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Boat Beacon

Boat Beacon

AIS Marine Navigation

841 ratings
180 reviews
#50 in paid Navigation
⚽ Sports
🗺️ Navigation
$14.99
In-App Purchases

Details

  • Released
  • Updated

Features

Developer

Pocket Mariner Ltd.
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Boat Beacon screenshot #1 for iPhone
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Boat Beacon screenshot #7 for iPhone
Boat Beacon screenshot #8 for iPhone
Boat Beacon screenshot #9 for iPhone
iphone
ipad
🧾$4.99 - $16.49
In-App Purchase↘︎
📉no. 50
Charts↘︎
📌Ready
Reviews summary↘︎
⭐180
Reviews↘︎
📝8+ tags
Tags↘︎
🔄6+ apps
Alternatives↘︎
❓5 answered
FAQ↘︎
📦~ in 1 month
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About

This marine navigation app provides real-time AIS data for collision avoidance and position sharing. It offers over-the-horizon warnings, background operation, and a user-friendly interface for boaters.

✓Collision warnings with CPA calculations
✓Real-time AIS ship tracking
✓Background operation for continuous alerts
✓Position sharing with other users
✓Augmented Reality view (IAP)
✓Man Overboard and Anchor Watch alarms (IAP)
Show original description

What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of Boat Beacon. Based on 841 reviews and a 4.6/5 average, it highlights the 10 positives and 9 negatives reviewers mention most about this Navigation app.

Positive things

  • 👍Works great
  • 🚀Excellent app
  • 🔒Fantastic app
  • 💡Useful navigation aid
  • 👍Handy app
  • 👍Superb app
  • 👍Great app
  • 👍Awesome app
  • 👍Excellent AIS tool
  • 👍Best alternative to AIS

Negative things

  • 🐛Crashes constantly
  • 🐛Unreliable
  • 🐛Doesn't work
  • 🐛Useless
  • 🐛Clunky UI
  • 🐛Inaccurate data
  • 🐛Limited coverage
  • 💰Expensive for features
  • 🔋High battery consumption
See all reviews
+1

What's New in Boat Beacon

5.1.5

July 16, 2026

Stability improvements

Subscription plans

AIS Share

Share AIS with other Apps

$16.491 Year
How to cancel Boat Beacon subscription ⁉️
1

In-App Purchases

$7.99

Live View Upgrade

Adds a unique "Live View" to Boat Beacon... Spot a ship in the camera view and see its name, range and bearing instantly overlaid. When zoomed in on the Map view, other boats are drawn to scale and positions update in real-time.

More

Charts

Top Paid

📉 50-12

Navigation

This app dropped -12 positions in Navigation chart.

Last updated on July 20, 2026.

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Confusing

Not recommended
101 Tanya101 Tanya

Response from developer

Hi Tanya We are very sorry to hear you are confused by our app. Could you please email us at help@pocketmariner.com and let us know what you find confusing so we can try and help explain? There is a user guide in the app and also online here https://boatbeaconapp.com/ais/bb_userguide.php Best regards The PocketMariner crew

Great app

Works really well, means our friends and family can track us using and AIS app/website provided we have mobile signal.
S/V BreezyS/V Breezy

Response from developer

Dear S/V Breezy, Thank you very much for your kind review. We are really glad to hear you are enjoying using Boat Beacon, Fair winds The PocketMariner crew

Amazing app

Such a brilliant app for staying safe in a kayak around shipping. Using this down the Danube next week. Great helpful developers, too.
MarkJo1967MarkJo1967

Response from developer

Thank you very much for your kind review. We wish you luck with your trip down the Danube. Fair winds and tides The PocketMariner crew

To Support

Steve is really responding very swift! Thank you
DEXPHDEXPH

Response from developer

Thank you. Glad to help track your trans-Atlantic crossing. Fair winds and tides. Steve

Difficult to share on Navionics

Spending hours trying to share/display info navionics.
Pompy65Pompy65

Response from developer

Hi, sorry you are struggling to set up sharing. . It will work. There is a useful 3 step guide to setting it up on our PocketMariner.com website ( or search for Navionics Boat Beacon) and if you email us at help@pocketmariner.com we can talk you through it Best regards The PocketMariner crew

See 175 more reviews

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User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

4 issues

Crashes when panning or changing settings

Bug

Phantom ships not disappearing

Bug

Inaccurate position data

Bug

Compatibility issues with older devices

Bug
✨

Requested Features

4 requests

Add marine charts

Feature

Improve search functionality

Feature

Offline mode

Feature

Integrate with other navigation apps

Feature

FAQ

What does Boat Beacon do?

Boat Beacon is an internet-based AIS receiver and transmitter for iPhones and iPads. It provides real-time ship tracking, collision warnings, and allows you to share your boat's position with others. It connects to a global network of AIS shore receivers to provide comprehensive coverage.

What are the key features of Boat Beacon?

Key features include over-the-horizon collision avoidance with continuous CPA calculations and alarms, real-time ship map view, navigation display, SART alarms, and Man Overboard/Anchor Watch alarms (available via in-app purchase). It also includes an Apple Watch app and Siri voice commands.

How much does Boat Beacon cost?

The base app is free, but it offers various in-app purchases (IAP) for additional features like LiveView augmented reality, AIS Sharing subscriptions, and marine raster charts. The AIS Sharing subscription has monthly and yearly options.

What are the compatibility requirements for Boat Beacon?

Boat Beacon is available for iPhone and iPad. It requires internet access to function, as it relies on cellular data access for most coastal areas. It also offers an Apple Watch app for extended functionality.

Who would benefit from using Boat Beacon?

Boat Beacon is ideal for any boater who wants to enhance their safety and situational awareness on the water. This includes recreational boaters, small boat users, participants in boat races, and those sailing in groups or flotillas who need to track other vessels and receive collision alerts.