Comparison

River Thames Guide vs Kiln Helper

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Store project photos
  • Detailed firing logs
  • Create firing templates
  • Calculate glass weights
  • Share projects
  • Supported kiln brands
  • Supported glass manufacturers
Features
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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

River Thames Guide4 screens
Kiln Helper4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
River Thames Guide versus Kiln Helper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRiver Thames GuideKiln Helper
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.4 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings112 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size294 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeff MaynardJules Taplin

Customer experience

River Thames Guide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative40.0%

Kiln Helper

All ratings12 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative27.8%

In-app purchases

None

River Thames Guide

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Kiln Helper

Subscriptions2
  • Unlimited Access7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Unlimited Access1 Month trial$4.996 Months

Questions

Is River Thames Guide free?
River Thames Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kiln Helper free?
Kiln Helper costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper?
River Thames Guide is rated higher. River Thames Guide averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Kiln Helper averages 3.4 from 12 ratings.
Do River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper have ads?
Neither River Thames Guide nor Kiln Helper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, River Thames Guide or Kiln Helper?
River Thames Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, and Kiln Helper every 3 months. Most recently, River Thames Guide was updated on October 23, 2026 and Kiln Helper on October 30, 2026.

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