Comparison

Coastal Explorer vs BridgeClear Mobile

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

BridgeClear Mobile

Features
Read full description

BridgeClear — Real-Time Bridge Clearance for Towboat Pilots BridgeClear gives towboat pilots and mariners live vertical clearance under every USACE and NOAA-charted bridge on America's inland and coastal waterways. A monthly subscription is required to access the premium navigation features described below. The app is free to download. Premium Features (require a monthly subscription): Live vertical clearance under every bridge, paired with your vessel's air draft Real-time NOAA gauge stages and tidal currents Movable-bridge open-position low steel readings River-mile awareness and waterway identification AIS vessel tracking NOAA nautical chart navigation with heads-up display Voyage planning with ETA estimates Community-reported navigation hazards Fleet map pin sharing with your crew Free Features (no subscription required): Rules of the Road reference Light List reference Quick Reference guide Data Sources directory Subscription is handled through Apple's App Store using StoreKit. Payment is charged to your Apple ID and auto-renews monthly. Cancel anytime in your App Store account settings.

Screenshots

Coastal Explorer4 screens
BridgeClear Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BridgeClear Mobile at daily against Coastal Explorer's every 2 weeks. Coastal Explorer's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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 and BridgeClear Mobile sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Coastal Explorer ships an update every 2 weeks, BridgeClear Mobile daily. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Coastal Explorer versus BridgeClear Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCoastal ExplorerBridgeClear Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (16 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews11.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings16 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperRose Point Navigation Systems, IncWILLIAM DANIEL PRINCE

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Coastal Explorer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$49.991 Year
1 purchases

BridgeClear Mobile

Subscriptions1
  • BridgeClear Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Coastal Explorer free?
Coastal Explorer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BridgeClear Mobile free?
BridgeClear Mobile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Coastal Explorer or BridgeClear Mobile have ads?
Neither Coastal Explorer nor BridgeClear Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Coastal Explorer or BridgeClear Mobile?
Coastal Explorer ships an update every 2 weeks, and BridgeClear Mobile daily. Most recently, Coastal Explorer was updated on September 21, 2026 and BridgeClear Mobile on September 30, 2026.

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