AyeTides vs Cortex Onboard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AyeTides
Access tide and current data for over 13,400 global locations without an internet connection. Plan your coastal activities with detailed daily events, interactive graphs, and station search options.
- Offline tide and current data
- 13,400+ global locations
- Interactive tide graphs
- Station search by map, name, or location
- Daily events in tabular form
- Regular updates with new stations
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Never be without the tides again! You too can carry the tides in your pocket (or now, on your wrist!) as you walk along the shore, fly into a harbor, or sail off into the sunset. AyeTides displays tides and/or currents for over 13,400 locations worldwide and unlike many other tide apps, it does not require a network connection. With AyeTides you will never see those annoying ads or be asked to pay for additional features! Sailors, harbor pilots, beachcombers, nature photographers, and more use AyeTides to plan their outings on or around the world's oceans. Here are some of the things people are saying about AyeTides... "AyeTides is a quality professional product” "Your support has been the best I have experienced!" “As a harbor pilot in New York I’ve been using your excellent tide and current app” "I really appreciate the effort that you put into making AyeTides as accurate as it can be. It is a great program that has been very useful to us. I think we have 60 pilots using iPhones and iNavX and your app links in so well." "I am a ships Pilot in BC and use Aye Tides a lot and it has become invaluable.” You can see the day’s events in tabular form, or you can rotate the phone for an interactive graph that shows you the tide’s value at any point during the day. You can find a station on a map, by name, or based on your current location. AyeTides is updated regularly and stations are added whenever we find new data. We encourage our customers to contact us if you hare having any issues with the program so that we can help you. This app is designed to run on your iPhone or iPod Touch. While it will run on your iPad, it does not offer the additional features available with AyeTides XL, which was designed specifically for the iPad. If you have multiple devices, you may want to consider our bundle. You get both apps at a discount! This is the only place to install AyeTides. Other websites may look like they have AyeTides, but they do not. We only support iOS, any other version of AyeTides is not ours.
Cortex Onboard
This app allows you to configure and update your marine electronics from your mobile device. Monitor vessel data, receive alerts, and manage features like Anchor Watch from anywhere on board.
- Configure and update Cortex devices
- View AIS information and alerts
- Manage Anchor Watch
- Monitor vessel sensors
- Connect NMEA 2000 instruments
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Cortex Onboard is free with your Cortex. Use it to configure your Cortex Hub and download updates to your Cortex devices with new features and improvements. You can also use Cortex Onboard to receive and manage alerts, view AIS information and instrument data anywhere on board your boat. View out-of-the-box sensors or NMEA 2000 networked instruments. - Setup is easy and free. - Use Cortex Onboard to configure and update your Cortex devices easily. - View AIS information and receive alerts on board direct to your device. - Manage Anchor Watch from the palm of your hand anywhere on board. - Use the Cortex Hub’s built-in sensors for battery level, barometric pressure and boat position. - Connect your Cortex Hub to NMEA 2000, or an external sensor, to add monitoring for wind, depth, bilge high water, temperature, shore power or security. - The Cortex Hub supports up to 10 WiFi devices (includes Handsets).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cortex Onboard at Free against AyeTides's $7.99. Cortex Onboard also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). AyeTides's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.8) and review sentiment (87% vs 56%). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Cortex Onboard is free to download; AyeTides costs $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
AyeTides holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AyeTides has 4.9K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of AyeTides's written reviews are positive against 56% of Cortex Onboard's.
AyeTides ships an update every 3 weeks, Cortex Onboard every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AyeTides | Cortex Onboard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.9K ratings) — better | 3.8 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.0% of reviews — better | 55.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.9K — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #119 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 376 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hahn Software LLC | Garmin New Zealand Ltd |
Customer experience
AyeTides
Cortex Onboard
Bugs and requests
AyeTides
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on latest iOS versions
- Incorrect tide data for some locations
- Landscape mode issues on iPad
Requested features
4 requests- Add more detailed current/flow data
- Improve graphical tide charts
- Integrate with weather/marine forecasts
- Enhance Apple Watch app functionality
Cortex Onboard
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
AyeTides
No in-app purchases
Cortex Onboard
No in-app purchases









