Ship Finder Lite vs VesselFinder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ship Finder Lite
Track live moving ships on a global map with near real-time AIS data. Identify vessels using your device camera with Augmented Reality view. See ship details like name, type, and destination with color-coded icons for easy identification.
- Live worldwide ship tracking map
- Augmented Reality (AR) ship identification
- View ship name, type, and destination
- Color-coded vessel icons
- Near real-time AIS data
- Global AIS coverage
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Ship Finder shows live moving ships on a worldwide map. You can even use Augmented Reality (AR) view to identify ships out at sea using your device camera. Ship Finder has been top rated and top ranking since 2009 and covers most of the world, tracking 20,000+ ships simultaneously. Our incredible app performance means that you can see all tracked vessels at once - no clustering here! Simply tap on a ship to see it's name, type and destination. Colour coded icons make identification easy too. If you like this app you'll love the full version of Ship Finder. The full version includes a huge array of additional features including route history, search, filters, bookmarks, photos, the ability to add favourite ships and much more. Ship Finder works by picking up AIS ship feeds used by all passenger vessels, vessels over 300 tons and increasingly by smaller pleasure craft and yachts. This technology is actually faster than radar and is used by vessels for safety and navigation. Ship Finder provides near real time “virtual radar” AIS maps. It’s easy to use and is an amazing app for anyone interested in shipping, cruising and sailing in ports and locations across the world. It’s also great if you simply want to know what boats are out there or want to see where your friends and family are. Ship Finder is also used extensively by maritime professionals and mariners. Our global AIS coverage is impressive and expanding all of the time as we add new AIS feeds and receivers. Please check www.shipfinder.co regularly to see the latest coverage. Pinkfroot are committed to customer service and continually improve our Ship Finder apps based on feedback. Why not join our online community at www.pinkfroot.com or if you have any questions please email us via support@pinkfroot.com and we’ll be happy to help. Disclaimer: Ship Finder should not be used for navigational purposes. Under no circumstances will the developer of this application be held responsible for incidents resulting from the use of the data or its interpretation.
VesselFinder
Track ships and monitor maritime traffic globally in real-time. Access detailed vessel information, movement history, and predicted routes. Ideal for maritime professionals and enthusiasts alike.
- Real-time vessel tracking
- Vessel movement history
- Predicted routes and ETAs
- Comprehensive vessel particulars
- Port call details
- My Fleet for favorite vessels
- Weather overlays
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VesselFinder is the world’s most popular and trusted vessel tracking and marine traffic app, delivering real-time information on ship positions and movements worldwide. Using a powerful network of satellites, roaming and terrestrial AIS receivers, VesselFinder provides accurate and up-to-date insight into global maritime activity. Designed for maritime professionals, shipping enthusiasts, and anyone interested in live ship tracking, VesselFinder offers a fast, intuitive, and reliable way to explore vessel traffic across the globe. VesselFinder key features: • Real-time tracking of over 300,000 vessels daily using global AIS data • Vessel movement history with track visualization • Predicted routes and ETAs to next port • Comprehensive vessel particulars, including technical specifications, and cargo capacity information • Contact details for the owning company, manager, ISM manager, and more • Port Calls per vessel, showing arrival times and duration of stay • Port Calls per port, with detailed lists of expected vessels, arrivals, departures, and ships currently in port • My Fleet – save and monitor favorite vessels, synchronized with your VesselFinder account • My Views – save preferred map views for fast and easy navigation • Ship Photos contributed by the VesselFinder user community • Multiple map styles: Simple, Detailed, Dark, Satellite, and Nautical • Weather overlays, including wind, waves, and temperature • See your location feature for instant orientation • Distance measurement tool for route and range estimation Vessel visibility depends on AIS signal availability, with near-shore coverage consistent with the data provided on VesselFinder.com. If a vessel is outside our terrestrial AIS coverage area, its last reported position will be displayed and updated as soon as new data is received. Extended real-time coverage via satellite and roaming AIS sources is available through a subscription. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, the completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. Connect with VesselFinder • Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vesselfinder • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vesselfinder
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Ship Finder Lite at none against VesselFinder's shown. Ship Finder Lite also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (3.2K vs 232). VesselFinder's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks) and chart position (#191 vs unranked). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ship Finder Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ship Finder Lite has 3.2K ratings behind it against 232, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 23% of Ship Finder Lite's written reviews are positive against 28% of VesselFinder's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ship Finder Lite ships an update every 6 weeks, VesselFinder fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ship Finder Lite | VesselFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (3.2K ratings) — better | 4.1 (232 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 22.8% of reviews | 27.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.2K — better | 232 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #191 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | pinkfroot limited | AstraPaging Ltd. |
Customer experience
Ship Finder Lite
VesselFinder
User reviews
Ship Finder Lite
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌊 Tracks marine traffic
- 🔍 Identifies ships and boats
- 🗺️ Provides map-based visualization
- 🔍 Useful for hobbyists and enthusiasts
Room to improve
- 🚫 Limited functionality in free version
- 💰 Paywall for key features
- 📢 Excessive ads and pop-ups
- 🔍 Inaccurate or incomplete ship tracking
- 🗺️ Missing coverage in certain regions
VesselFinder
From 232 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
- 💰 Free version provides basic functionality
- 🗺️ Clear map display with sea blue and land green
- 📊 Comprehensive vessel information available
- ⚓ Good for casual ship tracking and hobbyists
Room to improve
- ⏱️ Severely outdated vessel position data (days old)
- 🐛 App freezes on startup/splash screen frequently
- 💸 Misleading free version with limited functionality
- 🔄 Inconsistent and unreliable data updates
- ❌ Search functionality requires paid version
Bugs and requests
Ship Finder Lite
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ships not showing up on the map
- App crashes or freezes
- Outdated or incorrect ship information
Requested features
4 requests- Search for specific vessels
- Alerts and notifications for ship movements
- Improved data coverage and accuracy
- Less intrusive advertising model
VesselFinder
Reported bugs
15 issues- App freezes on splash screen and won't load
- Crashes when attempting to zoom on map
- Black screen display on certain devices
- App won't open or opens after long delays
- Crashes on iOS 11 and newer versions
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- Incompatible with iPhone X and newer models
- Data not updating for days or weeks
- Crashes when searching for vessels
- Freezing issues after recent updates
- Map not displaying on iPad
- App crashes in low power mode
- Vessel information not loading correctly
- Inconsistent performance across iOS versions
- App becomes unstable after working briefly
- Zoom functionality broken in multiple versions
Requested features
13 requests- Real-time GPS tracking instead of delayed AIS data
- Distance measurement tool restoration
- German language support
- Destination and departure information display
- Ability to remove ads without expensive pro version
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Better search functionality in free version
- Vessel departure time information
- Improved map zoom functionality
- Live results in search function
- Picture display before clicking on vessel
- Better map background/quality
- Local time display instead of UTC only
- Ability to delete incorrect vessel photos from profile
In-app purchases
Ship Finder Lite
No in-app purchases
VesselFinder
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ship Finder Lite free?
Is VesselFinder free?
Which has better reviews, Ship Finder Lite or VesselFinder?
Do Ship Finder Lite or VesselFinder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ship Finder Lite or VesselFinder?
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