Pathfinder Sailing vs Tacktiq
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pathfinder Sailing
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The Pathfinder Sailing App for the iPhone and Apple Watch is the Ultimate App for Sailboat Racing. This app helps you get better starts, hit the wind shifts, and sail faster. Racing screens provide input on your starts, boat speed, wind shift management, and current trends—right on your iPhone or Apple Watch. Race replay and analysis allow you to view your race and performance details and compare your boat track over a Google map with other boats in your fleet using the Pathfinder app. Live Map shows your boat's location and track over several different map backgrounds, including NOAA charts where available. The Marks & Courses screen allows you to create marks, import gpx files for marks and courses, and drop marks on the Live Map. You can then navigate to them via the Navigate screen or Live Map. You can also select a free and provided NOAA current GRIB or a paid GRIB from another service such as Tidetech or Mercator. Two plans are offered: - Pathfinder Plus Plan with sailing instrument integration - Pathfinder Basic plan, which uses your iPhone's GPS Post-race virtual replay provides metrics analysis to improve your sailing performance. You must purchase a monthly or annual subscription to access this content and all race screens within the app after the 14-day free trial period. App features: - Race Timer with audible output to time your starts more effectively. Supports custom time countdown. - Start screens to nail your starts by precisely pinging your start line and tracking the Distance Below Line and your required Speed to Start. - Speed screen to compare your actual performance to polar target speeds and wind angles to get up to speed faster (Plus Plan) - Compare your real-time performance to your polars for real-time feedback on speed and wind angles (Plus Plan) - Visualize wind shift trends to understand the oscillations and better predict shifts (Plus Plan) - Understand the impact of tidal current on your boat and whether you are sailing into a different current with Live Map and NOAA current GRIB (all plans) - Record your races and replay them - Track your performance metrics after the race - Export race logs in JSON or Expedition format for offline analysis Free trial - If you subscribe to the Pathfinder Sailing app, your first 14 days are free. A paid subscription is required beyond the free trial period to access the content. You will be billed for the monthly or annual subscription at the end of the trial. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the subscription period. By using this app, you agree to the Pathfinder Sailing Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy at pathfindersailing.com EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms and Conditions: https://pathfindersailing.com/termsandconditions/ Privacy Policy: https://pathfindersailing.com/privacy/
Tacktiq
Analyze your sailing performance with detailed data on speed, VMG, and maneuvers. Build custom boat polars and receive AI-driven coaching to improve your racing strategy and execution. Track your progress over time and optimize your sails.
- Unlimited session recording
- Speed and VMG analysis against polars
- Customizable boat polars
- Automatic tack and gybe analysis
- Start line timer and Smart Start Line
- AI Sailing Coach (Pro)
- Progress tracking and cloud sync (Pro)
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Tacktiq turns every sail into data you can actually use. Record your session, see exactly where you gained and lost speed, and come back faster next time — whether you're club racing, training, or chasing a personal best. Built for keelboats and dinghies, Tacktiq reads your GPS track and boat motion to show the numbers that win races: boat speed, VMG, percentage of polar, tack and gybe quality, heel and trim, and how the wind and current moved you around the course. • RECORD EVERY SAIL Unlimited session recording on every tier — free, forever. Start from your phone or Apple Watch and Tacktiq logs your full track, speed, heading and heel, even with the screen locked. • SPEED AND VMG See your boat speed and VMG against your polar targets, broken down by leg and point of sail. Instantly spot the angles where there's more speed to find. • POLARS FOR YOUR BOAT Build a polar for each boat, import one, or let Tacktiq learn your real numbers from the sessions you sail — so every comparison is tuned to your boat, not a generic curve. • TACK AND GYBE ANALYSIS Automatic maneuver detection grades every tack and gybe on how much speed you kept through the turn — the thing that actually costs you places — plus recovery time, so you know exactly which maneuvers to drill. • START LINE TIMER A proper racing countdown (5-4-1-0, 3-2-1-0, 2-1-0 or custom) with spoken and horn callouts at every signal. Tap once to sync to the committee's gun. Pro adds a Smart Start Line: ping each end to get the favored end and line bias, your distance to the line, and time-to-burn so you hit the line at full speed right on the gun. • APPLE WATCH Start and control sessions from your wrist, watch live speed, VMG and timing, and feel the whole start sequence through haptics — with the countdown and metrics mirrored live between phone and watch. • WIND, CURRENT AND TIDE Enter the wind yourself or let Tacktiq pull it automatically. Pro layers in marine data — waves and modeled ocean current — and draws a drift diagram showing how the tide set you off your ground track. • RACE ANALYSIS A wind-shift timeline with your tacks marked, so you can see whether you tacked on the headers or gave away the lift — plus laylines, start-line bias, and upwind/downwind point-of-sail breakdowns. • AI SAILING COACH (PRO) Ask the Session Analyst about any sail and get specific, on-the-water advice built from your own data and conditions — like a coach who reviewed every second of your track and told you exactly what to work on. • TRACK YOUR PROGRESS (PRO) Cloud sync and backup across devices, session compare, full-track replay, venue heatmaps, and progression-by-condition — so you can watch yourself get faster in each wind band across a whole season. • FREE VS PRO Recording is always unlimited and free — capture as many sessions as you like and review your speed, VMG, tacks and gybes on every one. Tacktiq Pro unlocks cloud sync and backup, the AI coach, marine wind/wave/current data, the Smart Start Line, and the full analytics suite (progression, heatmaps, session compare, best-in-condition comparison, and more). • WHO IT'S FOR Racers fighting for the podium, sailors learning to trim faster, and coaches and crews who want objective feedback instead of guesswork — on any boat, at any venue. Whether you're figuring out why you're slow upwind or shaving seconds off your starts, Tacktiq gives you the feedback loop the fast sailors have: sail, measure, adjust, repeat. Download Tacktiq and start turning water time into boat speed. Privacy Policy: https://tacktiq.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://tacktiq.com/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Pathfinder Sailing at 15.0 against Tacktiq's 17.0. On price, 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
Both are free to download. Pathfinder Sailing sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Tacktiq sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Pathfinder Sailing | Tacktiq |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pathfinder Sailing LLC | GYBE DIGITAL LLC |
In-app purchases
Pathfinder Sailing
- Monthly Basic Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription1 Month trial$190.001 Year
Tacktiq
- Tacktiq - Monthly$8.991 Month
- Tacktiq - Annual$69.991 Year
Questions
Is Pathfinder Sailing free?
Is Tacktiq free?
Do Pathfinder Sailing or Tacktiq have ads?
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