Comparison

Explore with Imray vs NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Explore with Imray

Access Imray's renowned cruising guides and pilot books on your mobile device. This app provides verified sailing directions, marina data, and points of interest for over 17,000 locations, all available offline. Enhance your passage planning and sailing experience with trusted, first-hand researched content.

Highlights
  • Offline cruising guides
  • Verified pilotage information
  • Marina and anchorage data
  • Bookmark and filter locations
  • Satellite map view
  • User feedback submission
Features
Read full description

**Explore with Imray** Cruising guides in your pocket! Carry the content from Imray’s world-renowned library of cruising guides and pilot books in your pocket. Designed for sailors and boaters, the content in Explore with Imray is researched first hand by experienced sailors and verified by Imray. It also includes information from extensive networks of trusted local contacts and data from official hydrographic offices, organisations and institutions. Verified and trusted cruising data - Content created by leading sailing authors and clubs including the Cruising Association, Rod and Lu Heikell, the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, Clyde Cruising Club and much more - Invaluable pilotage information and sailing directions for over 17,000 locations - Marina, harbour and anchorage descriptions and data - Contact, mooring and facilities information - Images and chartlets from the extensive Imray collection Key Features: - Offline Content: Download and access essential pilotage information and sailing directions to access whilst at sea - Verified Points of Interest: Explore trusted cruising data and discover verified points of interest along your journey - Add your Feedback: Send your updates and feedback directly from the app to the editors, for review and potential inclusion in Explore with Imray and Imray’s printed books - Bookmark and Filter Locations: Easily bookmark locations and filter them by facilities to find what you need quickly. - Satellite View: Gain a comprehensive view of your surroundings on the satellite map background. - Access to Desktop version: Your membership allows you to also access the online desktop version. Explore with Imray offers a free trial and annual membership. Get full access with the Explore with Imray annual subscription for just £69.99. This 12-month auto-renewing plan ensures you stay connected to premium features all year long. Your Apple account will be charged upon confirmation of purchase. Membership subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renewal is turned off 24 hours before the current period ends in your account settings. Cancelling auto-renewal ensures access until the current payment period concludes. By using this app, you agree to the standard Apple End User License Agreement (EULA), which can be found here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/. For more information on how we handle your data, please review our Privacy Policy (https://www.imray.com/about/privacy/). We aim to guide your passage planning and sailing. Got feedback? Let us know how we can better serve you!

About

NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS

This app provides digital nautical charts and navigation tools for safe boating. It offers offline chart downloads, real-time AIS tracking, and community-shared points of interest. Plan and share your routes with ease.

Highlights
  • Digital nautical charts
  • Offline chart downloads
  • Real-time AIS tracking
  • Community points of interest
  • Auto-routing
  • GPX file export
Features
Read full description

Enhance your navigation experience with a seamless navigation solution that provides up-to-date digital nautical charts, comprehensive harbour information, and a full suite of navigation features. The charts can be downloaded for offline use and offer exceptional compatibility with the NV Charts paper charts with a similar chart design. All currently valid editions of the NV Verlag / NV Charts nautical charts or inland charts | North Sea | Baltic Sea | Netherlands | Wadden Sea | Ijsselmeer | Sweden | Denmark | Germany | Norway | France | USA | Caribbean | Bahamas areas are compatible with the NV Charts App. Enjoy the best of both worlds - paper and digital: A perfect match is our popular combination package of high-quality digital charts and cleverly designed paper charts. Alternatively, you can also purchase digital nautical charts directly via the app with a convenient annual subscription that renews automatically. The integrated update service keeps the charts up to date. If it is not yet clear where the journey should go or no offline charts are activated, free online charts can be displayed for all NV Charts chart areas, even without a currently valid chart licence. Detailed and relevant information is essential for navigating safely on the water. With the NV Charts App, you are part of the BoatView community yourself. You can mark harbours, anchorages and navigation warnings on the digital nautical chart and also add pictures of interesting places that go beyond navigation, such as restaurants or popular attractions, and share them with the community. Others can respond directly with comments. The continuously edited content can be downloaded directly to be available offline. To make all the information easily accessible, the app offers a search function. You can explore the surroundings and search directly for place names as well as anchorages, harbours, ramps, waypoints, cranes, fuel stations or tide stations. The app also offers fast and flexible auto-routing, allowing you to navigate directly to your destination and edit a route manually. Navigation on board is even more fun together! You can share your tracks with friends or use the data outside the app and export it as a GPX file. You can easily share your favourite harbours and anchorages from the app via a link and coordinate your trip planning even better with everyone. The AIS function in the NV Charts App allows you to keep an eye on AIS signals in real time. A WiFi AIS receiver can be connected to the NV Charts App for this purpose. The AIS Class A and B targets and aids to navigation (ATON), as well as MOB AIS SART transponder emergency transmitters, are displayed, and the traffic situation can be better assessed. The NV Charts App can be installed and synchronized on multiple devices. NV Charts App - Features: + Search function + Autorouting for all distances and regions + Velocity Made Good (VMG) + Community Layer / Points of Interest(POI) + Free online boating charts preview for planning + In App Purchases of digital offline charts + Community Layer / Points of Interest(POI) + Reads all NV Chart chart areas + Easy download of the maps + Always the latest data + Seamless zoom and panning functions + Tide Forecast + Online weather + AIS Wifi Support + AIS Sart Beacon + AIS CPA function + Night mode + Anchor alarm + Position with GPS + Intuitive route planning + Course markings, markings, bearing ruler + Port information + Display of instruments + Synchronizing devices + Live Position Sharing + Social sharing of routes, tracks, positions Note: Continued use of GPS in the background can significantly reduce battery life.

Screenshots

Explore with Imray4 screens
NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS at free with in-app purchases against Explore with Imray's subscription. NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 25%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Explore with Imray sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $79.99 per year and NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explore with Imray ships an update every 2 months, NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Explore with Imray versus NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplore with ImrayNV Charts GPS Navigation AIS
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.5 (115 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—115 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB78 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperFB Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson GmbHNV Chart Group GmbH

Customer experience

Explore with Imray

Written reviews68 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral10.3%
Negative64.7%

NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS

All ratings114 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral4.4%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral11.9%
Negative33.9%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Explore with Imray

Subscriptions1
  • Explore Annual Membership$79.991 Year
10 purchases

NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS

Subscriptions10
  • Baltic Sea and Kattegat$49.991 Year
  • Norway$49.991 Year
  • Netherlands$49.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Mediterranean East$49.991 Year
  • France Atlantik$49.991 Year
  • Croatia$49.991 Year
  • Caribbean and Bermuda$49.991 Year
  • Atlantic Islands$49.991 Year
  • Florida and Bahamas$49.991 Year
  • Northsea$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Explore with Imray free?
Explore with Imray is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS free?
NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Explore with Imray or NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS have ads?
Neither Explore with Imray nor NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explore with Imray or NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS?
Explore with Imray ships an update every 2 months, and NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS every 3 weeks. Most recently, Explore with Imray was updated on November 1, 2026 and NV Charts GPS Navigation AIS on November 1, 2026.

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