Comparison

Coastal Explorer vs Pilot Dispatch

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

Head to head
About

Coastal Explorer

Plan and log your cruises with detailed nautical charts and weather forecasts. Enhance your experience with a subscription for offline access, real-time navigation, and integration with marine electronics.

Highlights
  • View NOAA and USACE nautical charts
  • Create routes and waypoints
  • Cloud synchronization
  • ActiveCaptain points of interest
  • US Coast Pilot information
  • Marine weather forecasts
  • Tide and current predictions
Features
Read full description

Coastal Explorer™ is a sophisticated, full-featured, easy-to-use cruise planning and logging tool designed specifically for the pleasure boater. And it becomes a complete navigation system with the purchase of a chart subscription. The free Coastal Explorer app provides these great planning features: * View NOAA and USACE nautical charts for the US in vector format * Create routes, waypoints, boundaries, and other navigation objects * Cloud-synchronization of your navigation objects * ActiveCaptain points of interest * US Coast Pilot information * Marine weather forecasts and observations for the US * Tide and current predictions for the US Purchasing a chart subscription turns Coastal Explorer into a complete navigation system that includes: * Downloadable charts, tide and current predictions, Coast Pilot, and ActiveCaptain places for offline use * Interfacing with compatible networked marine electronics devices, including GPS, compass, depth sounder, anemometer, AIS, autopilot, and more * Customizable instrument panels * Route following with cross-track error, distance and time to go, estimated time of arrival, etc * Track and event recording * Integrated blogging Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. See our Terms of Service at https://www.rosepoint.com/legal/terms_of_service.

About

Pilot Dispatch

This software streamlines pilot dispatching with 24/7 reliability. It's designed with pilot input for maximum flexibility and customization, currently serving over 400 pilots across 12 organizations.

Highlights
  • 24/7/365 uptime
  • Streamlined dispatching process
  • Pilot-involved design
  • Flexible and customizable
  • Used by over 400 pilots
Features
Read full description

24/7/365...Never Down Technology Currently in use by over 400 pilots across 12 organizations around the country, our Pilot.DISPATCH™ software vastly improves and streamlines the daily dispatching process. We actively involve pilots in the design and functionality of our software to ensure it is the most flexible and customizable solution available.

Screenshots

Coastal Explorer4 screens
Pilot Dispatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pilot Dispatch at 100% against Coastal Explorer's 11%. Pilot Dispatch also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Coastal Explorer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (16 vs 4). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Coastal Explorer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Pilot Dispatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pilot Dispatch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 11% of Coastal Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pilot Dispatch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Coastal Explorer ships an update every 2 weeks, Pilot Dispatch every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 6, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Coastal Explorer versus Pilot Dispatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCoastal ExplorerPilot Dispatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (16 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews11.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB83 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRose Point Navigation Systems, IncCoe & Company, LLC

Customer experience

Coastal Explorer

All ratings16 ratings
Positive43.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative56.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive11.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.9%

Pilot Dispatch

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Coastal Explorer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$49.991 Year
None

Pilot Dispatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Coastal Explorer free?
Coastal Explorer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pilot Dispatch free?
Pilot Dispatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Coastal Explorer or Pilot Dispatch?
Pilot Dispatch is rated higher. Coastal Explorer averages 2.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Pilot Dispatch averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Coastal Explorer or Pilot Dispatch have ads?
Neither Coastal Explorer nor Pilot Dispatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Coastal Explorer or Pilot Dispatch?
Coastal Explorer ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pilot Dispatch every 2 months. Most recently, Coastal Explorer was updated on September 6, 2026 and Pilot Dispatch on September 26, 2026.

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