MarineCards vs Master
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MarineCards
Learn navigation rules with interactive flashcards. Covers IRPCS, navigation marks, and lights. Additional card packs are available for purchase to expand your knowledge.
- IRPCS flashcards
- Navigation marks and lights
- IALA A buoyage
- Rules of the Road
- Vessel lights
- Real buoy and vessel images
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This app will help you in learning navigation rules. Flashcards are an easy way to learn or polish your knowledge of IRPCS, navigation marks and lights. Besides of demo cards with cardinal marks, three packs of cards available for in-app purchase: Pack of 48 cards with IALA A buoyage and lights. The interesting feature is that several cards present images of real buoys. Pack with Rules of Road cards. Some cards present images of real vessels. Pack with Vessels' lights cards.
Master
Learn maritime navigation rules with an interactive system designed for effective retention. This app breaks down complex regulations into manageable sections with visual aids and mnemonics. It revisits incorrect answers and provides instant graphical feedback, making the learning process intuitive and efficient.
- Interactive learning system
- Step-by-step rule guidance
- Mnemonics and memory aids
- Interactive visuals
- Graphical feedback on answers
- Practice section with progress tracking
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Master-Nav is a progressive COLREGS learning system developed by a Master Mariner. The COLREGS are notoriously difficult to learn and retain — Master-Nav makes it significantly easier through an interactive system built around how your brain actually works. Instead of guessing through random question banks, Master-Nav guides you step by step through every rule from start to finish. Wrong answers are revisited until the rules stick — properly. Complex regulations are broken down into learnable chunks — bite-sized sections supported by mnemonics, memory aids and interactive visuals designed around how the brain actually retains information. Every incorrect answer is shown graphically alongside the correct one — immediately clear, no confusion. And with a single tap, the relevant COLREGS rule is accessible from any question at any time. Master-Nav covers COLREGS Parts A to D — General, Steering & Sailing, Lights & Shapes and Sound & Light Signals — plus Annex IV Distress Signals. Over 1000 questions in multiple formats, with a dedicated Practice Section that tracks right, wrong and unanswered so you always know where to focus. COLREGS — the easy way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Master at 97% against MarineCards's 36%. Master also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). MarineCards's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 15.0). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
MarineCards is free to download; Master costs $1.99 up front. MarineCards sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Master asks for nothing beyond the download.
Master holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Master has 100 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of MarineCards's written reviews are positive against 97% of Master's.
MarineCards ships an update every 4 months, Master fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MarineCards | Master |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.0 (3 ratings) | 4.8 (100 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.4% of reviews | 96.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 100 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Evgeny Romanov | Peterjohn Chisholm |
Customer experience
MarineCards
Master
In-app purchases
MarineCards
- Buoyange IALA A$0.99
- IRPCS rules of road$0.99
- Vessels' lights$0.99
Master
No in-app purchases









