AV Assistant vs Waterway Guide
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AV Assistant
This app provides U.S. waters navigation information, displaying your location and details of surrounding aids like buoys and lights. It downloads weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List data and includes relevant Local Notice for Mariners information. It also allows users to report discrepancies in navigation aids to the U.S. Coast Guard.
- Location-based aid display
- U.S. Coast Guard Light List data
- Local Notice for Mariners integration
- Discrepancy reporting to USCG
- Informational aid for U.S. waters
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AV Assistant is an informational aid for U.S. waters that shows your location and details on all surrounding aids to navigation (buoys, lights, etc) within your Area of Interest. The app downloads the weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List for your district, and then shows the aids within your Area of Interest and their details. Any applicable Local Notice for Mariners information is also shown with the light data. For reference use, Nearest Light, also in the App Store, is the better choice. AV Assistant is capable of making reports to the U.S. Coast Guard regarding discrepancies in aids to navigation and is primarily intended for USCG and USCG Auxiliary use. Refer to the website (url in Settings|Reference) for additional information. Warning: AV Assistant, which provides Light List data, is not intended to be used in place of charts or Coast Pilots. Charts should be consulted for the location of all aids to navigation. It may be dangerous to use aids to navigation without reference to charts.
Waterway Guide
This app provides a comprehensive boating resource with a verified database of marinas, anchorages, and navigation alerts. Users can access real-time hazard information, plan trips with a digital handbook, and utilize detailed content optimized for mobile devices. Engage with a community of boaters through comments and reviews.
- Verified points of interest database
- Real-time navigation alerts
- Community comments and reviews
- Skipper's Handbook for trip planning
- Offline content access
- Marina filtering by amenities
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Optimized for your mobile devices with Waterway Guide's detailed and verified points of interest database. Includes over 1.3 million data points on marinas, anchorages, navigation alerts, free docks, bridges and locks displayed on the embedded map or satellite view. Benefit from the experience of 75 years of publishing and hundreds of thousands of active boaters through verified comments and reviews. Share your comments, add points of interest, earn rewards and engage with others from within the app. Stay informed with the latest hazards to navigation reported real time from USCG, government agencies, local experts and boaters everywhere. Plan your time on the water with Waterway Guide's Skipper's Handbook, which is included with the free app download. Access Waterway Guide's library of books as individual chapters or entire guides for the information and details you need for navigation. Content is optimized for mobile devices and can be bookmarked for availability offline. Easily find marinas that fit your needs. Filter our entire database of marinas based on amenities and your preferences. Same functionality as Waterway Guide’s Marinas App. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AV Assistant at none against Waterway Guide's 43. AV Assistant also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 16.6). Waterway Guide's advantage is ratings volume (2.9K vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). 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
Both are free to download. Waterway Guide sells 43 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. AV Assistant asks for nothing beyond the download.
AV Assistant holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
AV Assistant ships an update every 2 months, Waterway Guide every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AV Assistant | Waterway Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.7 (2.9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 51.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 2.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #187 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clint O'Connor | Waterway Guide |
Customer experience
AV Assistant
Waterway Guide
Bugs and requests
AV Assistant
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Waterway Guide
Reported bugs
4 issues- App not working with latest iOS version
- Subscription purchases not working properly
- Unable to access purchased content
- Frequent crashes and errors
Requested features
4 requests- Provide vertical bridge clearances
- Improve offline functionality
- Enhance search and filtering options
- Implement dark mode
In-app purchases
AV Assistant
No in-app purchases
Waterway Guide
- Chesapeake Bay Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.6$4.991 Year
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- Southern Ch.6$4.991 Year
- Southern Bridges & Locks$4.991 Year
- Bahamas Cruising Guide$4.991 Year
- Florida Keys Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.10$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.1$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Southern Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW East Coast Inlets$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.12$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.11$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.9$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.1$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.8$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.6$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.13$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.10$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.12$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.3$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.11$14.991 Year
- Anchorages Along the ICW$20.991 Year
- Bahamas Bound$20.991 Year
- ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423$29.991 Year
- Northern Edition$49.991 Year
- 1st Ed. Bahamas Land and Sea$49.991 Year
- Chesapeake Bay Edition$54.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Edition$54.991 Year
- Southern Edition$54.991 Year
- Bahamas Edition$54.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Edition$54.991 Year
- Florida Keys Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 1 Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 2 Edition$54.991 Year
- Cuba Edition$59.991 Year
Questions
Is AV Assistant free?
Is Waterway Guide free?
Which has better reviews, AV Assistant or Waterway Guide?
Do AV Assistant or Waterway Guide have ads?
Which is updated more often, AV Assistant or Waterway Guide?
Other comparisons
