Comparison

NavRules vs AV Assistant

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

Head to head
About

NavRules

Master nautical navigation rules with practice exams and a comprehensive rule book. Focus your learning by customizing tests based on question type, rule, and filter. Track your progress and review answers with detailed explanations.

Highlights
  • Customizable practice exams
  • International and US Inland rules
  • Question filtering by text or rule
  • Progress tracking by rule
  • Flash card mode with diagrams
  • Integrated Rule Book
  • Over 1200 questions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The best way to learn the Nautical Rules of the Road. NavRules provides all the questions, answers, explanations and resources to help you master the Nautical Rules of the road. For all mariners, from kayakers to ship captains. Product Description: Based on the International and US Inland Navigation Rules along with the published edition of the USCG database of license exam questions, this App helps you master the Navigation Rules using a practice exam driven methodology. Using NavRules you generate practice exams where you: • control the number of questions, • control the scope of the questions (international vs inland), • specify a filter (a text string that must appear in the question), • specify the rule the questions pertain to, • identify whether the question has been previously answered or not, or answered incorrectly or not. This gives you control over the tests that are generated so you can focus your learning experience. After taking an exam you can review the results to see: • which questions were answered correctly, • for incorrect answers the correct answer, • the rule the question pertains to so you can understand the context of the question. Every practice exam you take tracks your results relative the the Navigation Rules Question Pool. By browsing the Question Pool you can see your progress on understanding each rule. For each rule NavRules reposts: • your coverage (number of questions you have answered) and, • your proficiency (the percentage of questions you have answered correctly). If you want to study a rule you can link directly to the questions related to that rule and choose the answers. In this "review" mode you get immediate feedback on whether your answer is correct (but these results are not recorded and do not impact your rule coverage or proficiency). The Flash Card mode lets you see all the diagrams used in the tests and from each of them see the questions that reference that diagram. The included Rule Book provides: • index to US Inland, International and Canadian Rules, • link to all illustrations used in the Navigation Rules, • link to all vessel lights by vessel type, • definitions, • demarcation lines, • special terminology, • distress signals • references. Other features include: • over 1200 answered and referenced questions on the Navigation Rules, • complete copy of the Navigation Rules, • custom design your practice tests by number, filter, and type so you can focus on what you need to learn, • rules are clearly identified as Inland and International or both, • all practice tests results are stored until manually deleted, • Canadian Modifications to the Navigation Rules.

About

AV Assistant

This app provides U.S. waters navigation information, displaying your location and details of surrounding aids like buoys and lights. It downloads weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List data and includes relevant Local Notice for Mariners information. It also allows users to report discrepancies in navigation aids to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Highlights
  • Location-based aid display
  • U.S. Coast Guard Light List data
  • Local Notice for Mariners integration
  • Discrepancy reporting to USCG
  • Informational aid for U.S. waters
Features
Read full description

AV Assistant is an informational aid for U.S. waters that shows your location and details on all surrounding aids to navigation (buoys, lights, etc) within your Area of Interest. The app downloads the weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List for your district, and then shows the aids within your Area of Interest and their details. Any applicable Local Notice for Mariners information is also shown with the light data. For reference use, Nearest Light, also in the App Store, is the better choice. AV Assistant is capable of making reports to the U.S. Coast Guard regarding discrepancies in aids to navigation and is primarily intended for USCG and USCG Auxiliary use. Refer to the website (url in Settings|Reference) for additional information. Warning: AV Assistant, which provides Light List data, is not intended to be used in place of charts or Coast Pilots. Charts should be consulted for the location of all aids to navigation. It may be dangerous to use aids to navigation without reference to charts.

Screenshots

NavRules4 screens
AV Assistant3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AV Assistant at Free against NavRules's $15.99. AV Assistant also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 13 months). NavRules's advantage is chart position (#12 vs unranked) and ratings volume (19 vs 4). On 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

AV Assistant is free to download; NavRules costs $15.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AV Assistant holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NavRules ships an update every 13 months, AV Assistant every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
NavRules versus AV Assistant: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNavRulesAV Assistant
Price$15.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (19 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings19 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMintaka InnovationsClint O'Connor

Customer experience

NavRules

All ratings18 ratings
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative28.0%

AV Assistant

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

NavRules

No in-app purchases

None

AV Assistant

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NavRules free?
NavRules costs $15.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AV Assistant free?
AV Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NavRules or AV Assistant?
AV Assistant is rated higher. NavRules averages 3.9 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while AV Assistant averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do NavRules or AV Assistant have ads?
Neither NavRules nor AV Assistant shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NavRules or AV Assistant?
NavRules ships an update every 13 months, and AV Assistant every 2 months. Most recently, NavRules was updated on October 21, 2026 and AV Assistant on October 9, 2026.

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