CBP ROAM vs Nautic Alert
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CBP ROAM
This app allows pleasure boaters and eligible travelers arriving at remote locations to report their arrival online. It facilitates trip creation and may offer video inspections with a CBP Officer for eligible users.
- Online arrival reporting
- Create trip details
- Add travelers
- Specify mode of travel
- Report location
- Video inspection eligibility
- Push notifications for video chat
Read full descriptionHide full description
The official CBP ROAM App (formerly OARS) from U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows pleasure boaters and other eligible travelers who arrive at remote locations to report their arrival online. In addition to submitting a report of arrival, pleasure boaters who are not currently enrolled in a Trusted Traveler Program, Local Boater Option, or I-68 program who are currently required to report in person may be eligible for a video inspection. Disclaimer: This is a pilot version only for use in limited areas. Contact your local Port of Entry for guidance. Create a trip by adding travelers, your mode of travel, your location, and contact information. After you submit a trip, you may receive a push notification on your device to start a video chat with a CBP Officer to finish reporting your entry into the United States.
Nautic Alert
Monitor and manage your boat or fleet with real-time tracking, security, and communication. Receive instant notifications for events via text, email, or voice calls. Integrates with standard security sensors and relays for comprehensive control.
- Real-time boat and fleet tracking
- 2-way communication (cellular/satellite)
- Security sensor integration
- Device control and management
- Push notifications for events
- Global reach
Read full descriptionHide full description
Boat and Fleet Tracking, Security, Monitoring and Communication on one Platform. Keep in touch with your boat or fleet with the Nautic Alert mobile app using 2-way real-time communication across cellular and satellite networks for a global reach. Built to operate with all Nautic Alert products and standard market security sensors and relays to control and manage devices. Provides on demand real-time information and enables push notifications from your boat or fleet to your mobile devices. Event notifications can be received via text, email, and voice calls.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Nautic Alert at 5.0 against CBP ROAM's 3.3. Nautic Alert also leads on iOS requirement (12.2 vs 15.2). CBP ROAM's advantage is ratings volume (125 vs 2). 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.
Nautic Alert holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CBP ROAM has 125 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
CBP ROAM ships an update every 3 weeks, Nautic Alert fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CBP ROAM | Nautic Alert |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (125 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 125 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 291 MB | 107 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | US Customs and Border Protection | Market Spectrum, Inc |
Customer experience
CBP ROAM
Nautic Alert
Bugs and requests
CBP ROAM
Reported bugs
34 issues- App crashes after update
- App will not open
- App crashes within one second of opening
- App closes immediately after opening
- App not letting user login
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- App crashes when trying to enter a change of port of call
- One-time verification codes never worked
- Latest update fails to submit arrivals
- Update forces user to update, causing crash after login
- App keeps sending user to the same place despite logging in
- Waiting for agent for over two days
- App says waiting, cannot cancel or navigate
- Unable to report 'port of call'
- Port of call button missing
- Latest update dumps previously configured travelers and vessels
- No account info comes over when adding app to new device
- Updated version on App Store downloads incomplete or old version
- No copy-and-paste for phone numbers or other info
- No ability to change traveler info after initial edit
- Cannot paste existing passport photo
- Tedious manual entry of numbers
- Authentication failed on own phone, but works on others'
- Facial recognition takes multiple tries
- Stuck on login screen, does not advance to verification code
- Switching apps for PIN code results in blank screen on return
- App quits when editing or manually entering a traveler
- Cannot find support for security key setup
- Stuck in a loop requiring backup authentication setup
- Won't go past the accept button
- New update no longer works, fails to open
- App won't load
- Gets frozen on a screen
- Misspelled 'Received' on Video Chat info page
- App crashes when trip page is displayed
Requested features
11 requests- Add port of call button
- Allow letters in flight number
- Allow copy-paste for numbers
- Allow sharing travelers between users
- Add more instructions for numbers needed
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Allow submission and approval prior to US waters entry
- Allow users to remain logged in
- Use fingerprint recognition for login
- Consider alternatives to Zoom for video calls
- Add Spanish language support (already present, but caused bugs)
- Invite users to TestFlight beta program
Nautic Alert
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
CBP ROAM
No in-app purchases
Nautic Alert
No in-app purchases
