# WatchMate vs Anchor Basic

The clearest difference is price: WatchMate at Free against Anchor Basic's $0.99. WatchMate also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). Anchor Basic's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 44%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

WatchMate is free to download; Anchor Basic costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.5 for WatchMate against 3.5 for Anchor Basic. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of WatchMate's written reviews are positive against 67% of Anchor Basic's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | WatchMate | Anchor Basic |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | [3.5 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watchmate/id557485481/reviews) | [3.5 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-basic/id1496724273/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 11 | **17** |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews | **66.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 14 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Garmin New Zealand Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/557485484) | [Roy Cadman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1496724272) |

## What reviewers say

### WatchMate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/watchmate/id557485481)

This app provides remote control and situational awareness for your Vesper Marine AIS Transponder. View AIS targets, manage alarms, and control transponder settings directly from your mobile device.

**Highlights:** View AIS targets, Manage collision prevention alarms, Control Anchor Watch alarm, View GPS position, course, and speed, Remote control transponder settings, Configure vessel AIS static data, Perform firmware upgrades

**In-app purchases:** none


### Anchor Basic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/anchor-basic/id1496724273)

This app provides a reliable anchor alarm for boats, offering drift warnings and low battery alerts. Users can pause the alarm and resume monitoring later, or set the anchor by current location, bearing, and distance. It also allows remote monitoring of other users' Anchor Plus alarms.

**Highlights:** Drift warning alerts, Low battery alarms, Pause and resume alarm function, Set anchor by location, bearing, or distance, Remote monitoring of Anchor Plus alarms

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is WatchMate free?

WatchMate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Anchor Basic free?

Anchor Basic costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, WatchMate or Anchor Basic?

WatchMate and Anchor Basic are both rated 3.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 11 and 17 ratings respectively.

### Do WatchMate or Anchor Basic have ads?

Neither WatchMate nor Anchor Basic shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, WatchMate or Anchor Basic?

WatchMate ships an update every 2 months, and Anchor Basic every 2 months. Most recently, WatchMate was updated on June 1, 2026 and Anchor Basic on September 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*