River Thames Guide vs Kiln Helper
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
River Thames Guide
This comprehensive guide and planner helps you navigate and explore the River Thames and Wey Navigation. It offers an offline interactive map, a journey planner with distance and lock information, and details on bridges, weather, and river conditions.
- Interactive offline river map
- Journey planner with distance and lock counts
- Detailed lock and bridge information
- Current river conditions and weather forecasts
- Boating advice and emergency guidance
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The complete planner and guide for travel and leisure on the River Thames (from its source to the Thames Barrier) and the Wey Navigation including where you can go, how you get there and what’s on the way - includes these key features: Thames Map and Guide: •Interactive River Map: self-contained - no internet connection needed •Journey Planner: time (at 5, 3 , 1 mph), distance and number of locks between any two of 102 River Thames points (45 on Wey) •Locks: need to know detail on every lock •Bridges: headway in metres and feet •River draught (depth of water) •Weather and other conditions for each lock •Current river conditions (non-tidal and tidal) Boating Advice: •Rules for the River •Preventing Problems •Emergency Help and Guidance (RNLI approved) INTERACTIVE RIVER MAP: pinch or squeeze to zoom to the required level of detail. Add any combination of locks, moorings, boatyards, fuel, marinas, pubs, restaurants, lodgings, sanitation, fishing, emergency RVP and/or bridges; tapping any icon pops up further details including phone number, post code, maximum stay etc (where available). The interactive map is built-in to the App so you do not need an Internet connection to see where you are and facilities near you; tap the boat icon (top left of map) for location, speed & heading (when under way on rive). (PLEASE NOTE: this means a large download - please be patient, it’s worth it!). JOURNEY PLANNER: select a starting point and destination from the supplied list of 102 landmarks (including locks, marinas, moorings, bridges and places of interest (from Lechlade to the Thames Barrier) and immediately see the sailing distance, direction (up or downstream), sailing time (at 5 mph, 3 mph and 1 mph) and the number of locks to transit to complete your journey; Wey navigation planner features 45 locations. LOCK FEATURES: every Thames lock is listed in order from Cricklade Bridge to Teddington with distance to next lock both up and downstream. Touch any lock to see much more information including: telephone number; post code; lock type; width, drop and length; lock keeper’s hours; facilities available (such as WC, water, pump out etc). From the lock detail just tap to highlight this lock in the middle of the interactive map. Portage Maps for Sonning to Teddington locks. BRIDGE HEADWAY: every bridge listed in order with headway in feet and metres; bridge headways are colour coded for ease of use and instant check to see if you need to lower any masts. All the above features are built-in so are available even without an Internet connection. WEATHER: select any lock for an up-to-date weather forecast for today and tomorrow (includes temperature, winds, humidity, visibility, sunrise and sunset). Requires an Internet connection. The weather popup includes the current nautical twilight (the correct time to strike your ensign). CURRENT RIVER CONDITIONS: for safer river use always verify the current official conditions before setting off; non-tidal conditions are provided by the Environment Agency (the River Thames authority) and categorised as Red, Yellow or Green – tap to view an explanation of the colours. Tidal conditions are provided by the Port of London Authority. Requires an Internet connection. Includes current and planned river closures and river restrictions. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: River Thames Guide includes an SOS section with information, endorsed by the RNLI, on how to deal with various problems including: Man Overboard; Boat Sinking; Boat on Fire; Boat Drifting. NOTE: these sections should be studied before embarking so that you can react properly to any emergency. Better still: take an appropriate course before using the river. HELP: every page contains tips on using River Thames Guide to help plan your journey, find somewhere to eat or stay, using the map, and more.
Kiln Helper
Track your glass fusing projects, including firing schedules, material usage, and outcomes. Store photos, create firing templates, and calculate glass weights. Learn from past projects to refine your techniques and achieve desired results.
- Store project photos
- Detailed firing logs
- Create firing templates
- Calculate glass weights
- Share projects
- Supported kiln brands
- Supported glass manufacturers
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Are you fed up trawling through pages of notes to work out what firing schedule you should use or have used before for a particular glass fusing project? Did the piece turn out how you expected? Did you have reactions that were unplanned? Should you adjust your schedule? This application will help you learn from previous projects and perfect your schedules and use of materials to give the results you want. Store before/during/after photos Keep detailed firing logs Create firing templates Share your projects with other people - revealing as much or as little of your trade secrets as you'd like. Calculate glass weights for Scrap or Mesh Melts, in various shapes. Supported kilns: Nabertherm, Kilncare, Jen-Ken, Evenheat, Olympic, Paragon, Skutt, Rohde, Cress, Cromartie, Woodrow, Cone Art, Northern. Supported glass manufacturers: Bullseye, Spectrum, Oceanside, Wissmach, Baoli Supported 'Cloud Connected' intelligent kiln controllers: Bartlett Instruments. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: River Thames Guide at Free against Kiln Helper's $1.99. River Thames Guide also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Kiln Helper's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 50%) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
River Thames Guide is free to download; Kiln Helper costs $1.99 up front. Kiln Helper sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. River Thames Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.
River Thames Guide holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kiln Helper has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of River Thames Guide's written reviews are positive against 67% of Kiln Helper's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
River Thames Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, Kiln Helper every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | River Thames Guide | Kiln Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.4 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 294 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jeff Maynard | Jules Taplin |
Customer experience
River Thames Guide
Kiln Helper
In-app purchases
River Thames Guide
No in-app purchases
Kiln Helper
- Unlimited Access7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Unlimited Access1 Month trial$4.996 Months
Questions
Is River Thames Guide free?
Is Kiln Helper free?
Which has better reviews, River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper?
Do River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper have ads?
Which is updated more often, River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper?
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