Comparison

Waterway Guide 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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

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

Waterway Guide4 screens
Lock Status4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Lock Status at free against Waterway Guide's free with in-app purchases. Waterway Guide's advantage is ratings volume (2.9K vs 19) and chart position (#189 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Waterway Guide sells 43 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Lock Status sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Waterway Guide against 4.8 for Lock Status. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Waterway Guide's written reviews are positive against 50% of Lock Status's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waterway Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, Lock Status every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Waterway Guide versus Lock Status: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaterway GuideLock Status
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.9K ratings)4.8 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.4% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better19
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#189 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWaterway GuideAndrew Thom

Customer experience

Waterway Guide

All ratings2,920 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative33.3%

Lock Status

All ratings19 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Lock Status

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

43 purchases

Waterway Guide

Subscriptions43
  • Chesapeake Bay Ch.3$4.991 Year
  • Atlantic ICW Ch.2$4.991 Year
  • Atlantic ICW Ch.6$4.991 Year
Show 40 more
  • 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
2 purchases

Lock Status

Subscriptions2
  • Lock Status Premium (1 Month)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Lock Status Premium (1 Year)7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Waterway Guide free?
Waterway Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lock Status free?
Lock Status is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Waterway Guide or Lock Status?
Lock Status is rated higher. Waterway Guide averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Lock Status averages 4.8 from 19 ratings.
Do Waterway Guide or Lock Status have ads?
Neither Waterway Guide nor Lock Status shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Waterway Guide or Lock Status?
Waterway Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, and Lock Status every 5 weeks. Most recently, Waterway Guide was updated on October 25, 2026 and Lock Status on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons