Comparison

VMGPolar vs Sextant

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

Head to head
About

VMGPolar

Calculate sailing wind and boat speed with this tool. Input three values to determine the rest and log your data for export. It helps build and validate polar graphs for sailing performance.

Highlights
  • Sailing wind and boat speed calculation
  • Input three values to calculate others
  • Save data into a log
  • Export log data
  • Build and validate polar graphs
Features
Read full description

Sailing wind and boat speed calculator. Enter 3 values to calculate the rest, then save the data into a log that can be exported later. The input fields are highlighted, with the least intensive highlight marking the next field to become a calculated value when a new input is entered. BSP = Boat Speed TWS = True Wind Speed TWA = True Wind Angle AWS = Apparent Wind Speed AWA = Apparent Wind Angle VMG = Velocity Made Good (calculated only) Save and export data to build and validate polar graphs.

About

Sextant

This app provides a comprehensive celestial navigation toolkit for sailors and enthusiasts. It allows users to navigate using celestial bodies like the sun, moon, planets, and stars, even when GPS is unavailable. The app guides users through taking sextant readings, performing calculations, and plotting positions on a map.

Highlights
  • Celestial body identification using camera and ephemeris
  • Sextant sight reduction with manual correction checks
  • Offline celestial navigation
  • Noon sight for latitude calculation
  • Line of position plotting on a real map
  • Polaris one-shot latitude
  • Solar Compass for deviation checks
Features
Read full description

A complete celestial navigation toolkit for sailors, students, and the curious. When the GPS quits, the sun, moon, planets, and stars still work. Sextant takes you all the way from a single sextant reading to a line of position on a map — with every correction shown, so you can check the math by hand if you want to. Point the camera at the sky The Sky tab labels every navigational body in view — the sun, the moon, all four navigational planets, and 58 navigational stars — using the magnetic compass and on-device ephemeris. Spot a star, tap its name, and a sight starts with that body identified and the time stamped. Sight with your camera, or a real sextant The camera flow measures altitude along the camera's line of sight from the phone's gravity sensor and shows how upright you're holding it. Multi-shot mode takes a series and saves the trimmed mean. Or just type your altitude from a brass sextant and let the app do the reduction. Every body you'll ever shoot Sun, moon, all four navigational planets — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn — and all 58 standard navigational stars. Positions computed from astronomical theory (VSOP87 for the Sun and planets, ELP-2000 for the Moon, star positions with precession and proper motion), not stale tables, and tested against U.S. Naval Observatory data. Works fully offline. Noon Sight in one tap Take the sun's altitude at meridian passage; the app gives you latitude. It also predicts the exact UTC of local apparent noon so you know when to look. Plot your fix Every sight draws a line of position on a real map. Take more than one, apply dead reckoning between them, watch your running fix come together — exactly like the paper-chart workflow. Tools sailors actually use - Polaris one-shot latitude - Solar Compass — true bearing of the sun, for compass deviation checks - Starfinder — what's above the horizon right now - Reduction tables (dip, refraction, semi-diameter) - DMS / decimal converter Learn celestial navigation as you go Step through your first sight with a guided walk-through. Every screen has inline help, and every correction in the sight reduction — dip, refraction, semi-diameter, parallax — has an explanation a tap away. Check the app against your hand calculations, or let it do all the work. Share your work Export sight records as CSV or as a printable PDF work-form in the classic HO 229 layout. No subscription. No ads. No internet. One purchase, everything included.

Screenshots

VMGPolar3 screens
Sextant4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: VMGPolar at 100% against Sextant's 0%. VMGPolar also leads on price (Free vs $9.99) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases 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

VMGPolar is free to download; Sextant costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VMGPolar ships an update fortnightly, Sextant every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
VMGPolar versus Sextant: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVMGPolarSextant
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrei SkobtsovStolk.cc

Customer experience

VMGPolar

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sextant

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

VMGPolar

No in-app purchases

None

Sextant

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VMGPolar free?
VMGPolar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sextant free?
Sextant costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do VMGPolar or Sextant have ads?
Neither VMGPolar nor Sextant shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VMGPolar or Sextant?
VMGPolar ships an update fortnightly, and Sextant every 5 weeks. Most recently, VMGPolar was updated on October 6, 2026 and Sextant on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons