IALA Navigation Marks vs Ship Shapes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
IALA Navigation Marks
A quick reference guide for sailors and students to identify maritime navigation marks according to the IALA system. It covers buoy shapes, colors, topmarks, and light rhythms for various mark types, aiding in exam preparation and on-water identification.
- Identify lateral, cardinal, and special marks
- Covers buoy shape, color, topmark, and light rhythm
- Includes day and night views
- Practical study aid for seamanship training
- Quick lookup on iPhone and iPad
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Navigation Marks is a compact reference for skippers, sailors and students learning the IALA Maritime Buoyage System. Quickly identify lateral marks for Regions A and B, cardinal marks, isolated danger marks, safe water marks, special marks and new danger marks. Each entry shows the buoy shape, colour scheme, topmark and light rhythm so you can revise recognition rules before a course, exam or time on the water. Why it helps: - Covers the main IALA buoyage marks in one place - Includes day and night views where available - Explains colours, shapes, topmarks and light characteristics - Works as a practical study aid for RYA, IYT and general seamanship training - Built for quick lookup on iPhone and iPad Use Navigation Marks as a pocket study guide when preparing for boating exams, refreshing buoyage rules or checking how a mark should be identified. Questions or suggestions: support@appsforeach.com
Ship Shapes
Learn to recognize and memorize the main day shapes used by boats and ships through an interactive matching game. Score points by correctly matching images to their descriptions. Achieve a score of 50 or more to demonstrate mastery.
- Match images to descriptions
- Learn ship day shape signals
- Score points for correct answers
- Master recognition and memorization
- Interactive learning experience
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Learn Ships Day Shapes by matching Images to Descriptions. An easy and fun way to score points as you learn. Anyone who can score 50 points or more will have mastered recognising and memorising the main day shapes used by boats and ships.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: IALA Navigation Marks at 50% against Ship Shapes's 0%. Ship Shapes's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 23 months) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
IALA Navigation Marks costs $1.99 and Ship Shapes $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
IALA Navigation Marks ships an update every 23 months, Ship Shapes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IALA Navigation Marks | Ship Shapes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $1.99 |
| Rating | — | 2.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Smirnov Yury | Edmund Broadbent |
Customer experience
IALA Navigation Marks
Ship Shapes
In-app purchases
IALA Navigation Marks
No in-app purchases
Ship Shapes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is IALA Navigation Marks free?
Is Ship Shapes free?
Do IALA Navigation Marks or Ship Shapes have ads?
Which is updated more often, IALA Navigation Marks or Ship Shapes?
Other comparisons
