Waterway Guide vs PalmPass
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/
PalmPass
Easily find and pay for parking with digital tickets directly from your smartphone. Get all the parking information you need before your trip, ensuring a quick and stress-free experience.
- Find parking easily
- Pay for parking
- Digital parking tickets
- Parking information access
- Smartphone convenience
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With PalmPass, parking has never been so easy and quick, granting you total peace of mind even before your trip starts. Parking information are just a few clicks away, helping you find and pay for parking easily – from just your smartphone, with a digital ticket on the go!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PalmPass at none against Waterway Guide's 10. PalmPass also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). Waterway Guide's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Waterway Guide sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. PalmPass asks for nothing beyond the download.
Waterway Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K ratings behind it against 87, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Waterway Guide ships an update every 2 weeks, PalmPass every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Waterway Guide | PalmPass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.9K ratings) — better | 4.3 (87 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.9K — better | 87 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Waterway Guide | FAAC SpA |
Customer experience
Waterway Guide
PalmPass
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
PalmPass
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Waterway Guide
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.8$14.991 Year
- Anchorages Along the ICW$20.991 Year
- ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423$29.991 Year
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- 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
- Western Gulf Coast Edition$54.991 Year
- Florida Keys Edition$54.991 Year
PalmPass
No in-app purchases
