Comparison

Marine Navigation vs NRST

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

Head to head
About

Marine Navigation

This app provides detailed marine navigation charts for Canada, including depth data and fishing spots. It offers voice-guided route assistance, route creation and import tools, and offline chart downloads for safe boating.

Highlights
  • Canadian CHS data charts
  • Voice prompts for navigation
  • Route manager (create/import)
  • Offline chart downloads
  • POI layer with marine data
  • Record and export GPS tracks
  • Auto follow mode
Features
Read full description

GPS Marine Charts App offers access to charts covering Canada (derived from CHS data). Only marine GPS app to have route assistance with Voice Prompts for marine navigation. It has route manager to create new boating routes or import existing GPX/KML routes. It supports Nautical Charts course up orientation. Please visit http://gpsnauticalcharts.com/main/ca-nautical-charts-by-folio.html for complete list. If you don't find the chart for Canada , please contact us at support at gpsnauticalcharts.com. (Includes coverage for Trent Severn Waterway incl. lake Simcoe etc.) * Voice Prompts for marine navigation (requires GPS ) -prompts when approaching a boating route marker -Continous distance and ETA updates -Alerts when sailing/boating off route -Alerts when boating in wrong direction *Route Editing/Creation -Create routes from scratch -Edit existing GPX/KML routes. -Add custom description to any route point. -Drop markers along route. * Offline charts derived from CHS data. -Visually draw area to download -Textual search -Catalog (By state, region and coast guard district) -Charts reprojected for WGS84 datum *Seamless chart quilting of marine charts *Distance Bearing tool *Create custom way points - Using GPS -Select point on map -Manually enter latitude & longitude coordinates *POI layer for marine charts - Overlay POIs - POI list derived from the equivalent ENC and contains all categories including Buoy, Light, Harbour facility, Obstr. *Search POIs/Way points *Pan/Zoom/My Location * Record Marine GPS tracks * View tracks overlay * Live track animation * Track analytics/stats * Export GPX tracks. -Export to SDCard -Share GPX trakcs with friends. * Auto Follow Mode (Course up) -Continuously updates boat's location on chart - Adjustable update frequency Sample Nautical Charts (please visit http://www.gpsnauticalcharts.com/ for complete list) Pacific Coast - Vancouver Island East & West - Haida Gwaii Great lakes Canada and St. Lawrence river Trent-Severn Waterway BALSAM LAKE BALSAM LAKE TO/À BOLSOVER (LOCK/ÉCLUSE) BOLSOVER (LOCK/ÉCLUSE) TO/AU LAKE SIMCOE CAMERON LAKE CHEMONG LAKE ÉCLUSES DE HEALY FALLS LOCKS TO/AU RICE LAKE LAKE COUCHICHING - LAKE SIMCOE TO/À COUCHICHING LOCK/L'ÉCLUSE DE COUCHICHING LAKEFIELD LAKEFIELD LOCK/ÉCLUSE 26 LAKEFIELD TO/À BURLEIGH FALLS LAKE SCUGOG LAKE SIMCOE PETERBOROUGH TO/À LAKEFIELD PIGEON LAKE (NORTH PORTION/PARTIE NORD) PIGEON LAKE (SOUTH PORTION/PARTIE SUD) RICE LAKE RICE LAKE TO/À PETERBOROUGH STONY LAKE STURGEON LAKE Lake Erie \ Lac Erie Lake Huron\Lac Huron Lake Huron\Lac Huron (Southern Portion\Partie sud) Lake Ontario\Lac Ontario Lake Ontario\Lac Ontario, Western Portion\Partie ouest Lake St. Francis Lake Superior\Lac Superieur Vancouver Harbour, Central Portion\Partie Centrale Vancouver Harbour, Eastern Portion\Partie Est Vancouver Harbour, Western Portion\Partie Ouest Vancouver Island\Ile de Vancouver, Juan de Fuca Strait to\a Queen Charlotte Strait of Georgia BARRIE BATAWA LOCK / ÉCLUSE 4 BEAVERTON HARBOUR BENSFORT BRIDGE TO/À PETERBOROUGH BIG CHUTE BIG CHUTE MARINE RAILWAYS BER ROULANT BIG CHUTE TO / À PORT SEVERN BOBCAYGEON - LOCK/ÉCLUSE 32 BOBCAYGEON - LOCK/ÉCLUSE 32 BOBGAYGEON - LOCK/ÉCLUSE 32 BUCKHORN BUCKHORN - LOCK/ÉCLUSE 31 BUCKHORN TO/À GANNON NARROWS AND/ET HARRINGTON NARROWS BURLEIGH FALLS BURLEIGH FALLS LOCK/ÉCLUSE 28 BURLEIGH FALLS TO/À BUCKHORN CAMPBELLFORD LOCK / ÉCLUSE 13 COOK'S BAY AND/ET HOLLAND RIVER COUCHICHING LOCK / ÉCLUSE 42 COUCHICHING LOCK TO BIG CHUTE ÉCLUSE COUCHICHING À BIG CHUTE CROWE BAY LOCK / ÉCLUSE 14 DOURO LOCK/ÉCLUSE 24 FENELON FALLS - LOCK/ÉCLUSE 34 FRANKFORD LOCK / ÉCLUSE 6 GANNON NARROWS TO/À BOBCAYGEON GLEN MILLER LOCK / ÉCLUSE GLEN ROSS LOCK PLEASE NOTE: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

NRST

This app helps pilots navigate by providing essential airport information, including distance, elevation, and required descent rates. It offers real-time data updates and customizable descent settings for various aircraft types. Worldwide airport coverage is available, with daily database updates.

Highlights
  • Real-time airport data
  • Customizable descent rate
  • Worldwide airport coverage
  • Filter airports by runway
  • Glide distance calculation
  • Watch app integration
Features
Read full description

Don't miss your airport! Designed for pilots of any size aircraft, this app provides you with bearing and vertical speed required to nearby airports. The following information is shown for destinations: • Distance from current location • Field Elevation • Descent rate required • Time to Top of Descent (TOD) • Bearing • Frequencies • Runways • Glide distance delta Additionally your current speed, course, altitude and vertical speed are displayed. Tapping on the information button, Time to TOD or Target Altitude allows you to customize the desired descent rate. All data is updated in real time as you fly. You may choose a nearby airport or select an airport by identifier by scrolling down on the airport list. Filter by runway length and surface type and choose any of the following: airports, seaplane bases, heliports, balloon ports and closed airports. You may optionally provide a glide ratio for your aircraft. The glide distance long or short of the selected airport is then displayed and is conveniently color coded. A positive, green glide delta indicates the glide distance has been estimated to exceed the distance to the airport with a 25% safety margin. Runway headings, if known, are used to draw runways on the heading indicator. If the magenta arrow is pointed straight up and aligned with a runway then you are headed straight in. Worldwide airport information is provided by multiple sources. Canada, Europe and all continents are covered! For more information go to ourairports.com/world.html. Database updates are performed daily. Your location and altitude is provided by your device's location services. If location or altitude is not available that information will not be displayed however you can still search for an airport by identifier. Unfortunately external GPS devices are generally NOT compatible. You must be moving for course information and the magenta relative bearing arrow to be displayed. The Watch app has many of the same features and fits on your wrist. See distances to nearby airports or bearing to a selected airport. Frequencies and runway lengths can be seen with a swipe. A green glide icon or delta indicates glideability is likely. Just like the iPhone and iPad app, the Watch app requires GPS information to locate nearby airports and relative bearing. Additionally, altitude is needed to calculate descent rates. Feedback and feature requests are appreciated. Thanks! Subscription Fine Print ---------------------- - 1 month FREE trial - Database Subscription or Apple Watch Subscription is required for new users - The subscription is for 1 year and updated data is available daily - The annual subscription is $11.99/year or $17.99/year for Watch - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Privacy policy and terms of use are located at: http://toonsy.net/privacy.html - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication.

Screenshots

Marine Navigation4 screens
NRST4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NRST at Free against Marine Navigation's $32.99. NRST also leads on ratings volume (9 vs 2). Marine Navigation's advantage is review sentiment (68% vs 47%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

NRST is free to download; Marine Navigation costs $32.99 up front. Marine Navigation sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and NRST sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Marine Navigation against 4.6 for NRST. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Marine Navigation's written reviews are positive against 47% of NRST's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marine Navigation ships an update every 3 months, NRST every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Marine Navigation versus NRST: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarine NavigationNRST
Price$32.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)4.6 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews — better46.9% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBist LLCToonsy Net

Customer experience

Marine Navigation

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative32.0%

NRST

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative46.9%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Marine Navigation

One-time3
  • MARINE NAVIGATION / CHARTS USA$14.99
  • MARINE NAVIGATION/CHART-CANADA$19.99
  • Canada & USA - GPS Nautical Charts$24.99
6 purchases

NRST

Subscriptions6
  • Early Adopter Device Subscription1 Month trial$0.991 Year
  • Early Adopter Device and Watch Bronze1 Month trial$1.991 Year
  • Device Only1 Month trial$11.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Device Only1 Month trial$14.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$17.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Marine Navigation free?
Marine Navigation costs $32.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is NRST free?
NRST is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Marine Navigation or NRST?
NRST is rated higher. Marine Navigation averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while NRST averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Marine Navigation or NRST have ads?
Neither Marine Navigation nor NRST shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Marine Navigation or NRST?
Marine Navigation ships an update every 3 months, and NRST every 4 months. Most recently, Marine Navigation was updated on October 29, 2026 and NRST on October 26, 2026.

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