Comparison

Sight Calc vs Aqua Map Boating

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

Head to head
About

Sight Calc

This app is a specialized calculator for sight reductions using the Law of Cosines method. It's designed for students learning celestial navigation and requires manual input of LHA, declination, and approximate latitude.

Highlights
  • Law of Cosines sight reduction
  • Manual LHA, declination, and latitude input
  • Input as degrees/minutes or decimal degrees
  • Continuous computation of Hc, Z, and Zn
  • Supports North/South latitude and declination conventions
  • Clear and clear entry functions
  • Convert minutes to decimal degrees
Features
Read full description

Sight Calc is a specialized calculator for calculating sight reductions via the "Law of Cosines" method. It does not use Nautical Almanac data, so you must first compute LHA (Local Hour Angle) and declination, and determine your approximate latitude. It is designed particularly for students learning celestial navigation, such as the Celestial Navigation courses taught by the United States Power Squadrons®. If you are unfamiliar with how to do sight reductions, some good resources are available from the United States Power Squadrons® at www.usps.org. In particular, this calculator is useful in conjunction with Form SR96a, www.usps.org/eddept/n/files/sr96a.pdf Inputs may be entered as two numbers: Degrees - left column Minutes - right column Or enter as decimal degrees (e.g., 44.48833). Sight Calc will prompt you to enter six number in sequence: LHA (degrees) LHA (minutes) Lat (degrees) Lat (minutes) Dec (degrees) Dec (minutes) In v 2.0 you may enter values in any sequence. Hc, Z and Zn are continuously computed and displayed. Be sure to enter North Latitude as a positive number and South Latitude as a NEGATIVE number. Sight Calc will take the absolute value of Latitude in the law of cosines formula, but needs the hemisphere to calculate azimuth (Zn). Similarly, enter Declination as positive if North and negative if South. (Note: this differs from version 1.x of Sight Calc.) If you want to do repeated calculations with some of the same numbers, just enter the changed numbers. To start over fresh at any time, press "C" to clear everything. "CE" key clears the Current Entry. Optionally, use the "o" key to convert minutes to decimal degrees, add that to the degrees field, and clear the minutes field. This has no effect on the calculation. Please report any bugs or suggestions to: sightcalc@nuvocom.com

About

Aqua Map Boating

This app provides official, weekly updated nautical charts for marine navigation. It allows for offline map downloads, GPS track recording, and integration with onboard instruments. Enhance your boating safety and experience with advanced features like weather forecasts and AIS collision detection.

Highlights
  • Official NOAA nautical charts
  • Offline map downloads
  • GPS track recording
  • Tides and currents predictions
  • Anchor Alarm
  • NMEA instrument connectivity
  • AIS with collision detection
Features
Read full description

Free 14-day trial for all subscriptions   Aqua Map offers weekly updated OFFICIAL NAUTICAL CHARTS (NOAA) for marine navigation. Purchase a chart subscription for the area of your interest, download the map areas for offline use, and connect your onboard instruments for a complete experience. ● BASIC FEATURES - Switch between manual and auto route planning modes - Record your GPS tracks - Store and share your navigation data (markers, routes, and recorded tracks) - Display tides and currents predictions and simulations - Increase your safety with Anchor Alarm - Enable Live Sharing to interact with the Aqua Map community - Display points of interest from the "ActiveCaptain" and "Waterway Guide" communities ● EXPERT SUBSCRIPTION Note: this subscription does not include charts; it must be paired with a chart subscription. - Marine forecasts (wind, waves, currents, gusts, salinity, sea surface temperature + weather information for any point on the map) - Overlay satellite images on the charts - Advanced AnchorLink with anchorage mirroring and email/telegram notifications for greater peace of mind while anchored, even if you are away from the boat - Connect your NMEA instruments via WiFi (autopilot, depth sounder, wind sensor, compass, GPS) and use their data on the app - AIS with automatic collision detection - Route Explorer for real-time information on all elements along your route ● MASTER SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE BEST NAVIGATION EXPERIENCE Note: this subscription does not include charts; it must be paired with a chart subscription. - All features of the EXPERT subscription are included in the MASTER subscription. + LOCAL DATA: > US: Army Corps of Engineers surveys for safe navigation in shallow waters > US: LNMs and "List of Lights" navaids from the Coast Guard. > Canada: NAVWARNs from the Coast Guard. > France: Warnings, Notices and Regulations from the PING > Denmark: Warnings and Notices from the DMA > Western Australia: temporary Notices from the Transport WA   ● PURCHASE OPTIONS To access the charts, you need to purchase a chart subscription for the area of interest. Optionally, you can add the Expert subscription or the Master subscription to unlock extra navigation features and additional data. Subscription payments will be made through your account (Apple ID). The annual subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before expiration. You can manage your subscription and disable automatic renewal in the account settings section after purchase. Terms of use: https://www.aquamap.app/terms-and-conditions Privacy policy: https://www.aquamap.app/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Sight Calc4 screens
Aqua Map Boating4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Aqua Map Boating at Free against Sight Calc's $1.99. Aqua Map Boating also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (14K vs 7). Sight Calc's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 17) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Aqua Map Boating is free to download; Sight Calc costs $1.99 up front. Aqua Map Boating sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Sight Calc asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sight Calc holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aqua Map Boating has 14K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Sight Calc's written reviews are positive against 64% of Aqua Map Boating's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sight Calc ships an update every 11 months, Aqua Map Boating weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Sight Calc versus Aqua Map Boating: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSight CalcAqua Map Boating
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better4.7 (14K ratings)
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews — better64.4% of reviews
Number of ratings714K — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#93 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB174 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNUVOCOM INCORPORATEDGEC s.r.l.

Customer experience

Sight Calc

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.6%

Aqua Map Boating

All ratings13,773 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews295 reviews
Positive64.4%
Neutral9.2%
Negative26.4%

Bugs and requests

Sight Calc

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Aqua Map Boating

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent GPS tracking and positioning
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved route planning and optimization
  • Offline map caching and seamless downloads
  • Tidal and wind data overlays
  • Sync capabilities across devices

In-app purchases

None

Sight Calc

No in-app purchases

17 purchases

Aqua Map Boating

Subscriptions15
  • Florida - NOAA Nautical chart14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Alabama to Texas charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Cape Cod to Chesapeake Charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
Show 12 more
  • New England - Nautical charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Virginia to Georgia - Charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Midwest-Minnesota lake charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Michigan & Great Lakes chart14 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • US - Nautical & Lakes charts14 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Canada - nautical charts14 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • US & Canada - nautical charts14 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Caribbean South Nautical chart14 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Bermuda - nautical charts14 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Aqua Map Expert14 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Aqua Map Master14 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Bahamas - Explorer Charts14 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • US & Canada - Nautical chart$49.99
  • Bahamas - Explorer Chartbooks$139.99

Questions

Is Sight Calc free?
Sight Calc costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Aqua Map Boating free?
Aqua Map Boating is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sight Calc or Aqua Map Boating?
Sight Calc is rated higher. Sight Calc averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Aqua Map Boating averages 4.7 from 14K ratings.
Do Sight Calc or Aqua Map Boating have ads?
Neither Sight Calc nor Aqua Map Boating shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sight Calc or Aqua Map Boating?
Sight Calc ships an update every 11 months, and Aqua Map Boating weekly. Most recently, Sight Calc was updated on October 15, 2026 and Aqua Map Boating on October 17, 2026.

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