Comparison

Anchor Basic vs Lock Status

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

Head to head
About

Anchor Basic

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
Read full description

A fully functional anchor alarm designed for iPhone & iPad.  - Simple and reliable with user selectable units, drift warning and low battery alarms.  - Pause the alarm and take your device with you; simply continue drift monitoring when you return.  - Set the anchor at the current location or a bearing & distance to the anchor. - Use Anchor Basic to remotely monitor Anchor Plus. Go ashore for dinner and monitor your friends Anchor Plus alarm using Anchor Basic. - If you like this version, try Anchor Plus with a host of additional features

About

Lock Status

Provides real-time information on U.S. river locks and dams. Get contact details and see upcoming locks for your waterway journey. Essential for boaters and canoeists navigating rivers.

Highlights
  • Up-to-date lock information
  • Contact methods for locks
  • Upcoming lock identification
  • Supports waterway journeys
  • River and dam status
Features
Read full description

Canoeing down the Mississippi? Pushing a tow up the Ohio? Crossing Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway, or spending a year on the Great Loop? Sooner or later you'll reach a lock. Lock Status shows what's happening at every U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation lock, so you know what's ahead before you get there. SEE EVERY LOCK • Delays, stoppages and the vessels waiting and locking through, colored by how busy each lock is • Pool and tailwater levels, chamber sizes, lock hours and navigation notices • Browse by river, search by name, find the locks closest to you, or use the map • Favorite the locks you pass most often HAIL THE LOCK • Each lock's VHF channel and phone number, one tap to call • Towboats: see whether the tow fits the chamber, or how many cuts it needs • Pleasure boaters: what to say on the radio, plus tips for locking through PLAN YOUR TRIP • Build a route lock by lock, and see the next lock, how far it is and what's waiting there • Great Loop planning, with the Loop's route choices MADE FOR THE WATER • Night mode in red on black protects your night vision in the pilothouse; Sun mode adds contrast for bright days • In a dead spot, the app shows the last data it loaded and when it's from, and refreshes when you're back in range • Widgets for your Home Screen, Lock Screen, Mac desktop and menu bar • In English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Haitian Creole • Full VoiceOver support and larger text sizes LOCK STATUS PREMIUM Free: lock status, delays, stoppages, queues, the map, VHF channels and phone numbers, what to say on the radio, one trip, widgets, and Night and Sun modes. Premium adds: • Alerts when a stoppage starts or clears, a delay passes your limit, or a navigation notice is posted, even when the app is closed • Live Activities that keep a lock updated on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • The full trip planner: more than one trip, Great Loop planning, arrival times and the delays ahead • 30 days of traffic and monthly cargo tonnage at every lock Premium is $1.99 a month or $9.99 a year, with a free first week. It's billed to your Apple Account and renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it anytime in your Apple Account settings. Lock information comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' public Lock Performance Monitoring System and is provided on a best-effort basis. Lock Status isn't affiliated with the Corps of Engineers. Always follow the lockmaster's instructions. Terms of Use: https://lockstatus.ajthom.dev/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://lockstatus.ajthom.dev/privacy/

Screenshots

Anchor Basic4 screens
Lock Status4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lock Status at Free against Anchor Basic's $0.99. Lock Status also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.5). Anchor Basic's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, 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

Lock Status is free to download; Anchor Basic costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lock Status holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Anchor Basic's written reviews are positive against 50% of Lock Status's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Anchor Basic ships an update every 2 months, Lock Status every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Anchor Basic versus Lock Status: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnchor BasicLock Status
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (17 ratings)4.4 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoy CadmanAndrew Thom

Customer experience

Anchor Basic

All ratings17 ratings
Positive58.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative35.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Lock Status

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Anchor Basic

No in-app purchases

None

Lock Status

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Anchor Basic free?
Anchor Basic costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lock Status free?
Lock Status is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Anchor Basic or Lock Status?
Lock Status is rated higher. Anchor Basic averages 3.5 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Lock Status averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.
Do Anchor Basic or Lock Status have ads?
Neither Anchor Basic nor Lock Status shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Anchor Basic or Lock Status?
Anchor Basic ships an update every 2 months, and Lock Status every 4 months. Most recently, Anchor Basic was updated on October 7, 2026 and Lock Status on October 5, 2026.

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