European Alternatives to AccuWeather
Looking for a European alternative to AccuWeather? AccuWeather is a US weather service, and its legal and pricing pages returned an access denied error when we tried to read them on 5 November 2026, so this page makes no claims about its terms. People who want a weather app from a provider under European law look for services whose imprint and privacy policy name a European entity.
The European tools below range from national services (MeteoSwiss, KNMI, SMHI) and Yr to commercial portals (WetterOnline, Meteored, Buienradar), with free access on most and paid options on some.
How we rank these tools — 4-step process
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1
European ownership, verified
The company is headquartered and incorporated in the EU, EEA, the UK, Switzerland or Israel, and processes customer data in Europe or Israel. A US parent company disqualifies a tool from this page regardless of where its servers are.
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2
Category fit and hands-on review
What the tool actually does, who it suits, and where it falls short — checked against the vendor’s own documentation, changelog and pricing page rather than its marketing copy.
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3
Compliance and pricing check
GDPR posture, hosting location and the prices quoted on this page are verified against the vendor’s public pricing before publication, and re-checked when we revisit the category.
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Position on this page
Placement on this page can be paid, and that can affect which tools appear here and the order they appear in. It never buys a good review: a tool that fails the checks above is not here at any price, and payment does not change the shortcomings we write about. A vendor can ask us to correct a factual error — not to remove a criticism.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this page. It never changes what an entry says about a product, including the criticism, and we earn nothing when you click through to a vendor. Vendors can pay for more visibility, higher up on the review pages; it never affects which tools are listed. Editorial policy
12 European Alternatives to AccuWeather
Yr
Norwegian forecasts for over 10 million places, free of charge
Windy
Prague wind map and forecast viewer with an API
MeteoSwiss
Swiss federal forecasts, warnings and an official app
KNMI
Dutch national institute with a warning app and rain radar
meteoblue
Swiss forecasts with multi-model views and an ad-free tier
WetterOnline
Bonn weather service with many radars and a membership
Meteored
Murcia-based forecast service with a free app and subscriptions
Foreca
Finnish forecasts up to 15 days with radar and an app
SMHI
Swedish government agency forecasts, warnings and radar
Buienradar
Dutch rain radar funded by ads, with a Premium option
wetter.com
Berlin forecast portal with rain radar and ski area weather
Wetter.de
RTL interactive forecast site with maps, radar and apps
Key takeaways
- AccuWeather is operated by AccuWeather, Inc. of State College, Pennsylvania, and its own pages could not be read on 5 November 2026.
- Yr lists forecasts for more than 10 million places and shows no price on the pages we read.
- MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI are government institutes, so each one covers its home country in depth rather than the world.
- WetterOnline, wetter.com, Wetter.de and Meteored publish a named European company, address and register data.
- Windy, meteoblue and Foreca add developer access through an API, which the consumer-first apps on this list do not emphasise.
Why people leave AccuWeather
AccuWeather is a weather service operated by AccuWeather, Inc. of State College, Pennsylvania. It publishes forecasts for places around the world and is used mainly as an app and a website. A weather app has one unusual property among everyday software: it works best when you let it know where you are, hour after hour.
That is the starting point for most people who search for a European alternative to AccuWeather. They do not object to a forecast. They would like the company that receives their location to be bound by GDPR, to name its legal entity in an imprint, and to answer to a European supervisory authority. AccuWeather is a US company, so none of those three follows from its address.
We could not read AccuWeather's own legal and pricing pages on 5 November 2026, because the site refused our request. This page therefore says nothing about its terms, its prices or its data practices. It compares what the European services publish about themselves, and it names where each one is weaker than a global commercial forecast service.
- The provider is a US company AccuWeather, Inc. is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania. A provider seated there is not subject to GDPR the way a company in Bonn, Murcia or Espoo is, and the supervisory authority you would write to is not a European one. We could not read the privacy policy to see how location data is handled, so this is a statement about the seat, not about conduct.
- European public services publish their legal basis MeteoSwiss names its statutory basis, the Government and Administration Organisation Act, Articles 10 and 11, and a place of jurisdiction in Zurich. KNMI gives an address in De Bilt, and SMHI lists offices in Norrkoping, Gothenburg and Uppsala. Public bodies of this kind publish who runs them, which a reader can check against a state rather than a company register.
- Commercial European services name their company WetterOnline gives WetterOnline Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH with a register entry at the Amtsgericht Bonn. wetter.com names wetter.com Group GmbH in Berlin, and Meteored names ALPRED S.L. with a Spanish VAT ID. Each imprint gives you a legal person to address a data request to, in a European court area.
- Several alternatives skip the account and the price Yr, MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI showed no price or subscription on the pages we read. Buienradar states that its radar images are free for everyone and are paid for by advertising. If you want a forecast without choosing a plan, the European list offers more of that than a commercial brand with tiers would.
What you have to replace, not just match
A weather app is easy to replace on the surface, because a forecast is a forecast. What you give up is the single global product that does everything. The European tools split the job: Yr and Foreca for worldwide places, MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI for one country each, and radar specialists such as Buienradar and WetterOnline for rain and storms.
Check three things before you delete the old app. First, your places: a hiking route in Norway, a home in Switzerland and a trip to Asia may need different tools. Second, your alerts: official warnings come from the national services, and each one only covers its own country. Third, your widgets and watch faces, which are tied to the app you remove, not to the forecast behind it.
The alternatives compared
| Position | Tool | Headquarters | Pricing | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Yr | Norway, Norway | No price shown on the pages we read | EEA, not EU (Norway) |
| #2 | Windy | Prague, Czech Republic | €990 a year for Point Forecast Professional; a free testing key exists; Map Forecast and Webcams are priced on separate pages | EU (Czech Republic) |
| #3 | MeteoSwiss | Zurich-Airport, Switzerland | No price shown on the pages we read | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| #4 | KNMI | De Bilt, Netherlands | No price shown on the pages we read | EU (Netherlands) |
| #5 | meteoblue | Basel, Switzerland | A free API year opens on registration; paid packages did not appear on the pages read | Switzerland (covered by an adequacy decision, not in the EEA) |
| #6 | WetterOnline | Bonn, Germany | Paid membership exists; price not shown on the pages we read | EU (Germany) |
| #7 | Meteored | Almendricos (Murcia), Spain | Free app; subscriptions for mobile apps exist, price not shown on the pages we read | EU (Spain) |
| #8 | Foreca | Espoo, Finland | A free trial and a pricing page are offered; the amounts were not readable | EU (Finland) |
| #9 | SMHI | Norrkoping, Sweden | No price shown on the pages we read | EU (Sweden) |
| #10 | Buienradar | Netherlands, Netherlands | Radar free with ads; Buienradar Premium exists, price not shown on the pages we read | EU (Netherlands) |
| #11 | wetter.com | Berlin, Germany | No price shown on the pages we read | EU (Germany) |
| #12 | Wetter.de | Cologne, Germany | No price shown on the pages we read | EU (Germany) |
How each alternative compares to AccuWeather
Best for: Travellers and hikers who want free forecasts for places across the world
Yr is run together by the broadcaster NRK and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, and its home page describes forecasts for more than 10 million places. Against AccuWeather, which also serves the world, Yr is the tool on this list that matches the geographic range most closely, and it shows no price on the pages we read.
The home page puts a map, warnings, water temperatures and mountain passes under one heading. The institute adds a text forecast for Norway, a subjective forecast chart and satellite images. Yr's legal pages were not readable for us, so its legal entity and data location remain unconfirmed.
What Yr does better than AccuWeather
- A public broadcaster and a state institute stand behind the service
- No price or plan to choose on the pages we read
- Water temperatures and mountain passes next to the forecast
- Forecasts for more than 10 million places
Where Yr is a step down from AccuWeather
- Legal pages could not be read, so the entity is unconfirmed
- The text forecast covers Norway only
- Mobile app details were not visible on the pages we read
Standout against AccuWeather. Yr combines a worldwide place list with water temperatures and mountain-pass information from Norway.
Best for: Sailors, pilots and kite surfers who want an interactive wind map first
Windy is a Prague company, Windyty, SE, and its consumer product is an interactive wind and forecast map. Against AccuWeather, a place-by-place forecast service, Windy shows the atmosphere as layers you move through, with the same data feeding its API products.
The tool page on this site records that the terms say Czech law applies and that the company is bound primarily by GDPR. The same data is sold as a point forecast API at €990 a year. Windy is a viewer first, so an everyday summary such as "umbrella or not" takes more reading than a daily card does.
What Windy does better than AccuWeather
- Interactive wind map as the main screen
- A Czech company under GDPR with a registered address in Prague
- Windy Stations and an API for developers
- Wave and swell parameters in the API data
Where Windy is a step down from AccuWeather
- Less suited to a quick daily summary
- The ECMWF model is excluded from the point forecast API
- Prices for the map and webcam APIs were not read
Standout against AccuWeather. Windy is the one tool here that sells its own map layer for embedding in other sites.
Best for: Residents and visitors in Switzerland who want official forecasts and hazard warnings
MeteoSwiss is the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, with an address at Zurich-Airport and a statutory basis in the Government and Administration Organisation Act. Against AccuWeather's global reach, MeteoSwiss is a specialist for Switzerland and nearby areas, and it says so on its pages.
The home page offers a local forecast search, an 8-day overview, a weather map and a natural hazard bulletin, with sections for lakes and airports. The legal information page excludes liability for accuracy and gives Zurich as the place of jurisdiction. The site is available in German, French, Italian and English.
What MeteoSwiss does better than AccuWeather
- Official natural hazard bulletin
- Published legal basis and place of jurisdiction
- Open Data (OGD) mentioned on the home page
- Four site languages: German, French, Italian and English
Where MeteoSwiss is a step down from AccuWeather
- Focused on Switzerland, so no global coverage
- App features were not described on the pages we read
- Data location is not stated
Standout against AccuWeather. MeteoSwiss ties its forecast to a federal hazard bulletin and open data for Swiss users.
Best for: People in the Netherlands who want official warnings and a precipitation radar
KNMI is the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in De Bilt, and its KNMI app is built for dangerous weather and earthquake notifications. Compared with AccuWeather, KNMI is a safety service for the Netherlands and the Caribbean Netherlands, not a place-anywhere forecast app.
The home page links a neerslagradar and a weather and climate plume, and the institute adds seismology, maritime and aviation pages. The privacy statement says personal data is used only for the purpose you gave and is not shared with third parties unless needed. The interface is mostly Dutch with an English switch.
What KNMI does better than AccuWeather
- Warnings for dangerous weather and earthquakes in one app
- Privacy statement that rules out sharing with third parties
- Neerslagradar on the home page
- Seismology, maritime and aviation pages as well
Where KNMI is a step down from AccuWeather
- Centred on the Netherlands, so not a travel app
- Mostly Dutch interface
- No price or full app feature list was read
Standout against AccuWeather. KNMI sends earthquake notifications in the same app as its dangerous-weather warnings.
Best for: Users who want to compare weather models and see meteograms for a place
meteoblue is a Basel company, meteoblue AG, that runs a consumer forecast site and sells business products on top of it. Against AccuWeather, the consumer product emphasises model detail: 7-day and 10-day forecasts, MultiModel views and meteograms for a location.
A popup on the site mentions website subscriptions, ad-free at €9 and point+ at €50, which belong to the consumer site. The API page offers one free year on registration. Switzerland is outside the EU, and the pages we read did not state a data location.
What meteoblue does better than AccuWeather
- Meteograms and multi-model views for one place
- An ad-free subscription priced on the site
- One year of free API access on registration
- ISO 9001 certificate stated in the footer
Where meteoblue is a step down from AccuWeather
- The free consumer site carries advertising
- API packages and quotas were not shown on the pages read
- Swiss seat, outside the EU
Standout against AccuWeather. meteoblue lets you read several weather models for one place in a single view.
Best for: German-speaking users who want rain, wind and lightning radars in one menu
WetterOnline is run by WetterOnline Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH in Bonn, entered at the Amtsgericht Bonn as HRB 8664. Against AccuWeather, the draw is the radar range: its menu names RegenRadar, WetterRadar, TemperaturRadar, WindRadar and BlitzRadar next to a 14-day forecast.
Pollen, UV index, webcams, snow depth and water temperature sit in the same menu. A paid membership exists with its own terms, but the pages we read showed no price or split between free and paid. The interface and legal pages are German only, and the site carries advertising settings.
What WetterOnline does better than AccuWeather
- Five radar types in one menu
- Register entry and address published in the imprint
- Pollen, UV index and webcams in the same service
- 14-day forecast on the pages we read
Where WetterOnline is a step down from AccuWeather
- German-language interface and legal pages
- Membership price and benefits were not shown
- Ad-funded, with consent and tracking settings
Standout against AccuWeather. WetterOnline gives lightning and wind their own radar pages next to the rain radar.
Best for: Users in Spain and elsewhere in Europe who want a free app and animated maps
Meteored is operated by ALPRED S.L. in Almendricos, Murcia, and its imprint gives the VAT ID and registry data. Against AccuWeather, its pitch is a free app and animated maps of clouds, rain and snow, offered in many languages including Vietnamese.
The terms, updated in February 2026, say subscriptions for Meteored mobile apps follow the app-store terms. The prices and the contents of the paid tiers were not shown on the pages we read. The privacy policy carried a note that it was machine-translated, and the data location is not stated.
What Meteored does better than AccuWeather
- Free app offered on the home page
- Full company name, VAT ID and registry data published
- Animated cloud, rain and snow maps
- Many site languages beyond Spanish
Where Meteored is a step down from AccuWeather
- Subscription prices are not shown
- Privacy policy appears as a machine translation
- Ad-supported site
Standout against AccuWeather. Meteored publishes its Spanish VAT ID and registry data alongside a free app.
Best for: Users who want a long Nordic forecast range and developers who want a trial
Foreca is a Finnish company, Foreca Ltd in Espoo, and says it began in 1996 as Weather Service Finland before taking its present name in 2001. Against AccuWeather, it offers 10-day and 15-day forecasts, weather radar and maps, and an API with a free trial.
The tool page on this site records that ownership is stated as private and independent, and that customers quoted on its pages include the developer of CARROT Weather. The accuracy ranking the company cites is its own claim and was not checked. Prices were not readable for us.
What Foreca does better than AccuWeather
- Forecast range of up to 15 days
- Finnish company with a stated address in Espoo
- Developer trial available for the API
- Marine, pollen and ski resort weather in the product menu
Where Foreca is a step down from AccuWeather
- Prices could not be read
- The accuracy ranking is the vendor's own claim
- Several features appear in the menu without detail
Standout against AccuWeather. Foreca reaches forecasts of up to 15 days, longer than most services in this category.
Best for: People in Sweden who want agency forecasts and severe-weather warnings
SMHI is the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, a government agency under the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise with offices in Norrkoping, Gothenburg and Uppsala. Against AccuWeather, it is a public agency, so you will find warnings and radar, not lifestyle cards.
The agency says it issues warnings for severe weather and water events around the clock. It also covers hydrology, oceanography and climate statistics, and it sells services such as aviation forecasts to authorities and companies. The site is mainly in Swedish, with an English About page.
What SMHI does better than AccuWeather
- Warnings for weather and water events from a government agency
- No subscription shown on the pages we read
- Hydrology and climate data on the same site
- Offices and organisation listed openly
Where SMHI is a step down from AccuWeather
- Aimed at Sweden, not a global forecast
- Mostly Swedish interface
- Mobile app details were not shown
Standout against AccuWeather. SMHI combines weather warnings with hydrology and climate statistics from one agency.
Best for: Dutch users who want a precipitation radar before anything else
Buienradar is a Dutch weather site whose footer names RTL Nederland, and its precipitation radar is its starting point. Against AccuWeather, it narrows the job to Dutch rain, with forecasts for the Netherlands and worldwide pages added around the radar.
The site states that radar images are free for everyone and paid for by advertising, and it shows a banner to visitors who use ad blockers. A Buienradar Premium page is linked from the menu, but no price appeared in the text we read. The privacy contact is published; the register details were not.
What Buienradar does better than AccuWeather
- Radar images free for everyone
- Premium option for fewer ads
- Weather photos and videos from users
- Privacy contact published in the footer
Where Buienradar is a step down from AccuWeather
- Dutch interface
- Ad-funded, with an ad-blocker banner
- Entity details are thin: only the name RTL Nederland
Standout against AccuWeather. Buienradar states that its radar is free for everyone and paid for through advertising.
Best for: German-speaking users who want regional forecasts and weather at ski areas
wetter.com is operated by wetter.com Group GmbH at Friedrichstrasse 70 in Berlin, with a register entry at the Amtsgericht Charlottenburg. Against AccuWeather, the focus is Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Europe, with a rain radar that has pages per German state and for countries such as France and Spain.
The site lists ski areas in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, HD live webcams and a 10,000-day trend page. A prompt on some pages reads "Mit Werbung weiterlesen", which tells you the site is financed by advertising. The interface is German only.
What wetter.com does better than AccuWeather
- Rain radar by German state and several countries
- Ski area weather pages and live webcams
- Managing directors named in the imprint
- Register entry and address published
Where wetter.com is a step down from AccuWeather
- German-only interface
- Ad-funded site
- No app or price details appeared on the pages we read
Standout against AccuWeather. wetter.com carries a ski area section with HD webcams for resorts in three countries.
Best for: German-speaking users who want a mainstream media forecast site with map pages
Wetter.de is run by RTL interactive GmbH at Picassoplatz 1 in Cologne, registered at the Amtsgericht Koln. Against AccuWeather, it is a media-house site: its Karten und Radare menu has a weather radar and maps for maximum, current and feels-like temperature and wind.
The privacy notice says data may go to RTL Deutschland GmbH, Ad Alliance GmbH, Bertelsmann Data Services GmbH and other group companies, and advertising is sold by Ad Alliance GmbH. Forecasts are worldwide, apps are linked from the footer, and the interface is German only.
What Wetter.de does better than AccuWeather
- Imprint and privacy notice are readable and name the entity
- Worldwide forecasts
- Temperature, wind and ground frost maps
- Apps linked from the footer
Where Wetter.de is a step down from AccuWeather
- Data may be shared within a media group
- German-only interface
- No price or app details appeared on the pages we read
Standout against AccuWeather. Wetter.de lists by name the RTL group companies that may receive visitor data in its privacy notice.
What actually breaks when you switch
Switching a weather app costs little in data, because there is nothing to export beyond your saved places. The real cost is the habit. Home screen widgets, lock-screen complications and watch faces are tied to the app, and each European app brings its own set. A saved list of five cities has to be typed in again, and alert thresholds for rain or wind have to be set once more.
Language is the second break. WetterOnline, wetter.com, Wetter.de, Buienradar and KNMI are mostly German or Dutch, and SMHI is mainly Swedish. Warnings are the third: each national service warns for its own country, so a trip across a border means a second source. Run both apps for a week and compare the readings for your own street before you delete the old one.
Which European weather app covers the whole world the way AccuWeather does?
Yr is the nearest match on reach: its home page describes forecasts for more than 10 million locations, backed by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Foreca offers 10-day and 15-day forecasts, and Windy shows a global wind map. Meteored carries many site languages and a free app. None of them is a one-for-one copy, and we could not read AccuWeather to compare feature lists.
The national services are the other route. They do not try to cover the world, but they publish the warnings that civil protection in their country relies on. Many users run one global app for travel and one national app for home, which keeps official alerts for the place where they live.
Is a European weather app automatically better for privacy?
No. A European seat means GDPR applies and an imprint exists, not that tracking is absent. Wetter.de says in its privacy notice that data may go to group companies such as RTL Deutschland GmbH, Ad Alliance GmbH and Bertelsmann Data Services GmbH. WetterOnline and wetter.com are financed by advertising and show consent settings.
The cleaner readings on our list are public bodies. KNMI states that it uses personal data only for the purpose you gave and does not share it with third parties unless needed. MeteoSwiss publishes a separate privacy statement for its app. Read the privacy page of whichever app you pick, because none of the pages we read stated a data location.
Which one to pick
Pick Yr if you want one free forecast for any place in the world from a public source. Pick Foreca for a 15-day range, or meteoblue if multi-model views matter. Pick Windy when wind is the question. For home-country warnings, take MeteoSwiss in Switzerland, KNMI in the Netherlands or SMHI in Sweden, each backed by a government body that publishes its legal basis.
For rain and storm radar in the German-speaking area, WetterOnline and wetter.com have the most views, and Buienradar does the same for the Netherlands. Meteored suits Spanish users who want a free app. Wetter.de is the readable but ad-heavy media option. We could not read AccuWeather, so test your own places on two apps before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the criterion. For worldwide places, Yr lists more than 10 million locations and Foreca offers forecasts up to 15 days. For official warnings, MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI run national services. For radar, Buienradar and WetterOnline focus on rain, lightning and wind. Windy suits anyone who wants a wind map first.
Yes. Yr, MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI showed no price on the pages we read, and Meteored offers a free app. Buienradar says its radar images are free for everyone and paid for by advertising. WetterOnline, Meteored and Buienradar also have paid options, and none of the three displayed its price on the pages we read.
For a single country, yes: MeteoSwiss for Switzerland, KNMI for the Netherlands, SMHI for Sweden. For several countries, Yr or Foreca come closest, and Meteored lists many site languages. Expect to give up something. Minute-level features and extras of AccuWeather could not be verified here, so test your own places before you switch.
WetterOnline Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH (Bonn), wetter.com Group GmbH (Berlin), RTL interactive GmbH (Cologne) and ALPRED S.L. (Almendricos, Murcia) give company, address and register data. MeteoSwiss, KNMI and SMHI are public bodies. For Yr and Buienradar the entity is thinner: Yr names NRK and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Buienradar names RTL Nederland.
Look at Windy, meteoblue and Foreca first. Windy sells point, map and webcam APIs, meteoblue offers a free API year on registration, and Foreca provides a developer trial. MeteoSwiss also points to open data (OGD). Check quotas and licences before you build, because ECMWF data is excluded from Windy point forecasts.
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