Comparison

CBP ROAM vs ivessel

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Online arrival reporting
  • Create trip details
  • Add travelers
  • Specify mode of travel
  • Report location
  • Video inspection eligibility
  • Push notifications for video chat
Features
Read 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.

About

ivessel

Features
Read full description

iVessel keeps every boat you run maintained, documented and ready to go — whether you look after one outboard or manage a whole fleet. LOG IT IN SECONDS - Engine hours in two taps with iVessel Lite — a simplified phone mode built for the dock, not the desk - Service and maintenance records for inboards, outboards, generators and every other machinery item on board - Pre-sail checklists so nothing gets skipped before you leave the berth STAY AHEAD OF MAINTENANCE - Service schedules tracked per machinery item, driven by real engine hours - Overdue and upcoming work surfaced automatically on your dashboard - Issues with photos — snap a problem, assign it, close it out RUN THE WHOLE FLEET - Fleet dashboard with exception views: see only the boats that need attention - Per-boat dashboards for owners and crew - My Work view for technicians: everything assigned to you, in one list - Invite crew, owners and technicians with role-based access EVERYTHING ELSE ON BOARD - Inventory with barcode scanning — scan a part, find it, restock it - Shore-side land store, with transfers on and off each boat - Manuals library shared across your boats - Trip logging with GPS position capture - Works on your phone, tablet and desktop — same account, same data, everywhere BUILT FOR REAL CREWS iVessel was built by people who run boats, replacing spreadsheets and paper logs with something the whole crew will actually use. Two-factor authentication and role-based permissions keep your fleet's data locked down. Add your boat, add its machinery, and start logging.

Screenshots

CBP ROAM4 screens
ivessel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: CBP ROAM at every 3 weeks against ivessel's every 11 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CBP ROAM ships an update every 3 weeks, ivessel every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
CBP ROAM versus ivessel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCBP ROAMivessel
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (126 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews26.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings126 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size291 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUS Customs and Border Protectionivessel

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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

ivessel

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

CBP ROAM

No in-app purchases

None

ivessel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CBP ROAM free?
CBP ROAM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ivessel free?
ivessel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CBP ROAM or ivessel have ads?
Neither CBP ROAM nor ivessel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CBP ROAM or ivessel?
CBP ROAM ships an update every 3 weeks, and ivessel every 11 months. Most recently, CBP ROAM was updated on November 6, 2026 and ivessel on November 8, 2026.

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