Lightbug vs VMH Flex J1939
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lightbug
This app allows you to connect with your Lightbug devices via Bluetooth. View real-time location and status updates, review past movements with playback, and easily manage device settings and all your connected devices from a single interface.
- Live position and status updates
- Bluetooth device interaction
- Location history playback
- Device settings management
- Multi-device management
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Lightbug companion app With the Lightbug App, you can: - View Live updates of current position and status - Interact with your Lightbug devices using Bluetooth - Browse through location history with convenient and easy to use playback - Easily change your Lightbug Device settings - Manage all of your devices from one place
VMH Flex J1939
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THE VMH FLEX Tiny device / endless possibilities Small but powerful, the VMH Flex is the perfect compromise to display a large amount of boat data in a compact device. No matter if you are wearing gloves or if it is raining on your deck, the innovative laser touch button allows you to scroll up to 5 different screens. Every screen can be freely customized with your most important information, and the setup – including alarms – is easily done with your smartphone just with a »tap«. Capable of reading from both sensors and CAN the VMH Flex is further empowered by the LIN connectivity to get all the information from your battery thanks to the Intelligent Battery Sensor.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Lightbug at 13.0 against VMH Flex J1939's 15.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lightbug | VMH Flex J1939 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LightBug Ltd | Veratron AG |
In-app purchases
Lightbug
No in-app purchases
VMH Flex J1939
No in-app purchases
