# Helmsman's Kit vs Sextant

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Helmsman's Kit at 100% against Sextant's 0%. Helmsman's Kit also leads on price ($1.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Sextant's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Helmsman's Kit costs $1.99 and Sextant $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Helmsman's Kit ships an update every 7 months, Sextant every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Helmsman's Kit | Sextant |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$1.99** | $9.99 |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Size | 5 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Dr. Harald Merkel](https://appshunter.io/developer/404381431) | [Stolk.cc](https://appshunter.io/developer/313529099) |

## What reviewers say

### Helmsman's Kit

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helmsmans-kit/id1220932986)

This navigation app provides essential yacht cockpit features, including a spherical compass, man-over-board alerts, and anchor watch. It offers offline charts, weather overlays, and marine instrument displays for a comprehensive sailing experience.

**Highlights:** Spherical compass display, Man-over-board button with direction/distance, Anchor watch with forwarding, Offline chart caching, Weather overlay (wind, waves, temp, pressure), Marine instruments display (position, heading, speed), Track export in GPX format

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Sextant

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sextant-celestial-nav/id6758679821)

This app provides a comprehensive celestial navigation toolkit for sailors and enthusiasts. It allows users to navigate using celestial bodies like the sun, moon, planets, and stars, even when GPS is unavailable. The app guides users through taking sextant readings, performing calculations, and plotting positions on a map.

**Highlights:** Celestial body identification using camera and ephemeris, Sextant sight reduction with manual correction checks, Offline celestial navigation, Noon sight for latitude calculation, Line of position plotting on a real map, Polaris one-shot latitude, Solar Compass for deviation checks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Helmsman's Kit free?

Helmsman's Kit costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Sextant free?

Sextant costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Helmsman's Kit or Sextant have ads?

Neither Helmsman's Kit nor Sextant shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Helmsman's Kit or Sextant?

Helmsman's Kit ships an update every 7 months, and Sextant every 3 weeks. Most recently, Helmsman's Kit was updated on September 20, 2026 and Sextant on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*