What Terrafin Software does

Terrafin Software is a privately held, founder-owned company headquartered in Vista, California, that has operated continuously since 1998/1999 under the consumer-facing brand Terrafin SST-View. The company purchases raw satellite imagery from NOAA Polar Orbiting satellites, NASA-distributed blended SST and Chlorophyll products, and European satellite sources, then runs that data through a proprietary processing pipeline that includes best-shot selection, manual review and correction for navigation and atmospheric artifacts, regional temperature-range optimization, and multi-source cloud-free blending. The final output is a catalog of sea surface temperature (SST), Chlorophyll, Altimetry, Currents, Cloud-Free Blended SST, and LEO Daily Composite charts covering over 200 coastal regions across the Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, Pacific Central America, Venezuela, and Brazil. Interactive features include lat/lon and temperature readouts on cursor hover, distance and bearing calculation, an animated 20-image chart loop, click-to-place waypoint and route planning with printable float plans, and integration with NOAA buoy and tide references.

The company sells through a single direct-to-consumer annual subscription tier at $119 for new members and $109 for renewals, granting unlimited access to all regions and all chart types with no add-on fees. Distribution is self-serve via terrafin.com (credit card, check, phone order) and native iOS/Android apps included with the subscription, with marketing concentrated on the website, Facebook, and a referral program offering 2 months free. The customer base is entirely individual recreational anglers and divers, with no enterprise, commercial fishing, or institutional accounts referenced; service has been continuous for 25+ years with no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or leadership changes.

Name

Terrafin Software

Legal name

Terrafin Software

Website

https://terrafin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Terrafin Software operates the Terrafin SST-View subscription service, processing NOAA, NASA, and European satellite imagery into sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, altimetry, and currents charts for recreational anglers across 200+ coastal regions in the Americas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Navigation Software

NAICS

Satellite Telecommunications (5174)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

Keywords

• Satellite oceanographic charts
• Sea surface temperature data
• Fishing navigation charts
• Marine chlorophyll charts
• Offshore fishing charts

Headquarters

HQ city

Vista

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Annual Subscription Membership: Annual subscription providing unlimited access to all regions including SST charts, Chlorophyll charts, Altimetry, Currents, Cloud Free Blended SST, and LEO Daily Composite charts. New membership $119/year, renewal $109/year. All access included with no additional charges for regions or data types.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Terrafin Software processes raw satellite data from NOAA Polar Orbiting and European satellites into enhanced Sea Surface Temperature, Chlorophyll, Altimetry, and Currents charts covering over 200 coastal regions. The service is sold as an annual subscription that includes web access and native iOS/Android mobile apps, with features such as interactive chart loops, waypoint/route planning, distance and bearing calculations, and offline chart download for offshore use.

Product overview

Terrafin Software offers Terrafin SST-View as a single unified subscription product that provides satellite-derived oceanographic data for recreational and professional anglers. The core service delivers sea surface temperature (SST) charts using high-resolution MODIS and AVHRR satellite data, supplemented by additional chart types including Chlorophyll charts (for predicting water color and nutrient levels), Altimetry charts (for sea surface height anomalies indicating current patterns), Currents charts (geostrophic currents over dynamic sea height), Cloud-Free Blended SST charts (for cloudy periods combining multiple satellite sources), and LEO Daily Composite SST charts (multi-satellite daily composites). The Terrafin Mobile app (iOS/Android) extends the service for offshore use with offline chart access and waypoint marking. All chart types are included in a single annual subscription covering over 200 regions across the Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, Venezuela, and Brazil.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Terrafin Mobile: Mobile application for iOS and Android devices that allows users to download charts, mark waypoints, get distance and bearing, and show vessel position on charts.

Products and services

• Terrafin SST-View Annual Subscription Annual subscription providing unlimited access to enhanced sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, altimetry, currents, cloud-free blended SST, and LEO daily composite charts for 200+ coastal regions, delivered via web and mobile apps with offline chart download, waypoint marking, distance/bearing calculations, and vessel position display. Target users are recreational anglers and divers planning offshore trips.
• Terrafin Mobile App Native iOS and Android application included with the Terrafin SST-View subscription. Enables downloading charts while on cell service for offline use offshore, marking waypoints, calculating distance and bearing, and displaying vessel position on charts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Covers over 200 regions spanning Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, Venezuela, and Brazil
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)coreTechnology or IntegrationNOAA provides the primary raw satellite data for SST and Chlorophyll charts through their Polar Orbiting satellites (POES). Terrafin downloads satellite shots nightly from NOAA sources and processes them using their proprietary enhancement system.
• NASAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNASA distributes Cloud Free Blended SST data and Chlorophyll data that Terrafin incorporates into their service. The Blended SST data combines multiple satellite sources including microwave, GOES, MODIS, and AVHRR data processed by NASA.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Buoyweather: Buoyweather serves the recreational boating and fishing community with marine weather and sea condition forecasts, sharing Terrafin's boater/angler customer base and subscription-based delivery model.
• FishWeather: FishWeather provides fishing reports and marine conditions targeted at the same offshore angler segment as Terrafin, including SST-derived data, though with a stronger crowd-sourced reporting component.
• PredictWind: PredictWind offers marine weather and wind forecasting for sailors and boaters via web and mobile, overlapping with Terrafin's on-the-water recreational maritime user base and subscription delivery.
• FishTrack: FishTrack provides satellite-derived SST, chlorophyll, and ocean condition charts directly to offshore anglers with a comparable subscription model and similar use case (locating productive fishing zones via temperature breaks).

Emerging players

• Magicseaweed: Magicseaweed (owned by Surfline/Stripe) provides ocean condition forecasts for surfers and water sports users — adjacent recreational ocean data subscription model that parallels Terrafin's niche approach.
• Surfline: Surfline is the dominant subscription forecasting service for surfers — a parallel niche use case (recreational ocean sports using wave/SST data) and a comparable direct-to-consumer subscription business model.
• Windy.com: Windy visualizes global weather and ocean data including SST and currents via an interactive map; it overlaps with Terrafin's recreational boater audience but delivers a much broader free product with premium tiers.

Broad incumbents

• Navionics (Garmin): Navionics, owned by Garmin, is the dominant marine chart and navigation provider for recreational boaters; its platform includes environmental layers that overlap with Terrafin's on-the-water navigation use case, though chart coverage is its primary product.
• C-MAP: C-MAP supplies marine electronic navigation charts to recreational and commercial boaters globally; an incumbent in marine navigation that competes for the same on-the-water chart consumer as Terrafin.

Others

• NOAA CoastWatch / ERDDAP: NOAA's free public satellite data distribution platforms provide raw SST, chlorophyll, and altimetry feeds that Terrafin repackages; they represent the free-alternative competitive pressure on Terrafin's paid subscription.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/terrafin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Terrafin Software