Anchor Alarm / Watch vs Anchor Basic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Anchor Alarm / Watch
This app monitors your boat's position and alerts you if it drifts outside a set radius. It offers remote monitoring with two devices and a feature to find anchorages. You can also request yacht charters directly through the app.
- Set custom anchor radius
- Receive immediate alarm alerts
- Adjust monitored area precisely
- View boat location history
- Remote monitoring with two devices
- Search for nearby anchorages
- Request yacht charters
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Anchor Alarm - The anchor guard for your boat Get alerted as soon as your ship aborts. Set the radius and click on Start to start the anchor alarm. As soon as your ship leaves the radius, your device alerts you with an unmistakable alarm tone. In addition, you can move the monitored area and correct it to the nearest meter. The location history of the boat is recorded and can be seen from the small points. With our remote monitoring feature, you can connect two devices together. The sender remains on the boat while you are on land. As soon as the sender leaves the area you will be alerted on the way. (stable internet connection required) With our anchorage search, you can search for anchorages in your area where other crews have anchored before. Try this module for free for 3 days! You are already planning your next vacation? Then you can request your next yacht charter directly from the app. In 3 steps we will send your yacht charter request to selected agencies. Terms of Use: https://ankeralarm.app/en/conditions See our FAQ page at https://ankeralarm.app/en/faq for help.
Anchor Basic
This app provides a reliable anchor alarm for boats, offering drift warnings and low battery alerts. Users can pause the alarm and resume monitoring later, or set the anchor by current location, bearing, and distance. It also allows remote monitoring of other users' Anchor Plus alarms.
- Drift warning alerts
- Low battery alarms
- Pause and resume alarm function
- Set anchor by location, bearing, or distance
- Remote monitoring of Anchor Plus alarms
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A fully functional anchor alarm designed for iPhone & iPad. - Simple and reliable with user selectable units, drift warning and low battery alarms. - Pause the alarm and take your device with you; simply continue drift monitoring when you return. - Set the anchor at the current location or a bearing & distance to the anchor. - Use Anchor Basic to remotely monitor Anchor Plus. Go ashore for dinner and monitor your friends Anchor Plus alarm using Anchor Basic. - If you like this version, try Anchor Plus with a host of additional features
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Anchor Alarm / Watch at Free against Anchor Basic's $0.99. Anchor Alarm / Watch also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (805 vs 17). Anchor Basic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and review sentiment (67% vs 55%). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Anchor Alarm / Watch is free to download; Anchor Basic costs $0.99 up front. Anchor Alarm / Watch sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Anchor Basic asks for nothing beyond the download.
Anchor Alarm / Watch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anchor Alarm / Watch has 805 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Anchor Alarm / Watch's written reviews are positive against 67% of Anchor Basic's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Anchor Alarm / Watch ships an update every 3 weeks, Anchor Basic every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Anchor Alarm / Watch | Anchor Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (805 ratings) — better | 3.5 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 805 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | w+h GmbH | Roy Cadman |
Customer experience
Anchor Alarm / Watch
Anchor Basic
Bugs and requests
Anchor Alarm / Watch
Reported bugs
3 issues- Anchor position lost repeatedly
- Alarm not triggered or not working as expected
- Connectivity issues with remote devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to adjust anchor settings remotely
- Option to change units from meters to feet
- Louder alarm volume
- Improved reliability and consistency
Anchor Basic
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Anchor Alarm / Watch
- Unlock as a subscription$3.991 Year
- Anchorage search subscription$9.491 Year
- 8 days anchorage search$2.99
- 30 days anchorage search$3.99
- Unlock as a one-time purchase$22.99
Anchor Basic
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Anchor Alarm / Watch free?
Is Anchor Basic free?
Which has better reviews, Anchor Alarm / Watch or Anchor Basic?
Do Anchor Alarm / Watch or Anchor Basic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Anchor Alarm / Watch or Anchor Basic?
Other comparisons
