onNAV Marine vs TowRiver
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
onNAV Marine
This app offers advanced marine navigation with 3D charts, real-time weather, and safety alerts. Plan trips, track storms, and monitor conditions with a user-friendly interface for all boating enthusiasts.
- 3D ENC Day & Night Nautical Charts
- Multi-Device Anchor Alert
- Live Hurricane Tracker
- Live Buoy Weather & Cameras
- Offline Tide Charts
- Weather Radar
- Navigation Compass
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onNAV Marine: Ultimate Boating Navigation - BuoyCams, Hurricane Tracker, Threat Alert Tracker, Tide Charts, custom easy to read charts, and so much more onNAV Marine is the premier app for boaters, offering advanced navigation and safety tools in a user-friendly interface. Navigate nautical charts confidently, stay safe, and plan trips with ease, whether cruising, fishing, or sailing. From beginners to seasoned captains, onNAV Marine elevates every journey with offline access and seamless performance on iPhone, iPad, and iWatch, in horizontal or vertical modes. Key Features: • 3D ENC Day & Night Nautical Charts: Intuitive realCharts™ with true buoy icons and weather • Multi-Device Anchor Alert: Real-time notifications to iPhone, iPad, push, or text • Live Hurricane Tracker • Live Buoy Weather & Cameras: Real-time conditions, wind forecasts, wave height, buoy visuals • Tide Charts: Offline tide data for trip planning • Point-and-Click Sea Conditions: Instant interactive chart insights • Weather Radar: Track storms, currents effortlessly • Hurricane Tracker: Storm paths and tracking on live charts • Navigation Compass: Precise heading guidance • Share Waypoints: Seamlessly share sail navigation routes • Device Compatibility: Horizontal/vertical modes on iPhone, iPad Experience onNAV Marine with a 7-day free trial at no charge—we’re confident you’ll love it! To access the premium features above, a Pro Feature Account is required for $59.99 per year. Start your free trial today and enjoy smarter, safer boating! https://onnav.com/policies/terms-of-service
TowRiver
Plan your boating trips on major inland waterways with real-time lock traffic, bridge clearances, and river conditions. See who's waiting at locks and get estimated travel times based on your cruising speed.
- Interactive river map with offline nautical charts
- Trip planner with distance and lock/bridge estimates
- Live lock traffic and underway tow tracking
- Bridge clearance based on air draft and river level
- Real-time river conditions and weather forecasts
- GPS position snapped to channel with upcoming points of interest
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TowRiver is a trip-planning and live-conditions companion for boaters on the Upper Mississippi River, the St. Croix, and the Illinois Waterway — from the Twin Cities down to St. Louis and up the Illinois to Lockport. Everything below is free to use during early access. MAP & NAUTICAL CHARTS • Interactive river map with the USACE Inland ENC nautical charts built in — bundled for the whole river, so they work with no signal. • Marinas, locks & dams, and every movable (opening) bridge on the three rivers. TRIP PLANNER • Pick a start and destination and get distance, the locks and bridges you'll pass, and an estimated running time based on your own cruising speeds. • Routes across the Prescott and Grafton confluences automatically. LIVE LOCK TRAFFIC & TOWS • See who's waiting, in the chamber, and inbound at each lock, in real time. • Underway tows plotted on the map with ETAs, plus each boat's usual route. • A typical-traffic heat map so you know the busy days and hours before you go. BRIDGE CLEARANCE FOR YOUR BOAT • Enter your air draft and movable bridges are color-coded green / yellow / red by whether you'll clear them at the current river level — read live off the nearby gauge. Always confirm against the clearance board or the bridge operator. RIVER CONDITIONS & WEATHER • Live river stage and flood status from NOAA gauges. • National Weather Service forecasts along your route. WHERE AM I • A GPS view that snaps your position to the channel and shows the next lock, bridge, and marina up- and down-river. NOT FOR NAVIGATION TowRiver is a planning aid, not a navigational instrument. Lock, traffic, chart, weather, and position data may be delayed, approximate, or incomplete. Always navigate with official charts, U.S. Coast Guard Notices to Mariners, working onboard equipment, and sound judgment. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lock & traffic data: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. River & weather: NOAA / National Weather Service. Charts: USACE Inland ENC.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TowRiver at 5.0 against onNAV Marine's 4.2. TowRiver also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3). onNAV Marine's advantage is ratings volume (18 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. onNAV Marine sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. TowRiver asks for nothing beyond the download.
TowRiver holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: onNAV Marine has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
| Parameter | onNAV Marine | TowRiver |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (18 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 152 MB | 223 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | onNAV LLC | Torben Rytt |
Customer experience
onNAV Marine
TowRiver
In-app purchases
onNAV Marine
- One Month Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Three Months Pro7 Days trial$24.993 Months
- One Year Pro7 Days trial$49.991 Year
TowRiver
No in-app purchases









