LuckGrib vs Marine Instruments
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LuckGrib
This app provides advanced weather data visualization, downloading, and routing for sailors and weather enthusiasts. It offers access to a wide range of global and high-resolution weather and ocean models, with features for optimizing routes and analyzing complex weather parameters. Remote access via satellite is also supported.
- GRIB file reader, viewer, and downloader
- Advanced weather routing and route analysis
- Satellite data access
- High-resolution global and regional weather models
- Ocean current models
- Detailed weather parameter analysis
Read full descriptionHide full description
LuckGrib is a fully featured, easy to use, fast GRIB reader, viewer, downloader and weather router. Remote access to weather data via satellite. Advanced weather routing capabilities, for sailors, is available. Weather forecast data, packaged as GRIB files, can be downloaded directly from the LuckGrib server cluster. Downloads are available via: a direct high speed internet connection, or through the Iridium GO! as well as through the RedPort Optimizer. For sailors, LuckGrib offers a best-in-class, complete solution: industry leading visualization and ease of use, highly optimized weather data downloads via satellite, along with industry leading optimized weather routing and route analysis. Inshore sailors may not require satellite downloads, but will benefit from the rest of the system. LuckGrib is unique among apps that were originally designed for sailors, in that the weather analysis tools are powerful enough to attract attention from meteorologitsts. For sailors, meteorologists, and all weather enthusiasts, LuckGrib offers access to a wide range of high resolutions models, a number of global models, weather data at the surface, 850mb, 500mb and 250mb levels, parameters ranging from simple things such as wind, pressure and temperature, to more advanced quantities such as simulated radar, standard deviations, precipitable water, lightning, vertical vorticity, helicity and more. LuckGrib is a thoroughly modern and advanced GRIB viewer. LuckGrib provides access to many weather and ocean models, including global models such as GFS and ECMWF along with many high resolution models, which vary according to the region you are interested in. In the USA, there is the HRRR, NAM, NBM and many others. In Europe there is Icon-EU, Arpège, Arome, the Danish DINI and others. There are several ocean current models, such as the global RTOFS and Mercator Ocean, along with regional higher resolution models such as OFS, NCOM, CMEMS and others. The LuckGrib weather routing system is an industry leading, high quality, robust, high performance and comprehensive system. The LuckGrib isochronal Weather Routing solver has many unique features, such as being able to respect constraints (points that must be left to port or starboard,) deal with routes which require you to heave-to, outstanding visualization and interactivity features, and much more. LuckGrib comes with a 14 day free trial, or free access to reduced resolution downloads (LuckGrib Lite) for users who do not require access to the most accurate data. If you are interested in studying weather and gaining access to detailed weather forecasts, download the app and give it a try. Downloading data via satellite requires the Offshore Data in-app purchase. Access to the isochronal weather routing system requires an in-app purchase. Note that LuckGrib does not use a subscription pricing model - after the free trial, when you decide to purchase the app, there will be a one time charge, not an ongoing subscription. For more details, please visit the support website. * for details on the offshore data system: https://offshore.luckgrib.com * for details on weather routing: https://routing.luckgrib.com * for details on weather models: https://luckgrib.com/models * the privacy policy: https://luckgrib.com/privacy * terms of use: https://luckgrib.com/terms-of-use * end user license agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Marine Instruments
Read full descriptionHide full description
Marine Instruments turns your iPhone into a boat instrument display. Connect it to your boat's NMEA 0183 WiFi gateway and see your real instruments — wind, depth, speed and heading — on a big, glare-friendly screen. No gateway? The built-in sensors still give you heel angle, a barometer with storm alarm and a GPS trip log. BOAT INSTRUMENTS OVER WIFI (NEW) • Connects to any NMEA 0183 WiFi gateway: Orca Core, Yacht Devices, Digital Yacht, Vesper and many more • Speed over ground (SOG), depth, apparent wind angle & speed, heading • TCP or UDP, configurable host and port (standard 10110) • Automatic reconnection when the connection drops • Values mark themselves stale ("--") within seconds if data stops — no misleading frozen numbers HEEL & ATTITUDE INDICATOR • Real-time pitch, roll and yaw with an aircraft-style horizon • Maximum heel angle tracking for port and starboard • One-tap recalibration to your mounting position • Motion history graph BAROMETER • Live atmospheric pressure from the iPhone's own barometer sensor • 4-hour pressure graph with trend arrow • Automatic alarm with vibration when pressure changes faster than 1.5 hPa/hour — a classic early storm warning • If your phone has no barometer, pressure from the gateway (MDA) is used instead TRIP LOG • Distance in nautical miles, current/average/max speed in knots • Trip duration, reset whenever you like • Recording happens while the app is open — the screen stays on automatically, so mount the phone and sail SEA STATE • Beaufort scale estimate (0-12) from vessel motion • Wave height estimation REAL NIGHT MODE • Every instrument — attitude, barometer, graphs, trip log and NMEA tiles — switches to a red-on-black palette that preserves your night vision • Remembered across launches PRIVACY All data stays on your device. No accounts, no analytics, no tracking. The only network connection the app ever makes is to the gateway IP you enter yourself. Note: for accurate heel and wave readings, mount the device in a fixed position on your vessel.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: LuckGrib at Free against Marine Instruments's $7.99. LuckGrib also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (18.4 vs 26.0). Marine Instruments's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6). On 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
LuckGrib is free to download; Marine Instruments costs $7.99 up front. LuckGrib sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Marine Instruments asks for nothing beyond the download.
LuckGrib ships an update every 2 months, Marine Instruments every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LuckGrib | Marine Instruments |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (343 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 92.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 343 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 173 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Craig McPheeters | Stolk.cc |
Bugs and requests
LuckGrib
Reported bugs
2 issues- Reported issues with 'no wind data for start time'
- Occasional app crashes or freezes
Requested features
3 requests- Integration with boat instruments and data logging
- More advanced routing options and customization
- Improved support for regional weather models
Marine Instruments
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LuckGrib
- 14-day TrialFree
- 14 day trial of Offshore DataFree
- 14 day Weather Routing trialFree
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- LuckGrib weather data access$29.99
- Premium Offshore Data access$59.99
- Weather Routing access$59.99
Marine Instruments
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LuckGrib free?
Is Marine Instruments free?
Do LuckGrib or Marine Instruments have ads?
Which is updated more often, LuckGrib or Marine Instruments?
Other comparisons















