Comparison

tcSpeeds vs CalypsoSailing

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

Head to head
About

tcSpeeds

This app provides advanced sailing performance metrics using your device's GPS and sensors. It offers detailed speed, wind, and directional measurements, along with a proprietary performance index. Easily track your progress and compare it with others, with zero setup required.

Highlights
  • Advanced speed and velocity measurements
  • Proprietary Pilot Performance Index (PPI)
  • Wind measurement with optional sensor
  • Waypoint navigation and tracking
  • Apple Watch extension
  • Real-time performance alerts
Features
Read full description

tcSpeeds provides advanced knowledge of your current speed, average speeds, maximum speed, directional speeds, velocity made good, wind measurements, and much more. You will be able to measure your performance on a straight course with our proprietary Pilot Performance Index (PPI) computation. Compare how good you are at the controls with your friends or against your autopilot. tcSpeeds stands on its own and does not require external hardware or connections to operate. tcSpeeds uses your device's own internal GPS, accelerometers, and compass. For Wind measurement, you will need to acquire the Calypso Ultrasonic Wind sensor. More sensors will be supported in the future. Easy to use and conceived to minimize operational burden on the user, because we know you have other things to do. Zero setup required: install, launch and tap the start button. Designed for iPhones, and GPS-equipped iPads. CAPABILITIES - Add waypoints on the map - Apple watch extension - auto-VMG Velocity Made Good automatic detection - Add, move, or edit you waypoint location on the map - Cross track to waypoint indicator - Record and save your track - Start Line guide for speed and heading when you race - VMG automatic maximum VMG to waypoint - VMG visual assistant: guides you to the best course to the waypoint on the current tack - Maximum VMG indicator relative to waypoint - Audio alert for Acceleration and maximum speed: get instant feedback for you and your team when you are doing it right - Apple Watch Extension: Speed, Course, VMG, Cross-Track, Display remote control and more - Arrival Time: smart computation using filtered VMG averages - Barometer indicator on supported devices - Pilot Performance Index (PPI) calculation improvement - Speed indicator with color-scaled plot - Directional speed vectors panel with automatic polar graph - Maximum speed keeping - Maximum speed audio and visual alarms - Trip distance recording - Add, move, edit Waypoints - Accurate sub-second timer - GPS status with location accuracy indication - Boxed average speed by timed interval: 10-sec 1-min 10-min 1-hour - Pilot Performance Index (PPI) calculation, measurement, and guide - Target course indicator with automatic and manual fine tuning - Headings, bearings and directional indicators (magnetic/true) - Precise real-time cross track reporting - Course, Compass and proprietary C-Course heading selector - Rapid units selection: metric, nautical and imperial - Situational (non-navigational) map with color-coded speed track - Map display with target course and Look-Ahead-Vector (LAV) - Time and distance to autoscaled LAV endpoint - Velocity Made Good (VMG) relative to Waypoint - Magnetic compass and Course Over Ground (COG) integrated panel - Crab angle and local magnetic declination

About

CalypsoSailing

Features
Read full description

CalypsoSailing — Wind, Polar & Sailing Instruments CalypsoSailing turns your phone into a full sailing instrument panel, paired directly with your Calypso Instruments Bluetooth wind sensor. Live wind, GPS speed, heading, and true sailing performance — all in one app, built for sailors who want real data, not estimates. LIVE WIND & NAVIGATION INSTRUMENTS Connect your Calypso ULTRASONIC anemometer and get real-time apparent and true wind angle (AWA/TWA), apparent and true wind speed (AWS/TWS), true wind direction (TWD), speed over ground (SOG), course over ground (COG), and velocity made good (VMG) — all on a fully customizable compass dial. Long-press any card to choose exactly which variable you want to see, in the units you prefer (knots, m/s, km/h, mph). YOUR BOAT'S REAL SAILING POLAR This is what sets CalypsoSailing apart: instead of relying on a generic manufacturer's polar diagram, the app builds a true performance polar for your own boat, automatically, every time you sail. Create a profile for each boat you own, mark it active, and go sailing — the app quietly learns how fast your boat really goes at every wind angle, port and starboard, session after session. Watch your Polar Confidence grow from LOW to HIGH as your data accumulates. Switch between boats mid-session and the app splits the data correctly between them. Export any boat's polar as an image to share, or as a transferable file to move it to another device — perfect for crews who sail the same boat from different phones. TRACK, GRAPHS & CHARTS IN ONE PLACE A single tab brings together your live course trail, historical wind and angle graphs, and your performance polar — swipe between them with one clean control. Every screen adapts automatically to landscape orientation for a full instrument-panel view at the helm. NAUTICAL CHART & GPS TRACKING A full-screen chart with OpenStreetMap and OpenSeaMap seamarks, satellite imagery toggle, live GPS tracking with a "follow me" mode, and a projected heading line so you always know where your bow is pointing. Every sailed track is recorded automatically and can be reviewed later. SAFETY FEATURES A one-tap Man Overboard (MOB) button, always visible on every screen, instantly marks the exact GPS position and timestamp of the moment it's pressed — the point is dropped straight onto the chart so you can navigate back. An anchor drag alarm lets you set your anchor point and a safety radius: if your boat drifts beyond it, the app sounds an alarm and flashes your phone's torch, even below deck. These features are safety aids, not a replacement for proper seamanship and dedicated marine safety equipment. COMPLETE SAILING LOGBOOK Every session is automatically logged with wind, speed, and GPS data. Review detailed graphs for apparent and true wind, plus temperature, pressure, and humidity where available. See your full sailed route on a map with tappable points showing your exact speed and wind at any moment. Export sessions as CSV or a shareable HTML report. LIVE WEATHER, ANYWHERE No WeatherDot connected? CalypsoSailing can still show you temperature and pressure for your exact GPS position using live forecast data — and automatically switches to your onboard sensor's real measurements the moment it's connected. BUILT FOR REAL SAILING CONDITIONS A red-on-black night mode preserves your night vision on deck. A guided in-app tutorial shows you every feature exactly where you'll use it. Available in English, Spanish, and French, with automatic language detection based on your region. WORKS WITH Calypso Instruments ULTRASONIC anemometer (wind speed, angle, and battery over Bluetooth Low Energy) and Calypso WeatherDot (temperature, humidity, and pressure). CalypsoSailing is built by Calypso Instruments for sailors who want their instruments to know their boat as well as they do. No subscriptions, no ads — just your wind, your data, your polar. Learn more at calypsoinstruments.com

Screenshots

tcSpeeds4 screens
CalypsoSailing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CalypsoSailing at none against tcSpeeds's 1. On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. tcSpeeds sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CalypsoSailing asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
tcSpeeds versus CalypsoSailing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertcSpeedsCalypsoSailing
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 7 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developertransitional continuumCalypso Instruments

In-app purchases

1 purchases

tcSpeeds

One-time1
  • Advanced Performance Features$2.99
None

CalypsoSailing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is tcSpeeds free?
tcSpeeds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CalypsoSailing free?
CalypsoSailing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do tcSpeeds or CalypsoSailing have ads?
Neither tcSpeeds nor CalypsoSailing shows ads.

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