StarPilot vs Radar Plotting
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
StarPilot
This app provides advanced celestial navigation computations for iPhone and iPod touch. It offers mathematical and graphic solutions for position fixes, great circle sailing, and more, including lunar distance methods and a sight planner for accurate results.
- Celestial sight reductions
- Position fixes and great circle sailing
- Lunar distance method for GMT
- Graphical Sight Planner
- Sight Analyzer function
- Menu-driven interface
- Perpetual almanac
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The state-of-the-art solution to navigation computations on your iPhone or iPod touch. StarPilot does celestial sight reductions of all bodies using high-precision internal almanac, plus mathematical and graphic solutions for position fixes, great circle, rhumb line, traverse and composite sailings, all current problems, piloting solutions, and much more...including lunar distance method of finding GMT from the sky and a unique graphical Sight Planner, and the new Sight Analyzer function that helps you get the most accurate results from a series of sights. The StarPilot is the self sufficient state of the art solution to ocean navigation, fully up-gradeable with free upgrades available via Internet download, easy to use operation from logical menu lists, plus illustrated context sensitive help with practice exercises. The StarPilot requires no external resources to complete its computations. Internet access is not required to use this program or to access any of its help files. General program design features... that save time, keystrokes, and minimize errors - Easy to use menu-driven interface - Stored settings of commonly used values - All bodies and star names stored internally, no need for separate lists - DR functions integrated with the celestial functions - Convenient DR updating by log or time - Input courses as true or magnetic - Convenient time input, with or without zone description and watch error - Graphing calculator plots LOPS, Fixes, DR positions, and Star maps - Program can be easily updated to incorporate latest version and features - Custom menu bar for quick navigation to often-used functions Sight Planning - Sunrise, Sunset, times and bearings (amplitudes) - LAN, time, Equation of time, Hs max at LAN1 - Nautical and Civil twilight times, and LHA Aries at midpoint between them - Moonrise, Moonset, Moon phase, and Moon age - Precompute specific values of Hc and Zn for any body - Planet and Star ID by observed height and bearing - SIGHT PLANNER function plots full sky showing moon, stars, and planets in Radar-like display of heights and bearings. Set Hc min/max and max number of stars before computation. Set cursor and click to read the actual height and bearing of a plotted body. - Special fast almanac mode allows full sky plot - Display internal list of 173 stars by name, brightness, and location - Unique BEST SIGHTS function selects the optimum triads of sights for any sky Sight Reduction - Optional modes for sequential sights using repeated settings or unrelated individual sights - Perpetual almanac accurate to 2100+ - Historically accurate almanac data to 16th century - Sight reduction of Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn... plus Mercury! - Sight Reduction of 173 stars plus Polaris - “Assumed positions” read directly from DR section without extra input - View intercepts (a-values) with or without course and speed corrections - Full input data displayed with results to check for errors - Special center-body mode for artificial horizon data - Dip-short mode for practice at shorelines Celestial Fixes - Unique SIGHT ANALYZER fits a sequence of sights to the right slope for optimum sight selection - All fixes corrected automatically for course and speed as needed - Fix accuracy independent of DR accuracy in all cases - Plots LOPS with live cursor position display - Fix computed by USNO algorithm in the Nautical Almanac - Zoom in on plot to see where computed fix is located - Fix can be obtained by graphic selection from the LOP plot - Automatic display of DR-to-Fix range and bearing - Optional automatic update of DR after fix - Display new course and distance to stored destination
Radar Plotting
This app offers advanced radar plotting for maritime navigation. It allows users to calculate critical encounter data, plan maneuvers, and analyze complex scenarios with interactive visualizations. Designed for training and decision support, it aids in understanding vessel interactions.
- Kinematic calculations (CPA/TCPA, aspect)
- True and relative speed estimation
- Evasive maneuver planning with COLREG guidance
- Rescue and escape scenario planning
- Double-target analysis
- Current and drift estimation
- Interactive radar canvas with playback
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Radar Plotting provides advanced radar-plotting capabilities for iPhone and iPad. Compute CPA/TCPA, estimate true motion, plan evasive/rescue/escape manoeuvres, and analyse two-target encounters — all visualised on an interactive radar sheet. Highlights: - Precise kinematic calculations (CPA/TCPA, aspect, true & relative speed) - Evasive manoeuvres with COLREG guidance - Rescue & escape planning, including scenarios with faster vessels - Double-target handling - Current/drift estimation - Interactive canvas with adjustable scales and animated trajectory playback - Import/export via QR code and PDF report generation Safety note: This app is for training and decision support. It does not replace certified navigational equipment or official procedures. Always follow COLREG and local/company rules.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Radar Plotting at $7.99 against StarPilot's $49.99. StarPilot's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 50%) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
StarPilot costs $49.99 and Radar Plotting $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for StarPilot against 5.0 for Radar Plotting. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StarPilot has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of StarPilot's written reviews are positive against 50% of Radar Plotting's.
StarPilot ships an update every 4 months, Radar Plotting every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | StarPilot | Radar Plotting |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.99 | $7.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Starpath Corp | Giacomo Gabriele |
Customer experience
StarPilot
Radar Plotting
In-app purchases
StarPilot
No in-app purchases
Radar Plotting
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is StarPilot free?
Is Radar Plotting free?
Which has better reviews, StarPilot or Radar Plotting?
Do StarPilot or Radar Plotting have ads?
Which is updated more often, StarPilot or Radar Plotting?
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