Comparison

The Nautical School ExamTutor+ vs CBDR

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

Head to head
About

The Nautical School ExamTutor+

Prepare for your USCG OUPV examination with this comprehensive learning program. It offers over 1,300 practice questions, instant feedback, and detailed explanations to help you master the Nautical Inland and International Rules of the Road.

Highlights
  • 1300+ practice questions
  • Instant feedback and explanations
  • Progress tracking and scoring
  • Learning and Flashcard modes
  • Bonus questions for endorsements
  • Simulates exam environment
Features
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The number one learning program that has helped thousands pass their USCG OUPV examination, it is an absolute necessity for learning the Nautical Inland and International Rules of the Road - while testing yourself at the same time! With over 1,300 questions, that track your progress and keeps score, you get instant - and in many instances FUN and EASY TO UNDERSTAND - explanations written by Capt. Bill, when you answer a question incorrectly. You’ll have fun and learn while preparing for the examination. This program is for anyone wishing to learn the Rules of the Road quickly in preparation for their United States Coast Guard captains license examination. Don’t take the real exam until you have passed the Nautical School’s ExamTutor+ a few times and you’ll KNOW, you’re ready to take and pass the real test! Created by Capt. Bill Rivera, Director of the Nautical School of Maritime Licensing, this program is a must for any student about to take the nautical rules of the road examination for their Coast Guard license. This app contains over 1300 rules of the road questions that's simulate the exam. A 90% passing grade is required and the program tracks your progress, provides instant feedback when a question is answered incorrectly and displays an explanation to help the student understand why the question is incorrect. Do not attempt to take the rules of the road examination from the Coast Guard or anywhere without first working with this program. Once you are consistently passing the sample examinations that you select, then you will be ready to take the real examination and pass it. You can test yourself in learning mode or Flash card mode. This is the Best program and stress free way to help you learn the Rules of the Road while and test yourself while you're learning. In addition to the rules of the road examination which you must attain the 90% passing score, there are also bonus questions on Deck General, Navigation General, Sailing Endorsement and Marine Radio Operator Permit examination questions. Keywords: Learn Rules of the Road, Captain's License Exam, Rules of the Road, Nautical School, Coast guard test, Coast guard examination, USCG Rules of the Road, Captain's License, Coast Guard License, Boat Captain

About

CBDR

This app trains junior deck officers and watchstanders in essential radar watch skills, including contact evaluation, COLREGS classification, and generating contact reports. It features a live radar scope, generated scenarios for various navigation situations, and drills for recognition and maneuvering.

Highlights
  • Live radar scope with vectors and trails
  • Generated navigation scenarios
  • COLREGS classification
  • Contact report scoring
  • Maneuvering board drills
  • Recognition drills
  • USCG Rules of the Road test bank
  • Offline group testing
Features
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CBDR is a training app for junior deck officers. Twelve subjects cover radar, Rules of the Road, maneuvering boards, navigation calculations, positioning, tides and currents, shiphandling, vessel identification, weather and waves, maritime law, visual signals and testing. RADAR. Practice contact assessment, CPA, relative motion and contact reports. Use the scenario library or build a picture of up to six contacts to share by code or QR. Give a report by voice with on-device recognition, or type it. A Rule 17 drill stops the scope where the stand-on vessel must keep her course and speed, where she may act, and where she must. Eleven explainers and a tuning simulator cover the signal, receiver controls and propagation. RULES. Practice with the 954-question Rules of the Road bank and read the governing Navigation Rules passages in the app. Optional Guided Practice directs questions toward material that needs more work. Lights, shapes and sound-signal drills include their rules and explanations. MANEUVERING BOARD. Work nine Pub 1310 problem types with step-by-step constructions, including CPA avoidance, stationing, limiting range, bearings-only TMA, advance and transfer, and wind. Practice a generated problem, enter your own values, or print a problem set with blank boards and an answer key. CALCULATIONS. Work time, speed and distance, compass conversion, mental minute rules, visibility, anchoring, time zones, ETA and speed of advance. POSITIONING. Step through visual and radar fixes, soundings, celestial navigation, inertial navigation, GPS, AIS, the fathometer, running fixes, dead reckoning, and set and drift, with illustrated plots built step by step. Study aids to navigation with an animated range and recognition practice. Search the bundled Chart No. 1 plates. Star Finder identifies navigational stars from the camera's star pattern without asking for, computing or storing your position. TIDES AND CURRENTS. Animated lessons on tides, reversing flow in San Diego Bay, rotary currents, and hydraulic flow in the Cape Cod Canal. A separate lookup retrieves NOAA and Canadian Hydrographic Service station predictions, saved for offline use and export. SHIPHANDLING. Animated lessons show how a propeller and a rudder work, the pivot point, tugs, and twisting off a pier. Man-overboard recoveries step through the Anderson, Williamson and racetrack turns. Hydrodynamic lessons cover bank cushion and suction, interaction alongside an oiler, and squat, drawn with their pressure fields. VESSEL IDENTIFICATION. Recognize ship classes and vessel types from silhouettes, photographs, or both. This feature is marked Beta. Source and license credits accompany the images. WEATHER AND WAVES. Bowditch's weather on a rotating globe, from the wind belts and fronts to fog, tropical cyclones and Buys Ballot's law. Waves on a three-dimensional sea: how they form, travel, shoal and break. MARITIME LAW. Six pages from UNCLOS, SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW: where the rules come from, the maritime zones, passage rights, flag and port state, and warships and assistance at sea. Each step names the article it follows. VISUAL SIGNALS. Signal flags and pennants, hoists decoded from Pub. 102's examples, and Morse by light from a signal lamp or a ship at night. TESTING. Build a test from any topic in the app, with calculations as multiple choice or typed answers, questions from every explainer page, and questions of your own. Host and join group tests by QR or text code, entirely offline, and export the instructor's record as PDF or CSV. Print a test with its answer key. Hosted exams reveal answers after the test is finished. Training works offline. The station-prediction lookup uses the internet when requested, including Apple's map service. No account, advertising, analytics or tracking. Training settings, optional question-level practice progress, custom scenarios, saved tests and saved predictions stay on the device. There is no history of session scores.

Screenshots

The Nautical School ExamTutor+3 screens
CBDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CBDR at 5.0 against The Nautical School ExamTutor+'s 4.1. CBDR also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). The Nautical School ExamTutor+'s advantage is ratings volume (25 vs 5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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. The Nautical School ExamTutor+ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CBDR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CBDR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Nautical School ExamTutor+ has 25 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Nautical School ExamTutor+ ships an update every 5 weeks, CBDR weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
The Nautical School ExamTutor+ versus CBDR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Nautical School ExamTutor+CBDR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (25 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings25 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNautical SchoolSean Bowman

Customer experience

The Nautical School ExamTutor+

All ratings24 ratings
Positive70.8%
Neutral20.8%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral22.2%
Negative11.1%

CBDR

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

The Nautical School ExamTutor+

One-time1
  • Purchase Full App$24.99
None

CBDR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Nautical School ExamTutor+ free?
The Nautical School ExamTutor+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CBDR free?
CBDR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Nautical School ExamTutor+ or CBDR?
CBDR is rated higher. The Nautical School ExamTutor+ averages 4.1 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while CBDR averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do The Nautical School ExamTutor+ or CBDR have ads?
Neither The Nautical School ExamTutor+ nor CBDR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Nautical School ExamTutor+ or CBDR?
The Nautical School ExamTutor+ ships an update every 5 weeks, and CBDR weekly. Most recently, The Nautical School ExamTutor+ was updated on November 2, 2026 and CBDR on October 31, 2026.

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