ShippingExplorer vs Boat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShippingExplorer
Track vessels worldwide with live data on a map. View detailed ship information, photos, and historical tracks. Access real-time vessel positions for free with a demo key.
- Live vessel data worldwide
- Detailed ship information and photos
- Track history for each ship
- Search and display last known ship positions
- Favorites and bookmarks
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ShippingExplorer for iPhone is the mobile version of our feature rich desktop application. It's a cost-effective software to track vessels with live data. It displays all vessels in range at their exact position on a map. Additional information, photos, track history, etc. about vessels can be viewed right away in the program. *** FREE ACCESS TO LIVE DATA *** For a limited period of time we're offering all demo users the live data feed instead of delayed positions. Just enter "DEMO" as your key. Users already owning a license for ShippingExplorer just enter their usual product key. Features: - Live vessel data from around the world in realtime - Details for all ships, including photo - Track history with positions for each ship - Search and display a ship's last position - Favorites / Bookmarks More features available in our desktop version!
Boat
Access free nautical charts for Finnish waters, featuring live vessel tracking. Connect with agent software to display your boat's routes on the map. Utilizes official navigational data for accuracy.
- Free nautical charts
- Finnish waters coverage
- Live vessel tracking
- Vessel information display
- Route display with agent software
- Official navigational data
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Free nautical charts for Finnish waters. Includes live tracking of vessels in Finnish waters. Tap on a vessel icon to view further information. When used together with the Boat-Tracker agent software installed in a boat, routes driven with the boat are shown on the chart. Uses navigational markers from Finnish Transport Agency and public vessel identification data.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ShippingExplorer at 4.0 against Boat's 3.0. ShippingExplorer also leads on review sentiment (32% vs 0%) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). Boat's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 10 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ShippingExplorer holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShippingExplorer has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of ShippingExplorer's written reviews are positive against 0% of Boat's.
ShippingExplorer ships an update every 10 months, Boat every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShippingExplorer | Boat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (8 ratings) — better | 3.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 31.6% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ShippingExplorer | Michael Skogberg |
Customer experience
ShippingExplorer
Boat
In-app purchases
ShippingExplorer
No in-app purchases
Boat
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ShippingExplorer free?
Is Boat free?
Which has better reviews, ShippingExplorer or Boat?
Do ShippingExplorer or Boat have ads?
Which is updated more often, ShippingExplorer or Boat?
Other comparisons
