Best Weather Station Software for a Personal Website (2026)

If you own a personal weather station (a Davis Vantage Pro, a WeatherLink Live, or an AirLink air-quality sensor), you have probably wondered how to get its data onto a real website. Maybe you want to share local conditions with your town, embed a live widget on a club or school page, or simply keep your own historical records. The good news is there is no shortage of weather station software. The bad news is that most of it was built for hobbyists who enjoy tinkering, not for people who just want a clean website that stays online.

This guide compares the most popular weather station software in 2026 (CumulusMX, WeeWX, Weather Display, and the official Davis WeatherLink portal) and explains where each one shines and where it falls short. At the end, we look at a newer, fully hosted approach that removes the server and the maintenance entirely.

What makes good weather station website software?

Good weather station website software keeps your site online without babysitting. That means no always-on computer at home (or a trivially small role for one), long-term data retention, a design that works on phones, your own domain with SSL, and a predictable total cost in both money and maintenance time.

Breaking those down:

• No always-on computer. Many packages need a PC or Raspberry Pi running 24/7. If it reboots or fails, your site goes stale.
• Long-term data retention. Your charts and records are only as good as the history behind them.
• A design that looks good on phones. Most visitors will check the weather from a mobile device.
• Low maintenance. FTP uploads, cron jobs, and PHP scripts break in ways that are tedious to debug.
• Your own domain with SSL. A custom domain looks professional and builds trust.
• Reasonable cost and effort. The total cost is the software plus the hosting plus your time.

Is CumulusMX good for building a weather website?

CumulusMX is one of the best free weather station programs for building a personal website: it supports dozens of station brands, generates a complete website, and has an active, helpful community. The trade-off is that it must run 24/7 on a computer or Raspberry Pi, and you host the resulting pages yourself.

Best for: Windows or Raspberry Pi users who want full control and don't mind maintaining it.

CumulusMX is the cross-platform successor to the classic Cumulus software, and it is genuinely powerful. Because it runs on the .NET runtime, the same package works on Windows, Linux, and a Raspberry Pi, and you administer it through a browser dashboard rather than a desktop app. The catches are operational: if the machine reboots, loses power, or its SD card corrupts (a common Raspberry Pi failure), your site stops updating. You are also responsible for hosting the generated web files yourself, usually by uploading them over FTP to a separate web host.

Is WeeWX the most reliable free option?

WeeWX is free, open-source weather station software written in Python, and it is arguably the most reliable self-hosted engine once configured. WeeWX 5 modernized installation with pip and native OS packages, and its skin system controls the site's entire look. It still assumes command-line comfort, an always-on Linux machine, and web hosting you provide.

Best for: Linux enthusiasts who are comfortable on the command line.

WeeWX is a favorite among the technical crowd, endlessly extensible through plugins and skins. The default Seasons skin is serviceable, and third-party skins like Belchertown can look genuinely modern. But "once it is set up" is doing a lot of work in that first sentence: installation, configuration files, and skin editing all assume you are happy in a terminal. As with CumulusMX, you need an always-on machine and somewhere to host the website it produces.

Is Weather Display still worth using in 2026?

Weather Display is one of the oldest weather station programs still in active use, and it logs and displays almost everything a station can produce. Weather Display requires a paid license and an always-on Windows PC, and its interface shows its age, so most new setups in 2026 choose CumulusMX or WeeWX instead.

Best for: Long-time Windows users with an existing setup that already works.

If you have run Weather Display for years and your workflow is dialed in, there is little reason to migrate. For a brand-new site, the free, cross-platform alternatives cover the same ground with a more modern toolchain.

Is the free WeatherLink portal enough?

The free WeatherLink.com portal is the zero-effort option: every Davis owner already has an account, and it shows live conditions with no extra software at all. The limits are a fixed layout, no custom domain, and restricted history on the free plan, so it never quite feels like your own website.

Best for: People who want zero setup and don't care about design.

Historical data is the biggest constraint. On the free tier, older records roll off over time, and the API does not serve historic archives — we break down exactly what the free WeatherLink plan includes versus Pro in a separate guide. The portal is the simplest option, but also the least flexible.

What about PWS website templates (Saratoga, Leuven)?

PWS website templates are PHP packs (Saratoga, Leuven, and friends) that dress the output of CumulusMX or WeeWX in a polished, customizable design. Template packs do not replace the software — they sit on top of it, adding a second fragile layer of FTP uploads, PHP version dependencies, and aging code to maintain.

Best for: Tinkerers who want a custom look and enjoy maintaining it.

These templates can look great, but they depend on a steady stream of files arriving over FTP, and they break in frustrating ways: a PHP version bump on your host, a stalled upload, a missing file, or a template that has not been updated in years. They add a second moving part on top of the software already running at home.

What is Pro Weather and how is it different?

Pro Weather is a fully hosted weather website service for Davis WeatherLink stations. You connect a free WeatherLink v2 API key and it builds, hosts, and maintains the site — custom domain, automatic SSL, permanent history — with no server, FTP, or PHP on your side. Plans cost €5.99/month or €59/year after a 14-day free trial.

Pro Weather takes a different approach from everything above. Instead of software you install and a server you maintain, you give it your API key and it does the rest. There is nothing to install and no machine to keep running at home.

• Fully hosted: no Raspberry Pi, no FTP, no PHP to maintain.
• Updates automatically every 10 minutes.
• Your data is stored forever, so charts and records keep growing.
• Your own domain with automatic SSL is included.
• Designed for phones from the very first screen.
• Set up in minutes, not an afternoon.

It does one thing and does it well: turn a Davis WeatherLink station into a beautiful, maintenance-free website. If you want the backstory, read Why I Built Pro Weather.

How do the options compare?

Self-hosted packages (CumulusMX, WeeWX, Weather Display) are free or cheap in cash but require a 24/7 computer plus web hosting you arrange and maintain. WeatherLink.com is effortless but inflexible. Pro Weather is the only option here that includes hosting, a custom domain, and unlimited history with nothing to run at home.

Which weather station software should you choose?

Choose CumulusMX or WeeWX if you love tinkering and want total control — they are excellent and free, as long as you are ready to run and maintain a server. Choose the WeatherLink portal if you want the simplest free option and are not fussy about design. Choose Pro Weather if you want a professional site with none of the upkeep.

If you are leaning toward self-hosting, be honest about the total cost of ownership: hardware, electricity, a web host, and your evenings — we tallied the real running costs of a weather server if you want the numbers, and compared the two big engines head to head in CumulusMX vs WeeWX. If you have a Davis station and want a professional-looking website that stays online with none of the upkeep, Pro Weather is the fastest way to get there. You can have your site live in a few minutes; the setup guide walks you through it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Raspberry Pi or an always-on computer?

With CumulusMX, WeeWX, or Weather Display, yes — they run continuously on a machine you own. With a hosted service like Pro Weather, no: your Davis hardware (a WeatherLink Live, Console, or data logger) already uploads to WeatherLink, and the cloud collects and publishes your data from there.

Does this work with non-Davis weather stations?

CumulusMX and WeeWX support many station brands — Ecowitt, Fine Offset, Ambient Weather, and more — which is a real strength if you do not own a Davis. Pro Weather is focused specifically on Davis WeatherLink stations, so it is the best fit if that is the hardware you have.

How long is my weather history kept?

With self-hosted software it depends entirely on your own storage and backups; the data lives in files or a database on your machine. WeatherLink's free plan only keeps recent data. Pro Weather stores your full history indefinitely, so long-term charts, records, and the almanac keep building year after year.

Can I run CumulusMX or WeeWX alongside a hosted site?

Yes. Self-hosted software reads from your station or its local network device, while a hosted service like Pro Weather reads the same data through the WeatherLink API, so the two never conflict. Some owners keep WeeWX running locally for experiments while the hosted site serves as the public, always-online face of the station.

Can I use my own domain name?

Self-hosted setups can, with extra DNS and hosting configuration and a certificate to keep renewed. WeatherLink's free tier cannot. Pro Weather includes a custom domain with automatic SSL out of the box, or a free subdomain if you don't own a domain yet.

Ready to put your Davis station online the easy way? Start your Pro Weather site. It takes about five minutes.