Anchor Alarm / Watch vs navCenter
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.
navCenter
This app transforms your Apple devices into a multifunctional display for marine navigation data, including NMEA and AIS. It also provides autopilot remote control capabilities for compatible systems, connecting via a WiFi gateway.
- NMEA and AIS data display
- Autopilot remote control
- SeaTalk1™ and SeaTalkNG™ compatibility
- WiFi gateway connection
- NMEA2000 and NMEA0183 format support
- Multifunctional display for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch
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navCenter (nC) enables your iPhone/iPad/Mac/Watch to operate as a multifunctional display (MFD) for NMEA data (including AIS) and as an autopilot remote control for SeaTalk1™ and SeaTalkNG™ autopilots. navCenter connects to your boats instruments via a WiFi gateway and can handle both NMEA2000 and NMEA0183 formats simultaneously. Information on WiFi gateways can be found here: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/navCenterGatewaysMultiplexers.html navCenter is able to control SeaTalkNG™ and SeaTalk1™ autopilots when partnered with a compatible WiFi multiplexer or Gateway. More information on the autopilot remote control can be found here: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/navCenterAutopilotRemote.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ privacy policy: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/html/privacyPolicy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Anchor Alarm / Watch at 812 against navCenter's 7. Anchor Alarm / Watch also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4). navCenter's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 55%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Anchor Alarm / Watch sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and navCenter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Anchor Alarm / Watch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anchor Alarm / Watch has 812 ratings behind it against 7, 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 78% of navCenter's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Anchor Alarm / Watch ships an update fortnightly, navCenter monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Anchor Alarm / Watch | navCenter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (812 ratings) — better | 4.4 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 812 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | w+h GmbH | GUARDIAN DIGITAL LTD |
Customer experience
Anchor Alarm / Watch
navCenter
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
navCenter
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
navCenter
- Subscribed annually$14.991 Year
- Purchased$34.99
