Comparison

Nautical Ship Flags vs Sailor's Deck

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

Head to head
About

Nautical Ship Flags

Explore maritime signal codes and Morse code with interactive quizzes and detailed flag information. Track your learning progress with an analytics view and practice signaling using your phone's flashlight. This app offers full offline functionality for continuous learning.

Highlights
  • Interactive quizzes
  • Flag details and reference
  • Flashlight Morse signaling
  • Progress tracking
  • Offline functionality
  • Analytics view
Features
Read full description

A complete guide to maritime flags, including letters, numbers, substitutes, and Morse code, now with an enhanced Analytics View to track your progress and identify areas for improvement. Enjoy interactive quizzes and detailed flag information. This app also lets you view Morse code signals through your phone’s flashlight, making it perfect for boaters, sailors, and anyone fascinated by maritime navigation. Features: • Interactive Tests • Randomized Question Types • Flashlight Morse Signaling • Flag Details and Symbol Reference • Review and Progress Tracking • Analytics View for tracking your progress • Bright, minimalistic design • Full offline functionality Links for more info: - Terms of Use & Privacy policy: https://nauticalshipflags.com - Link for more info: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT202039

About

Sailor's Deck

Master navigation lights and day shapes for skipper exams with this flashcard app. It uses spaced repetition to build lasting visual memory, tracks your progress, and resurfaces difficult configurations until they stick. Study offline with no ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition learning
  • Four-layer progression of study
  • Confusion pair training
  • Offline functionality
  • Progress tracking and session summaries
  • Association-specific terminology
  • Daily streak motivator
Features
Read full description

Navigation lights and day shapes is the hardest topic on every skipper exam. Minimum 50 configurations to recognise, from any bearing, under time pressure. Most sailors try to cram it from a textbook the night before. It doesn't work. Sailor's Deck is built specifically for this. Flashcards with spaced repetition — the study method proven to build lasting visual memory — sequenced across four layers from basic light identification through to full composite scenarios. The app tracks what you know, resurfaces what you don't, and keeps drilling the configurations you keep getting wrong until they stick. HOW IT WORKS Each session presents set of cards drawn from your personal review queue. Answer correctly and the card moves to a longer review interval. Answer wrong and it comes back sooner. Get a category badly wrong and the relevant COLREGS rule is shown on the spot. The four-layer progression matches the way your exam actually tests you: — Layer 1: Base lights — masthead, sidelights, sternlight — Layer 2: Status lights — what the vessel is doing — Layer 3: Day shapes — cone, ball, cylinder, diamond — Layer 4: Composite scenarios — full patterns from specific bearings Confusion pairs are built in. Miss a RAM card and the NUC card is queued immediately behind it. Miss a trawling vessel and the purse-seine card follows. The pairs most likely to lose you marks on the exam are pre-wired into the system. 100+ CARDS. ALMOST EVERY CONFIGURATION. Power-driven vessels, sailing vessels, vessels not under command, restricted in ability to manoeuvre, constrained by draught, pilot vessels, mine clearance, dredgers, air-cushion vessels, fishing vessels trawling and not trawling, vessels at anchor, towing and pushing — plus all COLREGS day shapes. Every card reviewed by a qualified sailing instructor. WORKS FOR YOUR ASSOCIATION Select your certification on first launch and the app uses your association's terminology throughout: — RYA Day Skipper / Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster — IYT Bareboat / Coastal / Master of Yachts — ISSA Inshore / Offshore — ASA 104 / 106 One card library. Your language. NO ACCOUNT. NO INTERNET. NO NONSENSE. Everything runs offline. Progress is saved locally. No login, no subscription, no ads. Free — permanently, with no card limit and no time limit on the entry skipper deck. DAILY STREAK + PROGRESS TRACKING A daily streak keeps you coming back in the weeks before your exam. Per-category accuracy shows exactly where your weak spots are. Session summaries flag the COLREGS rules you need to read. Study on the boat. Study on the bus. Five minutes before bed. The exam is closer than you think.

Screenshots

Nautical Ship Flags4 screens
Sailor's Deck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sailor's Deck at 100% against Nautical Ship Flags's 33%. Sailor's Deck also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Nautical Ship Flags's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 1) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Nautical Ship Flags sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Sailor's Deck sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sailor's Deck holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nautical Ship Flags has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Nautical Ship Flags's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sailor's Deck's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nautical Ship Flags versus Sailor's Deck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNautical Ship FlagsSailor's Deck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (15 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.215.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStanislav CekunovVladimir Arefev

Customer experience

Nautical Ship Flags

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

Sailor's Deck

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Nautical Ship Flags

Subscriptions1
  • Weekly$0.997 Days
One-time1
  • Lifetime$2.99
3 purchases

Sailor's Deck

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Buy a Coffee$2.99
  • Generous Tip$3.99

Questions

Is Nautical Ship Flags free?
Nautical Ship Flags is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sailor's Deck free?
Sailor's Deck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nautical Ship Flags or Sailor's Deck?
Sailor's Deck is rated higher. Nautical Ship Flags averages 4.6 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Sailor's Deck averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Nautical Ship Flags or Sailor's Deck have ads?
Neither Nautical Ship Flags nor Sailor's Deck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nautical Ship Flags or Sailor's Deck?
Nautical Ship Flags ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sailor's Deck every 3 weeks. Most recently, Nautical Ship Flags was updated on November 4, 2026 and Sailor's Deck on November 5, 2026.

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