Ship Shapes vs MCA Oral Prep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ship Shapes
Learn to recognize and memorize the main day shapes used by boats and ships through an interactive matching game. Score points by correctly matching images to their descriptions. Achieve a score of 50 or more to demonstrate mastery.
- Match images to descriptions
- Learn ship day shape signals
- Score points for correct answers
- Master recognition and memorization
- Interactive learning experience
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn Ships Day Shapes by matching Images to Descriptions. An easy and fun way to score points as you learn. Anyone who can score 50 points or more will have mastered recognising and memorising the main day shapes used by boats and ships.
MCA Oral Prep
Read full descriptionHide full description
Practice for your MCA oral examination with an examiner who asks questions, follows up, and probes your knowledge, just like the real thing. Select your certificate, speak your answers using your microphone, and get scored feedback at the end of every session. Strengths in green, areas to improve in amber, critical gaps in red, sorted weakest first so you know exactly where to focus. Covers all 16 MCA Certificates of Competency. Deck: OOW Unlimited, OOW Near-Coastal, Chief Mate Unlimited, Chief Mate Under 3000 GT, Master Unlimited, Master Under 3000 GT, Master Near-Coastal. Engineering: EOOW Motor, EOOW Steam, 2nd Engineer Motor, 2nd Engineer Steam, Chief Engineer Motor, Chief Engineer Steam, 2nd Engineer Under 3000 kW, Chief Engineer Under 3000 kW, Electro-Technical Officer. Built on the official MCA syllabus, MIN 653 and MIN 654 (Amendment 1, November 2024). No study partner needed. No booking required. Available whenever you have time, on a ship, between watches, or the night before your oral. Free to try. Subscribe for unlimited sessions. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: MCA Oral Prep at Free against Ship Shapes's $1.99. MCA Oral Prep also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). Ship Shapes's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 17.0). 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
MCA Oral Prep is free to download; Ship Shapes costs $1.99 up front. MCA Oral Prep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Ship Shapes asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ship Shapes ships an update every 3 weeks, MCA Oral Prep every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ship Shapes | MCA Oral Prep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 2.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Edmund Broadbent | KEVIN YOUNG |
In-app purchases
Ship Shapes
No in-app purchases
MCA Oral Prep
- Exam Week$4.997 Days
- Monthly$9.991 Month
- Annual$59.991 Year
Questions
Is Ship Shapes free?
Is MCA Oral Prep free?
Do Ship Shapes or MCA Oral Prep have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ship Shapes or MCA Oral Prep?
Other comparisons
