Comparison

Link vs Waterway Guide

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

Head to head
About

Link

Control your Simrad, Lowrance, or B&G marine electronics remotely from your smartphone or tablet. Duplicate your display's screen, manage charts, sonar, radar, and entertainment, and back up your data wirelessly. Stay connected to your boat's systems from anywhere on board.

Highlights
  • Remote display mirroring
  • Control charts, sonar, and radar
  • Manage entertainment systems
  • View engine and instrument data
  • Wireless waypoint backup and restore
  • Wireless settings backup and restore
Features
Read full description

The Link app gives you remote control of wirelessly connected Simrad, Lowrance, or B&G multifunction displays from your smartphone or tablet. Link lets you select any wirelessly connected display on board, duplicates the screen in real-time on your mobile device, and puts control of most display functions at your fingertips. Work with charts, sonar, and radar, control your on-board entertainment system, view data from connected engines and instruments, and much more. With Link, you’re constantly connected to your boat’s key systems from anywhere on board – making it easier to plan trips, fish, sail, handle maintenance, and otherwise make the best of your time on the water. Link also gives you the ability to wirelessly back up and restore waypoints, routes, tracks, and display settings directly to your mobile device. This makes it easier than ever to protect your valuable boating data against loss or theft, and to keep your backups up-to-date with zero hassle. The Link app is compatible with Simrad NSS evo3, NSS evo2, NSO evo2, NSS7/8/12*, and GO series displays; Lowrance HDS Carbon, HDS Gen3, HDS Gen2 Touch*, HDS Gen2**, and Elite Ti fishfinder/chartplotters; and B&G Zeus³, Zeus², Zeus Touch*, and Vulcan sailing chartplotters. Displays without built-in wireless connectivity require an additional WIFI-1 module. To enable the Link app, a free software update may be required for your display. Link works with the Apple iPhone 5s and later devices running iOS 9 or above. * Mirroring only. ** View only.

About

Waterway Guide

This app provides a comprehensive boating resource with a verified database of marinas, anchorages, and navigation alerts. Users can access real-time hazard information, plan trips with a digital handbook, and utilize detailed content optimized for mobile devices. Engage with a community of boaters through comments and reviews.

Highlights
  • Verified points of interest database
  • Real-time navigation alerts
  • Community comments and reviews
  • Skipper's Handbook for trip planning
  • Offline content access
  • Marina filtering by amenities
Features
Read full description

Optimized for your mobile devices with Waterway Guide's detailed and verified points of interest database. Includes over 1.3 million data points on marinas, anchorages, navigation alerts, free docks, bridges and locks displayed on the embedded map or satellite view. Benefit from the experience of 75 years of publishing and hundreds of thousands of active boaters through verified comments and reviews. Share your comments, add points of interest, earn rewards and engage with others from within the app. Stay informed with the latest hazards to navigation reported real time from USCG, government agencies, local experts and boaters everywhere. Plan your time on the water with Waterway Guide's Skipper's Handbook, which is included with the free app download. Access Waterway Guide's library of books as individual chapters or entire guides for the information and details you need for navigation. Content is optimized for mobile devices and can be bookmarked for availability offline. Easily find marinas that fit your needs. Filter our entire database of marinas based on amenities and your preferences. Same functionality as Waterway Guide’s Marinas App. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Link3 screens
Waterway Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Waterway Guide at 4.7 against Link's 2.2. Waterway Guide also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (52% vs 25%). Link's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.6). On price, 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. Waterway Guide sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Link asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Waterway Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K ratings behind it against 148, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Link's written reviews are positive against 52% of Waterway Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Link ships an update every 4 months, Waterway Guide every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Link versus Waterway Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLinkWaterway Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (148 ratings)4.7 (2.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.6% of reviews52.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1482.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#134 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNavico Norway ASWaterway Guide

Customer experience

Link

All ratings148 ratings
Positive27.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative66.2%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive24.6%
Neutral5.6%
Negative69.8%

Waterway Guide

All ratings2,920 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative33.3%

User reviews

Link

From 148 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to set up and use once connected
  • 📱 Allows remote viewing of chart plotter on iPad/iPhone
  • 🎮 Remote control functionality for chart plotter
  • 📡 WiFi connectivity to marine devices
  • 🖥️ Screen mirroring capability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connection drops and disconnections
  • 🐛 Login failures with Genesis and single sign-on systems
  • 📱 Portrait mode only - no landscape/full screen support
  • 🔌 Incompatible with cellular data when connected to WiFi
  • ⚠️ Poor compatibility with newer iOS versions

Waterway Guide

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent integration with Aqua Map
  • 👍 Useful resource for boating
  • 👍 Great information and details
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 👍 Invaluable for planning trips

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Inconsistent and unreliable
  • 🐛 Difficult to navigate and use
  • 🐛 Outdated information and images
  • 🐛 Subscription and access issues

Bugs and requests

Link

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • App won't connect to Genesis after Simrad SSO update
  • Connection drops when cellular data is enabled
  • Sonar log uploads fail with 'Can't Login' error
  • Screen mirroring shows lower resolution than expected
  • App crashes when taking screenshots
Show 15 more
  • Full screen mode removed in recent updates
  • Portrait mode lock prevents landscape viewing
  • Black screen display issues
  • App freezes during interaction with chart plotter
  • WiFi connection prevents internet/cellular access
  • Incompatibility with iOS 14 and newer versions
  • Remote control functionality broken after device firmware updates
  • App doesn't detect MFD devices on network
  • Panning/scrolling causes disconnection
  • Distorted video display on non-text screens
  • Shake-to-report triggers during normal boat motion
  • Zoom controls unresponsive
  • App won't connect to specific device models
  • Screen rotation not working on iPhone
  • Truncated display on larger phones

Requested features

14 requests
  • Apple Watch compatibility and autopilot control
  • Dark mode for night boating
  • Full screen landscape mode support
  • Autopilot remote control capability
  • Sound/audio alerts for alarms
Show 9 more
  • Easy screenshot download to photos app
  • Waypoint and route upload functionality
  • Support for newer chart plotter models
  • Ability to use cellular data while connected to WiFi
  • Zoom functionality via trackpad
  • French language support
  • File transfer capability (GRIB files, etc.)
  • Backup file location visibility
  • Independent display views on tablet vs plotter

Waterway Guide

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App not working with latest iOS version
  • Subscription purchases not working properly
  • Unable to access purchased content
  • Frequent crashes and errors

Requested features

4 requests
  • Provide vertical bridge clearances
  • Improve offline functionality
  • Enhance search and filtering options
  • Implement dark mode

In-app purchases

None

Link

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Waterway Guide

Subscriptions10
  • Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.8$14.991 Year
  • Anchorages Along the ICW$20.991 Year
  • ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423$29.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Northern Edition$49.991 Year
  • 1st Ed. Bahamas Land and Sea$49.991 Year
  • Chesapeake Bay Edition$54.991 Year
  • Atlantic ICW Edition$54.991 Year
  • Southern Edition$54.991 Year
  • Western Gulf Coast Edition$54.991 Year
  • Florida Keys Edition$54.991 Year

Questions

Is Link free?
Link is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Waterway Guide free?
Waterway Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Link or Waterway Guide?
Waterway Guide is rated higher. Link averages 2.2 out of 5 from 148 ratings, while Waterway Guide averages 4.7 from 2.9K ratings.
Do Link or Waterway Guide have ads?
Neither Link nor Waterway Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Link or Waterway Guide?
Link ships an update every 4 months, and Waterway Guide every 2 weeks. Most recently, Link was updated on November 10, 2026 and Waterway Guide on November 11, 2026.

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