Comparison

River Thames Guide vs WildOtter

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 for selected locations •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 (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 one of 20 location on the river 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 page 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

WildOtter

This app provides reliable water safety information for recreational users, including routes, points of interest, and river levels. Content is user-generated and team-moderated to ensure accuracy. It aims to remove the worry associated with outdated information.

Highlights
  • User-generated content
  • Team-moderated information
  • Latest routes
  • Wild swimming spots
  • Points of interest
  • River level information
Features
Read full description

The app for all recreational water users to help you get out on or in the water safely using quality and reliable content that is added by users and moderated by our team who will go out to marked locations and reported hazards creating a reliable information source all for the low price of £10 per year! Your subscription includes access to all our latest routes, point information such as wild swimming spots, points of interest and river level information for our river users. We are passionate about both paddling and wild swimming and are creating this resource to allow you to find all of the information you need in one place and to help remove the worry that out of date unreliable information can bring.

Screenshots

River Thames Guide4 screens
WildOtter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: River Thames Guide at none against WildOtter's 1. WildOtter's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 50%). 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. WildOtter sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. River Thames Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

River Thames Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, WildOtter every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
River Thames Guide versus WildOtter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRiver Thames GuideWildOtter
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size286 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeff MaynardShoothill

Customer experience

River Thames Guide

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

WildOtter

Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

None

River Thames Guide

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

WildOtter

Subscriptions1
  • WildOtter Full Subscription$14.991 Year

Questions

Is River Thames Guide free?
River Thames Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is WildOtter free?
WildOtter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do River Thames Guide or WildOtter have ads?
Neither River Thames Guide nor WildOtter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, River Thames Guide or WildOtter?
River Thames Guide ships an update every 6 weeks, and WildOtter every 3 weeks. Most recently, River Thames Guide was updated on August 23, 2026 and WildOtter on June 1, 2026.

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