast model, real-time wind reports on maps, severe weather warnings, webcam access, and an ad-free experience. The company also offers embeddable weather widgets, historical weather data archives, and API/data services for business customers.
Product overview
Windfinder is a wind and weather forecast platform offering a free core product with premium Windfinder Plus subscription. The platform provides forecasts for tens of thousands of spots worldwide, updated four times daily. Key products include mobile apps for iOS and Android, the Superforecast high-resolution hourly model, wind alerts, severe weather warnings (NOAA/Meteoalarm), historical weather data archives, wind statistics with polar charts, tide forecasts, webcam integration via Webcamgalore, and embeddable weather widgets. Windfinder Plus adds premium features including real-time wind reports, precipitation type maps, temperature reports, specialized widgets, and ad-free experience. Business data services and API access are available for enterprise use.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Windfinder Plus: Premium subscription service offering enhanced features including wind alerts, Superforecast high-resolution model, additional map features, specialized widgets, and ad-free experience.
Products and services
- Windfinder Free App Free wind, wave, and weather forecast product available on iOS, Android, and web, providing forecasts for tens of thousands of spots worldwide updated at least four times daily. Includes wind maps, weather reports, and basic spot information for kitesurfing, windsurfing, sailing, and fishing.
- Windfinder Plus Subscription Premium subscription service (€1.49/month or €9.99/year) adding wind alerts, Superforecast high-resolution hourly model, real-time wind reports on maps, specialized widgets (Wind Preview, Wind Barbs), webcam access within 25km radius, precipitation type maps, temperature reports, severe weather warnings, and ad-free experience.
- Superforecast High-resolution forecast model providing hourly timestep forecasts for enhanced precision. Available as part of the Windfinder Plus subscription.
- Wind Alerts
Quantifiable outcome
- Forecasts and reports for 160,000+ spots and locations worldwide
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Windfinder
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Windfinder technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Windfinder partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Kiel.Sailing.City - Camp 24/7flagshipWindfinder is official partner of Kiel.Sailing.City's unique sailing school project Camp 24/7, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022. The project is a joint initiative of state capital Kiel and Kiel-Marketing, powered by Stadtwerke Kiel AG and over 90 sponsors. It offers sailing courses and attracts sailing enthusiasts young and old.
- Multivan Kitesurf MasterscoreOfficial partnership with Multivan Kitesurf Masters, the top national kitesurfing series in Germany with three tour stops annually at the most beautiful beaches of the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
- Multivan Windsurf CupcoreOfficial partnership with Multivan Windsurf Cup, the highest ranking German regatta series in windsurfing with four to seven tour stops. The International German Championships at Sylt attract over 120,000 visitors annually.
- WebcamgalorecorePartnership with Webcamgalore to integrate over 10,000 webcams worldwide into the Windfinder app. Users can see real-time camera footage from webcams near their favorite locations to visually check conditions before heading out. Windfinder Plus subscribers can view the latest pictures from all webcams within a 25km radius.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Windfinder competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Windhub / Windy Community: Windy Community is an adjacent service/forum ecosystem focused on the same wind sports user base as Windfinder, with overlapping discussion of spots and forecasts. It functions as a complementary ecosystem player rather than a direct forecast app competitor.
Direct peers
- Windy.app: Windy.app is a mobile-first wind and weather forecast app focused on the same wind sports user base (kitesurfing, windsurfing, sailing, fishing) with very similar features: spot-based forecasts, weather station data, alerts, and subscription model. It is one of Windfinder's closest direct competitors in app stores.
- Windguru: Windguru is a long-standing wind forecasting platform targeting surfers, kiters, windsurfers, and sailors, providing spot-based GFS and other model forecasts. It has comparable functionality and serves the same outdoor wind sports community as Windfinder.
- Windy (Windyty): Windy.com is a direct competitor offering wind and weather forecasts on web and mobile, with a comparable freemium-plus-premium model and similar global spot coverage. It is widely regarded as the most feature-rich and well-funded rival to Windfinder in the wind forecasting space.
- PredictWind: PredictWind provides wind forecasts and weather routing primarily for sailing and offshore users, with subscription tiers and integration with marine hardware. It overlaps significantly with Windfinder's sailing community and uses proprietary high-resolution forecast models like Windfinder's Superforecast.
Broad incumbents
- AccuWeather: AccuWeather is a large enterprise and consumer weather data provider with broad forecast coverage and a significant B2B/API business. It represents the broad incumbent category that competes with Windfinder for general weather users and offers overlapping wind forecast capabilities.
- The Weather Channel (Weather.com): The Weather Channel is a broad consumer weather platform owned by a major media company, offering general forecasts, maps, and premium features. It represents the broad incumbent tier that competes with Windfinder for casual users who may not need specialized wind sports features.
- Météo-France / national weather services: National meteorological agencies (e.g., Météo-France, DWD, NOAA via NWS) are the authoritative source of weather station data that Windfinder aggregates. They are not direct end-user competitors in the wind sports app category but are upstream data providers and represent the authoritative forecasting tier.
Emerging players
- Magicseaweed: Magicseaweed is a surf forecasting service with global spot coverage and a user community focused on water sports. It overlaps with Windfinder in the marine sports forecast category and historically has been a comparable subscription/community platform in the broader water sports app market.
- Surfline: Surfline is a leading surf forecasting and reporting platform with a strong subscription business, webcams, and surf cam network. While focused on surfing rather than wind, it serves adjacent water sports users with overlapping product features like webcams, forecasts, and premium content.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Windfinder social profiles
Digital presenceWindfinder financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Windfinder leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Windfinder funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Windfinder M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Windfinder
What does Windfinder do?
Windfinder operates a wind and weather forecasting platform delivering forecasts, live measurements, and weather reports for over 160,000 spots worldwide via iOS and Android mobile apps and a web platform. The free core product provides basic forecasts while the Windfinder Plus subscription adds premium capabilities such as wind alerts, a high-resolution Superforecast model, real-time wind reports on maps, severe weather warnings, webcam access, and an ad-free experience. The company also offers embeddable weather widgets, historical weather data archives, and API/data services for business customers.
Is Windfinder a public or private company?
Windfinder is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Windfinder founded?
Windfinder was founded in 1998. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Windfinder based?
Windfinder is headquartered in Kiel, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Windfinder make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Windfinder Plus Subscription is the primary driver. The others are historical Weather Data, advertising and API/Business Services.
Who are Windfinder's main competitors?
Windhub / Windy Community is listed as an others. Direct peers are Windy.app, Windguru, Windy (Windyty) and PredictWind. Broad incumbents are AccuWeather, The Weather Channel (Weather.com) and Météo-France / national weather services. Emerging players are Magicseaweed and Surfline.
Does Windfinder have an API?
No public API is recorded for Windfinder.
What industry is Windfinder in?
Windfinder's product category is Wind and Weather Forecasting Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJABAK, Surf, Kitesurf & Wind Sports Adventures.