Comparison

SEAiq USA vs MSI MAP

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

Head to head
About

SEAiq USA

Navigate US waterways with detailed NOAA and US Army Corps of Engineers charts. Features include waypoints, routes, tracks, weather overlays, and an anchor alarm. Offers a 7-day evaluation period before an in-app upgrade is required for full functionality.

Highlights
  • NOAA and US Army Corps of Engineers charts
  • Waypoints, routes, and tracks
  • Night color modes
  • Anchor alarm
  • Automatic weather download
  • Chart measuring tools
  • NMEA and AIS support
Read full description

SEAiq USA is a full-featured marine navigation app for the United States. It automatically downloads and displays charts from NOAA and the US Army Corps of Engineers for the regions you select. Features include: * Waypoints * Routes * Tracks * Night color modes * Anchor alarm * Automatic download and display of weather (wind & isobar) * Chart measuring tools (EBL/VRM) * Wi-Fi-based NMEA and AIS * Vector charts No purchase is required to view charts. Premium navigation features are enabled during a 7-day evaluation period. After that, an annual subscription is required. Existing one-time purchases retain the features they unlocked. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

MSI MAP

Features
Read full description

Bring your passage into the app, keep only the navigational warnings that actually touch it, and carry them over to the ECDIS. NAVAREA and coastal NAVTEX warnings are plotted on a world map whose coastline is bundled inside the app — no tile server, and the last warnings you pulled stay readable with no connection. WARNINGS ALONG YOUR ROUTE — MSI PRO · Import a route file (RTZ, GPX, CSV or JSON) and see it drawn under the warning pins · Keep only the warnings within 100, 200 or 300 nm of that route and clear the rest away · Re-fetch every source on demand, instead of the free once-daily cycle EXPORT TO THE ECDIS — MSI PRO Warnings are carried over as latitude/longitude lines with text marks, ready to open on the bridge. · JRC user map (.uchm) — native format · GPX · Furuno user chart (beta) WARNING SOURCES · NGA — worldwide NAVAREA plus HYDROLANT, HYDROPAC and HYDROARC · Coastal NAVTEX, collected automatically from seven countries — the United States (USCG), Australia (AMSA), Japan (JCG/MSIL), Taiwan (MOTC), Hong Kong (Marine Department), Finland (Traficom) and Denmark (DMA Niord) · NAVAREA III — Spain (IHM) · Korea (KHOA) — collected as well once you enter your own free data.go.kr service key in Settings THE MAP · Fully offline vector coastline at three levels of detail, three bathymetry bands, national boundaries and 167 place labels covering major ports, straits and canals · Coordinates and areas are extracted from the warning text and drawn as points, circles, polygons and tracklines · Filter by NAVAREA, by geometry type, and by NAVAREA versus coastal NAVTEX · Place and port search in English, with no network call · Your own GPS position on the chart CHANGE HISTORY Compares each refresh with the one before it and lists what is new, what was cancelled and what changed. DEPARTURE BRIEFING SHEET Print the current list to an A4 PDF. Free. MSI PRO IS A ONE-TIME PURCHASE Not a subscription. Restores on a new device with Restore Purchase under the same store account. The map, the warning list, the change history and the briefing sheet are free. LOCATION GPS is read only when you tap the my-position button, and only while the app is in the foreground. It is used solely to draw your own position on the chart on this device — it is never sent to a server, never stored as a history, and never collected in the background. Decline the location permission and everything else keeps working. There are no push notifications. Refresh is checked when you open the app or return to it. English and Korean. Note — for reference only. Not for navigation. Not a substitute for GMDSS receiving equipment or official notices to mariners.

Screenshots

SEAiq USA4 screens
MSI MAP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MSI MAP at every 9 days against SEAiq USA's every 3 weeks. On price, 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

Both are free to download. SEAiq USA sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per year and MSI MAP sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SEAiq USA ships an update every 3 weeks, MSI MAP every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
SEAiq USA versus MSI MAP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSEAiq USAMSI MAP
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (502 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings502 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSakhalinJIWON SEO

Bugs and requests

SEAiq USA

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Chart download failures with error messages
  • App incompatibility with iOS 8 updates causing loss of purchase
  • Performance degradation on iPad 3 and older devices
  • Slow zoom and pan responsiveness
  • Active Captain integration not fully functional in free version
Show 1 more
  • Deceptive Active Captain marker display without content access

Requested features

7 requests
  • Delete and rename imported tracks functionality
  • Track export as CSV spreadsheet with date, time, course, speed, location
  • International chart support in free version
  • Precipitation weather integration
  • More prominent waypoint highlighting when route not selected
Show 2 more
  • Enhanced navigation marker visibility
  • Improved iPad-to-iPhone GPS sharing

MSI MAP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SEAiq USA

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Annual$10.001 Year
One-time1
  • Upgrade for Premium Features$24.99
4 purchases

MSI MAP

One-time4
  • 500 Points$3.99
  • MSI MAP Pro$6.99
  • 1,200 Points$9.99
Show 1 more
  • 3,000 Points$19.99

Questions

Is SEAiq USA free?
SEAiq USA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MSI MAP free?
MSI MAP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SEAiq USA or MSI MAP have ads?
Neither SEAiq USA nor MSI MAP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SEAiq USA or MSI MAP?
SEAiq USA ships an update every 3 weeks, and MSI MAP every 9 days. Most recently, SEAiq USA was updated on October 29, 2026 and MSI MAP on October 29, 2026.

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