Comparison

WatchMate vs Doyle Guides

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

Head to head
About

WatchMate

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
Read full description

The WatchMate App connects with your Vesper Marine AIS Transponder to place remote control functionality and situational awareness in the palm of your hand on your iPhone or on your iPad. The WatchMate App becomes the user interface for configuring and remote control of your Vesper Marine AIS Transponder, especially where it does not have its own display such as the Vesper Marine XB-8000. - View AIS Targets received by your Vesper Marine AIS Transponder. - Setup and manage collision prevention alarm profiles. - Manage your MOB alarms. - Control and view your Anchor Watch alarm. - View your AIS Transponder's own GPS Position, Course and Speed. - Check the operational status of your AIS Transponder. - Remote control of your AIS Transponder settings. - Switch easily between Silent Mode and Normal Transmitting mode. - Configure your Vessel's AIS Static data. (MMSI, Call Sign, Vessel Type, Vessel Size) - Perform firmware upgrades. Connects to your WatchMate device's WIFI access point or by being on the same wifi network. - Supports Vesper Marine XB-8000 AIS Transponder. - Supports Vesper Marine WatchMate Vision®. The complex nature of our innovative WatchMate App makes coding mishaps difficult to eliminate despite the superhuman efforts of our developers so please remember Vesper Marine does not warrant that this product is error-free. As the adventurous user it's your job to exercise common sense and the best navigational judgement you can muster. Although we think the WatchMate App is awesome nothing beats using all your human senses, so best you still rely on these at least as much as you rely on the WatchMate App for making navigational safety decisions. Our advice is; even with the WatchMate App it’s still a clever idea to maintain a permanent watch and use more than one aid for navigation.

About

Doyle Guides

Access comprehensive sailing guides for the southern Caribbean, featuring nautical charts, regulations, services, and points of interest. The app offers an interactive map with user-generated comments and corrections, all free to use. In-app purchases provide access to detailed guide book content.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive sailing guides
  • Nautical charts and navigation
  • Interactive satellite map
  • 3000+ points of interest database
  • User comments and corrections
  • Island-specific content bundles
Features
Read full description

Doyle Guides produces the southern Caribbean's most comprehensive and up-to-date sailing guides, complete with nautical charts and navigational information, details on regulations, customs and immigration, general and technical yacht services, marinas, restaurants, provisioning, shore-based attractions, and more. The Doyle Guides mobile app allows users to search our comprehensive 3000+ point of interest database with results shown based on distance from the user and displayed on an interactive satellite map where users can leave public comments as well as suggest corrections and new points of interest, all free of charge. Subscriptions to guide book content is available on both long and short term basis, as well as bundled by island.

Screenshots

WatchMate4 screens
Doyle Guides4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Doyle Guides at 4.3 against WatchMate's 3.5. Doyle Guides also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 44%) and ratings volume (50 vs 11). WatchMate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 18) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Doyle Guides sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. WatchMate asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Doyle Guides holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 50 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of WatchMate's written reviews are positive against 60% of Doyle Guides's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WatchMate ships an update every 2 months, Doyle Guides every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
WatchMate versus Doyle Guides: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWatchMateDoyle Guides
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (11 ratings)4.3 (50 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1150 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGarmin New Zealand LtdChris Doyle Publishing Limited

Customer experience

WatchMate

All ratings11 ratings
Positive45.5%
Neutral27.3%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral22.2%
Negative33.3%

Doyle Guides

All ratings50 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative30.0%

In-app purchases

None

WatchMate

No in-app purchases

18 purchases

Doyle Guides

Subscriptions18
  • Trinidad & Tobago - 1 month3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Martinique Sailing Guide3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • St. Lucia Sailing Guide3 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 15 more
  • St. Vincent Sailing Guide3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Grenada Package - 1 month3 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Trinidad Tobago Sailing Guide7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Martinique Sailing Guide7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • St. Lucia Sailing Guide7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • St. Vincent Sailing Guide7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Grenada Package - 12 months7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Southern Leeward Sailing Guide3 Days trial$24.991 Month
  • Northern Leeward Sailing Guide3 Days trial$24.991 Month
  • Windward Islands Guide3 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • BVI Cruising Guide3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Windward Islands Guide7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Virgin Islands Cruising Guide3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Leeward Islands Sailing Guide3 Days trial$39.991 Month
  • Leeward Islands Sailing Guide7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is WatchMate free?
WatchMate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Doyle Guides free?
Doyle Guides is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WatchMate or Doyle Guides?
Doyle Guides is rated higher. WatchMate averages 3.5 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Doyle Guides averages 4.3 from 50 ratings.
Do WatchMate or Doyle Guides have ads?
Neither WatchMate nor Doyle Guides shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WatchMate or Doyle Guides?
WatchMate ships an update every 2 months, and Doyle Guides every 5 weeks. Most recently, WatchMate was updated on October 8, 2026 and Doyle Guides on October 10, 2026.

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