PRO CHARTS vs Nearest Light
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PRO CHARTS
Navigate marine environments with detailed nautical charts and route planning. Track your location, find friends on the water, and share your trip details for safety. Offline chart access ensures reliable navigation even without an internet connection.
- High-resolution NOAA nautical charts
- Offline chart access
- Waypoint and route creation
- Buddy tracking
- Float plan sharing
- Point-and-steer navigation
- Track recording
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MiraTrex PRO CHARTS™ is a powerful, yet easy-to-use marine navigation system. Whether you’re a fisherman, weekend cruiser, sailor, diver, jet-skier, or an offshore captain needing to find an exact location hundreds of miles offshore, PRO CHARTS™ will get you there and back home safely – with nothing more than your iPhone or iPad. Key Features: • High-resolution NOAA nautical chart coverage with depths for all U.S. coastal areas, the Great Lakes, major U.S. river systems, and Brazil plus global high-level nautical charts. Charts are automatically updated based on NOAA chart corrections. • Easy one-touch Waypoint and Route creation. Pre-plan your routes at home or create them at sea with equal ease. Just touch the screen to create new waypoints and routes. • Find your friends on the water. With our new Buddy-tracking feature, you can see and meet up with your friends while you’re out on the water. If you’re on your secret spot and don’t want to be seen, you can hide your location with the touch of a button. • Stay safe. Easily create and send a Float Plan of your trip to a friend or family member. Your Float Plan and location history can be forwarded to search and rescue personnel in case of an emergency. • Easy point-and-steer navigation. The red heading bug on the large on-screen compass always directs you to the next point on your route. Navigation is as easy as pointing your boat at the heading bug to stay on course. • No Network. No Problem. PRO CHARTS™ is designed so no internet connection is required to view your charts while out on the water. You simply download in advance any charts you’ll need at sea with the touch of a button. • Record your tracks. Track your position in real-time and later view your track history. • Fully indexed point of interest (POI) database including weather, aids to navigation (markers and lights), obstructions, tides, currents, your buddies, and more. Website: www.miratrex.com -------------------- Plans: Base app with limited features - Free 14 day trial of all premium features - Free All premium features (Monthly) - $2.99 All premium features (Annual) - $29.99 (Save 16%, about 2 months free) -Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. -Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. -You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for that product. -You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings in the Apple Settings app after purchase. -No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. This does not affect your statutory rights. -Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. -We will be collecting information about your use of the app both when you are online and offline. To find out more please see our privacy policy. -------------------- By purchasing a subscription or downloading an app you agree that you have read and accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. http://www.miratrex.com/procharts/terms-of-use/ http://www.miratrex.com/procharts/privacy/ NOTE: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Though PRO CHARTS™ will function without a GPS as a chart reader, a GPS-enabled device is required for point-to-point navigation. Third-party Bluetooth GPS units are available to enable GPS for iOS devices such as WiFi-only iPads that do not include a GPS receiver. For offline use where no Internet connection is available, charts must be pre-cached while still on-line and connected, any charts downloaded while online will be available for offline use.
Nearest Light
This app provides U.S. water navigation information, displaying your location and details on nearby aids like buoys and lights. It downloads weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List data and includes relevant Local Notice for Mariners information.
- Displays user location
- Shows surrounding aids to navigation
- Downloads weekly U.S. Coast Guard Light List
- Includes Local Notice for Mariners
- Supports multiple U.S. Coast Guard districts
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Nearest Light is a 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. Refer to the User Manual (url in Settings) for additional information. Districts: D1, D5, D7, D8, D8WR, D9, D11, D13, D14, D17 (ref: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=lightLists) Warning: Nearest Light, 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nearest Light at 67% against PRO CHARTS's 17%. Nearest Light also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). PRO CHARTS's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (8.5K vs 7). On price, update cadence, ads 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. PRO CHARTS sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Nearest Light asks for nothing beyond the download.
PRO CHARTS holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PRO CHARTS has 8.5K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 17% of PRO CHARTS's written reviews are positive against 67% of Nearest Light's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PRO CHARTS ships an update every 2 months, Nearest Light every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PRO CHARTS | Nearest Light |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (8.5K ratings) — better | 3.9 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 17.2% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8.5K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #152 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MiraTrex, Inc. | Clint O'Connor |
Customer experience
PRO CHARTS
Nearest Light
Bugs and requests
PRO CHARTS
Reported bugs
3 issues- Charts not loading or disappearing
- Subscription not recognized
- Login/account issues
Requested features
3 requests- Offline map downloads
- Depth and hazard data
- Better route planning tools
Nearest Light
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PRO CHARTS
- 1 Year Auto Renewing Subscription14 Days trial$2.991 Month
- 1 Year Auto Renewing Subscription14 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Brazil - Nautical Charts$4.99
- 1 Year Subscription$29.99
Nearest Light
No in-app purchases









