NMEAremote vs Sailing Master M
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NMEAremote
This app provides real-time marine data from your ship's navigation system directly to your mobile device. Monitor navigation, wind, and depth information at a glance for enhanced safety and performance on the water.
- Real-time marine data display
- Supports NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, SignalK
- Customizable dashboard
- Alarms and logging
- Apple Watch integration
- Server/Repeater functionality
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Your boat's instruments, right in your hand. NMEAremote connects your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch to your vessel's network and navigation system and brings all critical marine data to a bold, easy-to-read dashboard — wherever you are on deck. Whether you're racing offshore or cruising coastal waters, NMEAremote delivers real-time wind, speed, depth, GPS, AIS, engine data, and more in a single, fully customizable display. The first NMEA app ever on the App Store, now a trusted Swiss Army knife for sailors worldwide. Broad Compatibility Supports NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, Signal K, and MQTT from virtually any device. Compatible with Expedition, B&G H5000, A&T, and a wide range of preconfigured sources including Actisense, Digital Yacht, Yacht Devices, B&G, and many more — over WiFi or Bluetooth. Your Data, Your Way All values are organized into intuitive Modules — AIS, GPS, Wind, Navigation, Sounder, Heading, Environment, Performance, Racing, Engine, and more. Customizable Dashboards Create personalized displays tailored to your needs. Focus on the data that matters most to you. Build the dashboard you need: choose layouts, add pages, set favorites or just use the comprehensive default dashboard. Every numeric value can be individually smoothed for clean, stable readings. Set a custom color for each instrument title and value — match your cockpit aesthetics, improve readability in sunlight or at night, or color-code data by category at a glance. Your dashboard, your palette. Built for iPad — Side by Side with Your Charts NMEAremote supports iPad Split View, so you can run your favourite charting app on one side while NMEAremote displays clean, live instrument values on the other. No more switching back and forth. Your chart and your data, together on one screen. User-Friendly Interface Clean, intuitive design makes it easy for both experienced sailors and beginners to navigate. Performance Sailing Import your polar diagram and unlock full performance analytics — Polar Speed, Target Speed, VMG, Beat & Gybe angles, and more. Ideal for racers who want that extra tenth of a knot. Stay Aware Configurable alarms alert you visually and audibly when any value crosses a threshold. Keep a full NMEA log for review and diagnostics. Forward data to other devices with the built-in server/repeater. On Your Wrist & Glasses Native Apple Watch app runs independently from your iPhone. Supports ActiveLook® smartglass integration for hands-free, heads-up sailing data. Accessible to All Sailors NMEAremote supports VoiceOver, Apple's built-in screen reader. Instrument titles and live values are fully accessible — so every sailor can stay informed, eyes-free, at any time. One Purchase. No Subscriptions. No Registration required Buy once for the full feature set. No recurring fees, no hidden costs, no adds. No charts — just clean, reliable instrument data done right. For any details, supported values, devices and messages visit: www.zapfware.de/nmearemote/ If you have any questions, suggestions or need support please send an e-mail to ios@zapfware.de
Sailing Master M
This app provides comprehensive sailing data and performance optimization on various Apple devices. It displays over 35 sailing measurements from boat instruments, polars tables, and nautical charts, offering detailed wind, route, and map views. Connectivity is established through NMEA 0183 Wi-Fi gateways.
- Configurable data displays
- 35+ sailing measurements
- Wind, route, and map displays
- NMEA 0183 Wi-Fi connectivity
- Polars table integration
- Nautical chart overlays
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Sailing Master M offers comprehensive sailing data and performance optimization information on iPhones, iPads, iWatches, and ActiveLook smart glasses. The application provides configurable pages and data displays, utilizing over 35 sailing measurements from the boat’s instruments, polars tables, and nautical charts. On phones and pads, the Data and Analog Displays can include minimum and maximum values and time series graphs. The Wind Display provides wind, heading, route, and speed information. The Route Display shows the expected wind conditions on the next legs. The Map Display shows the vessel with direction, tacking and downwind laylines on a nautical chart, or the wind laylines in another location. The connectivity is through NMEA 0813 Wi-Fi gateways such as B&G Vulcan, Zeus, GoFree, Yacht Devices, Signal K, Actisense, and ShipModul. The application has evolved from its initial focus on NMEA data display to encompass a comprehensive suite of features. Consequently, the app’s name has been revised from 'Display0183M' to 'Sailing Master M'. For further information, please refer to the user’s guide available on the app’s website or within the app itself. Terms of use: The app is delivered under the Apple End User License Agreement (EULA, https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/) The following libraries and services are used: - Kitura/BlueSocket, published under the Apache 2.0 license - A modified version of GPX package, published under BSD 3-Clause License and copyrighted by Ioannis Silks - OpenStreetMap licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL, https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/) by the OpenStreetMap Foundation Licence, and ©OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenSeaMap, which is licensed under the Open Data Commons (ODbL) license, and ©OpenSeaMap contributors The supported NMEA 0183 sentences are: - BWR: Bearing and distance to waypoint - DBS: Depth below surface - DBT: Depth below transducer. - DPT: depth of water. - CGA: Global Positioning System Fix data - GLL: Geographic position Latitude/Longitude - HDG: Heading magnetic - HDM: Heading magnetic - HDT: Heading true - MWD: undocumented, wind direction, wind speed - MTW: water temperature °C - MWV: Wind speed and angle (A,T) - RMB: XTE, range to destination, bearing to destination, destination closing velocity . - RMC: Speed over ground - RSA: Rudder sensor angle - VHW: Water speed and heading - VLW: Distance travelled through water - VPW: Speed - measured parallel to wind - VTG: Course over ground (T or M), speed over ground - VWR: Wind direction (A), wind speed (A) - WCV: Waypoint closure velocity - XDR: air temperature (°C), water temperature (°C) and barometric pressure (mbar). - XTE: Cross track error The data items from NMEA and polars are: - Waypoint bearing - Waypoint distance - Time to Waypoint - VMG waypoint - Cross track error - Depth - Heading - Heading - Course - Course - Water speed - Speed over ground - Water temperature - Air temperature - Air pressure - Wind speed apparent - Wind angle apparent - Wind speed true - Wind direction - Wind direction - VMG Wind - Latitude, Longitude - Waypoint laititude, longitude - Water Distance after reset - Total water distance - Ground distance after reset - Total ground distance - Velocity made good towards wind - Heel - Rudder - Boat target speed through the water - Boat speed of target speed (%) - Beat VMG boat target speed through the water - Run VMG boat target speed through the water - GPS based trip distance - Leeway
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sailing Master M at Free against NMEAremote's $23.99. Sailing Master M also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). NMEAremote's advantage is chart position (#60 vs unranked) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On update cadence, 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
Sailing Master M is free to download; NMEAremote costs $23.99 up front. NMEAremote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sailing Master M sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $11.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sailing Master M holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NMEAremote has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
NMEAremote ships an update every 3 months, Sailing Master M every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NMEAremote | Sailing Master M |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $23.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #60 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | zapfware | Pekka Leppanen |
Customer experience
NMEAremote
Sailing Master M
In-app purchases
NMEAremote
- ExpeditionFree
Sailing Master M
- Pro annual14 Days trial$11.991 Year







