# Anchor Basic vs Anchor Alarm

The clearest difference is price: Anchor Alarm at Free against Anchor Basic's $0.99. Anchor Alarm also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.5) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Anchor Basic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12). On review sentiment, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Anchor Alarm is free to download; Anchor Basic costs $0.99 up front. Anchor Alarm sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Anchor Basic asks for nothing beyond the download.

Anchor Alarm holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anchor Alarm has 177 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Anchor Basic's written reviews are positive against 59% of Anchor Alarm's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Anchor Basic ships an update every 2 months, Anchor Alarm weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Anchor Basic | Anchor Alarm |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.5 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-basic/id1496724273/reviews) | **[4.5 (177 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-alarm-zenkou-pro/id1568849324/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 17 | **177** |
| Positive reviews | **66.7% of reviews** | 58.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 4 MB | 310 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Roy Cadman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1496724272) | [Unitio A](https://appshunter.io/developer/1566586314) |

## What reviewers say

### Anchor Basic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-basic/id1496724273)

This app provides a reliable anchor alarm for boats, offering drift warnings and low battery alerts. Users can pause the alarm and resume monitoring later, or set the anchor by current location, bearing, and distance. It also allows remote monitoring of other users' Anchor Plus alarms.

**Highlights:** Drift warning alerts, Low battery alarms, Pause and resume alarm function, Set anchor by location, bearing, or distance, Remote monitoring of Anchor Plus alarms

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Anchor Alarm

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-alarm-zenkou-pro/id1568849324)

This app provides real-time anchor alerts and remote boat monitoring for both onboard and ashore users. It offers advanced features like flotilla management, AI anchor watch customization, and social sharing to enhance safety and community for boaters.

**Highlights:** Instant live alerts, Remote vessel tracking, Flotilla management, 24/7 background operation, AI anchor watch customization, Social anchor sharing, Exclusion zone marking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marine Barometer - 1 month | $7.99 | per month |
| Remote LIVE Alerts - 1 week | $8.49 | per 7 days |
| Premium Features - 1 month | $8.99 | per month |
| Premium Features - 1 month | $9.99 | per month |
| Remote LIVE Alerts- 1 week | $17.49 | per month |
| Remote LIVE Alerts - 1 Year | $25.49 | per year |
| Marine Barometer - 1 year | $27.99 | per year |
| Premium Features - 1 year | $29.99 | per year |
| Barometer Lifetime | $49.99 | one-time |
| Premium Features - Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |
| LIVE Features - Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use anchor alarm
- 👍 Good for peace of mind
- 👍 Remote monitoring useful
- 👍 Works with Navionics
- 👍 Accurate and effective

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Too expensive
- 💸 High purchase prices
- 💸 Subscription is expensive
- 🐛 False alarms
- 🐛 App crashes

**Reported bugs**

- Premium features not unlocking
- Customer support unresponsive
- Remote monitoring not working
- App crashes on opening
- Alarm triggers without reason

**Requested features**

- Clarification on double payment for remote use
- Instantaneous start-up without ads
- Option to disable personalized data collection
- Ability to hide tracking prompts
- Make remote monitoring functional


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Anchor Basic free?

Anchor Basic costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Anchor Alarm free?

Anchor Alarm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Anchor Basic or Anchor Alarm?

Anchor Alarm is rated higher. Anchor Basic averages 3.5 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Anchor Alarm averages 4.5 from 177 ratings.

### Do Anchor Basic or Anchor Alarm have ads?

Neither Anchor Basic nor Anchor Alarm shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Anchor Basic or Anchor Alarm?

Anchor Basic ships an update every 2 months, and Anchor Alarm weekly. Most recently, Anchor Basic was updated on October 7, 2026 and Anchor Alarm on October 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*