Waterway Guide vs SailTimer API™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Waterway Guide
This app provides a comprehensive boating resource with a verified database of marinas, anchorages, and navigation alerts. Users can access real-time hazard information, plan trips with a digital handbook, and utilize detailed content optimized for mobile devices. Engage with a community of boaters through comments and reviews.
- Verified points of interest database
- Real-time navigation alerts
- Community comments and reviews
- Skipper's Handbook for trip planning
- Offline content access
- Marina filtering by amenities
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Optimized for your mobile devices with Waterway Guide's detailed and verified points of interest database. Includes over 1.3 million data points on marinas, anchorages, navigation alerts, free docks, bridges and locks displayed on the embedded map or satellite view. Benefit from the experience of 75 years of publishing and hundreds of thousands of active boaters through verified comments and reviews. Share your comments, add points of interest, earn rewards and engage with others from within the app. Stay informed with the latest hazards to navigation reported real time from USCG, government agencies, local experts and boaters everywhere. Plan your time on the water with Waterway Guide's Skipper's Handbook, which is included with the free app download. Access Waterway Guide's library of books as individual chapters or entire guides for the information and details you need for navigation. Content is optimized for mobile devices and can be bookmarked for availability offline. Easily find marinas that fit your needs. Filter our entire database of marinas based on amenities and your preferences. Same functionality as Waterway Guide’s Marinas App. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
SailTimer API™
This app bridges the gap between your SailTimer Wind Instrument and other navigation or performance apps. It also offers access to crowdsourced wind maps and marine weather animations through a subscription, enhancing your sailing experience with real-time wind data.
- Integrates with SailTimer Wind Instrument
- Delivers wind data to partner apps
- Crowdsourced wind maps
- Marine weather animations
- Supports chartplotter apps
- Real-time wind data
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This app allows you to use SailTimer products in other partner apps. First, if you have the wireless SailTimer Wind Instrument (www.SailTimerWind.com), this app can receive the transmissions and deliver them to other apps for viewing. Use this app with the the SailTimer™ chartplotter app, or with lots of other navigation, wind gauge or performance apps (https://wi-rb.com/apps/). But what if you want to see what the wind is doing up ahead, or around the next point? Then you need our crowdsourced wind maps and marine weather animations. You can get the low-cost subscription here, to view our marine weather animations in partner apps. We'll add a growing list of partner apps at https://SailTimer.boats App web page: https://wi-rb.com/api. If you have a question or feedback please email info@SailTimer.co - we’re here to help. If you are getting the app and like this wireless technology, please help out other sailors by letting them know with a quick rating on this version while you’re here.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Waterway Guide at 51% against SailTimer API™'s 0%. Waterway Guide also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 1) and chart position (#174 vs unranked). SailTimer API™'s advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Waterway Guide sells 43 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and SailTimer API™ sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SailTimer API™ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Waterway Guide's written reviews are positive against 0% of SailTimer API™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Waterway Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, SailTimer API™ every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Waterway Guide | SailTimer API™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.9K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 51.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.9K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #174 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Waterway Guide | SailTimer Inc. |
Customer experience
Waterway Guide
SailTimer API™
Bugs and requests
Waterway Guide
Reported bugs
4 issues- App not working with latest iOS version
- Subscription purchases not working properly
- Unable to access purchased content
- Frequent crashes and errors
Requested features
4 requests- Provide vertical bridge clearances
- Improve offline functionality
- Enhance search and filtering options
- Implement dark mode
SailTimer API™
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Waterway Guide
- Chesapeake Bay Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.6$4.991 Year
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- Southern Ch.6$4.991 Year
- Southern Bridges & Locks$4.991 Year
- Bahamas Cruising Guide$4.991 Year
- Florida Keys Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.10$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.1$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Southern Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW East Coast Inlets$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.12$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.11$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.9$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.1$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.8$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.6$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.13$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.10$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.12$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.3$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.11$14.991 Year
- Anchorages Along the ICW$20.991 Year
- Bahamas Bound$20.991 Year
- ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423$29.991 Year
- Northern Edition$49.991 Year
- 1st Ed. Bahamas Land and Sea$49.991 Year
- Chesapeake Bay Edition$54.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Edition$54.991 Year
- Southern Edition$54.991 Year
- Bahamas Edition$54.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Edition$54.991 Year
- Florida Keys Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 1 Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 2 Edition$54.991 Year
- Cuba Edition$59.991 Year
SailTimer API™
- Crowdsourced Wind Maps - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- WNI Marine Weather - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- AI Forecasts - Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Crowdsourced Wind Maps - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- WNI Marine Weather - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- AI Forecasts - Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
