Comparison

CheckGPS vs Binnacle

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CheckGPS

Features
Read full description

For owners of CheckGPS devices (http://checkgps.com/eng/). Using this app you can overview the locations and additional sensor data of all your CheckGPS devices as well as their location history.

About

Binnacle

This navigation app provides tools for maritime professionals and sailing enthusiasts. It offers features like true wind calculation, celestial navigation, ETA estimation, logbook management, and port search. Stay informed with real-time NavArea warnings for safer voyages.

Highlights
  • True Wind Calculation
  • Celestial Navigation Tools
  • ETA Estimation
  • LogBook Management
  • UNLOCODE Search
  • NavArea Warnings
Features
Read full description

Binnacle is a set of bridge instruments for merchant marine deck officers. Thirteen tools, most of them working with no signal, and none of them pretending to be more certain than it is. ON WATCH • Navigational warnings, plotted. NAVAREA and the coastal services drawn on a chart where they actually are, instead of read as a wall of text at three in the morning. Set a radius from your position and follow only the services that concern the passage. • Weather for a position and a time you choose — wind in forces, the barometric tendency, fog risk. Forecast data from MET Norway. • True wind from course, speed and apparent wind. • Manoeuvring board — CPA and TCPA for two to five contacts at once, and one alteration that clears all of them. POSITION AND CHECKS • Compass error by amplitude or azimuth, worked against celestial data for the moment you observed. • Celestial fix — reduce two or three sights and see the cocked hat plotted, with its residuals, not just a number. • ETA and passage timing in UTC, with the arithmetic shown. • Heel, trim and roll period from the phone's own sensors, with GM estimated from the roll period. RECORDS AND REFERENCE • Log book for bridge events, kept for the whole contract and handed over as a PDF. • 17,998 ports by UN/LOCODE, and 11,728 port facilities with their GISIS codes, searchable by name or code — the reference is bundled, so it works alongside. • Manoeuvring miles — passage legs with sea and manoeuvring totals kept apart. • Unit converter for the units a bridge actually uses: knots, cables, fathoms, hectopascals, tonnes and the rest. WHAT IT WILL NOT DO It is an aid, not an authority. It does not replace corrected charts, official publications, the ship's procedures or the officer's judgement. Every screen states its own limits rather than hiding them, and every export says on its face what it is. WHAT STAYS FREE True wind, ETA, compass error, the manoeuvring board, heel and trim, weather and the unit converter are free, with no limit and no trial. The log book keeps ten entries free. Celestial reduces one sight free. Port search and the match count are free. ONE PURCHASE, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION • Navigational warnings — NAVAREA and the coastal services, with the chart and the radius • The facility's own record in Port Facilities • Fixes from two or three lines of position, and the plot • PDF export, on every screen including the free ones One payment of $5.99 unlocks all of it, on every device signed in to your Apple Account. There is no subscription, nothing renews, and there is nothing to cancel. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy and Terms are also in the app, under More.

Screenshots

CheckGPS3 screens
Binnacle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Binnacle at every 2 weeks against CheckGPS's every 3 months. CheckGPS's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 16.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CheckGPS ships an update every 3 months, Binnacle every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
CheckGPS versus Binnacle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCheckGPSBinnacle
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIntelligent Systems SIADanylo Budylkin

In-app purchases

None

CheckGPS

No in-app purchases

None

Binnacle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CheckGPS free?
CheckGPS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Binnacle free?
Binnacle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CheckGPS or Binnacle have ads?
Neither CheckGPS nor Binnacle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CheckGPS or Binnacle?
CheckGPS ships an update every 3 months, and Binnacle every 2 weeks. Most recently, CheckGPS was updated on November 2, 2026 and Binnacle on October 30, 2026.

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