NightPilot vs Boat Instrument
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NightPilot
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A night pilotage training aid for sailors. 1 month or 1 year non-renewing subscriptions are available. A subscription will full access to a database of most lit buoys in the Solent and its main channels and ports. including:- Ashlett Creek, Beaulieu, Cowes, Fareham Lake, Fishbourne, Hamble, Itchen, Lymington, Port Solent, Portsmouth, Yarmouth Buoys or marks can be identified from their light phase and bearings can be taken. With this information, and by reference to the log and your pilotage chart, you are able to practise entries into unfamilier ports at night Directional lights (WRG), leading lights and lighthouses are included. Can also be used to practise finding an unlit mark at night. (a yachmaster exam favourite) Facility to specify a tidal stream (set and rate) to add the drift that would affect your course over the ground Track made good is recorded and shown on the chart Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Boat Instrument
This app displays boat instrument data through customizable boxes. It connects to a SignalK server, which processes NMEA data from your boat's systems. Ideal for boat owners who want a digital dashboard.
- Configurable data boxes
- SignalK server integration
- NMEA data display
- Customizable dashboard
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A Boat Instrument for displaying data in fully configurable Boxes. The data is received via a subscription to a SignalK server. The SignalK server should be fed from your boat's NMEA data. The SignalK server can run on any supported platform, but this is usually a Raspberry Pi running a marine specific OS build.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Boat Instrument at none against NightPilot's 2. Boat Instrument also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.4). On price, update cadence and ads 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. NightPilot sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Boat Instrument asks for nothing beyond the download.
NightPilot ships an update every 3 weeks, Boat Instrument every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NightPilot | Boat Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 1.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Navtech Software | VICTORIAN HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION INC |
In-app purchases
NightPilot
- Solent 1 Month$2.99
- Solent 1 Year$6.99
Boat Instrument
No in-app purchases









