Lat/Long vs Helm Boating
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lat/Long
Easily convert latitude and longitude coordinates between different decimal and degree formats. The app copies converted values to your clipboard for seamless pasting into other applications.
- Convert between deg/min/sec.dec, deg/min.dec, and deg.dec
- Copy converted coordinates to clipboard
- Supports LAT DD MM SS.d format
- Supports LONG DDD MM SS.d format
- Ensures accurate entry for longitude
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Make effortless conversion of Latitude and Longitude from deg/min/sec.dec to deg/min.dec or deg.dec. Just tap on the field You want and the result is copied to clipboard and can be pasted to other application's that can use information. The format for LAT is DD MM SS.d while for the LONG it is DDD MM SS.d. LONG goes from 0-180 deg, so for example if You want you use 51 deg LONG the way to enter it in the app is 051 MM SS.d The reason why I left it this way is to make sure that there is no mistake while entering coordinates. Example entry: 25 16 54.60N / 051 36 06.49E (don’t omit the 0 at the beginning of LONG if its less then 100 deg LONG, if I would programmatically remove 0 that could lead to errors and ambiguity)
Helm Boating
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Helm is a US marine navigation app for boaters who run shallow, unfamiliar or poorly charted water and want to know what is under the hull before they get there. YOUR DRAFT IS PART OF THE CHART Enter your boat's draft once. Helm shades the water you cannot safely cross and plans routes around it, instead of drawing a straight line through a two-foot shoal. DEPTH AGAINST YOUR DRAFT Helm reads depth from NOAA electronic navigational charts on the coast and the Great Lakes, and from the US Army Corps of Engineers Inland ENC on the rivers. Where a NOAA tide station is close enough, it adds the predicted tide and tells you whether that leaves enough water under your keel. TIDES AND CURRENTS Tide predictions come from NOAA CO-OPS against the MLLW datum. Tidal current arrows rotate with the time you scrub to, so you can see whether you will be pushed or held back before you commit to a pass. WEATHER YOU CAN READ AT A GLANCE Animated wind, wave and current overlays on the chart. A multi-day strip with three-hour columns for wind, gusts, air temperature and rain, plus water temperature where data exists. Outside US waters the forecast falls back to a global model so the app still works. OFFLINE FIRST Coverage is packaged into downloadable chart packs. Take the ones you need and leave the rest. Once a pack is on the device, the chart, depth and the anchor alarm keep working with no cell service, and so does routing in the coastal and Great Lakes regions. That is the point on open water. WHILE YOU ARE UNDERWAY - Depth, speed over ground and course over ground on one strip - Anchor alarm that wakes you if you drag - Nearby vessels on AIS - Satellite and night chart styles - Trips you run recorded to a logbook you can replay QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK Does it work without cell signal? Yes. Download the chart packs for your area first and the app keeps working offline, including depth, the anchor alarm and routing in the coastal and Great Lakes regions. Is it only for the ocean? No. Coastal water, the intracoastal, the Great Lakes and the major commercial rivers are charted, and the lakes in every state are on the map by name and shoreline. What makes it different from other chart apps? Most of them render a chart and leave the depth judgement to you. Helm knows your draft, reads the charted depth against it with the predicted tide, and plans around water that is too thin for your boat. Does it work on iPad? Yes, natively — a real iPad layout rather than a stretched phone screen. Can I use it for fishing? Yes. Save spots, read the depth contours around them and return to the same place later from your recorded trips. Is it good for a small boat? That is the case it was built for. Small boats in shallow water are where a generic chart app is least useful and where knowing your draft matters most. Helm is built by Loop Mobile FZCO. Privacy Policy: https://loopmobile.io/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://loopmobile.io/tos.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Helm Boating at Free against Lat/Long's $0.99. Helm Boating also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). Lat/Long's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
Helm Boating is free to download; Lat/Long costs $0.99 up front. Helm Boating sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Lat/Long asks for nothing beyond the download.
Lat/Long ships an update every 2 weeks, Helm Boating weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lat/Long | Helm Boating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.5 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zlatko Blagus | LOOP MOBILE FZCO |
In-app purchases
Lat/Long
No in-app purchases
Helm Boating
- Premium3 Days trial$19.991 Month
- Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
Questions
Is Lat/Long free?
Is Helm Boating free?
Do Lat/Long or Helm Boating have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lat/Long or Helm Boating?
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