Comparison

Float SML vs Luna Marine Charts

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

Head to head
About

Float SML

Navigate Smith Mountain Lake with this comprehensive boating app. Discover marinas, launches, and restaurants, and save your favorite spots. Record your tracks, share your location live, and view detailed 3D maps with customizable overlays.

Highlights
  • Save favorite locations
  • Create custom places
  • Record and save tracks
  • Share live location
  • 3D map mode with terrain and depth
  • View lake news and weather
  • Customizable map styles and overlays
Features
Read full description

Smith Mountain Lake's boating app. Learn your way around Smith Mountain Lake. Navigate to marinas, boat launches, restaurants, and more. Save your favorite spots and share them with friends. Favorites - Save your favorite marinas, boat launches, restaurants, and other points of interest for easy access later. With favorites you can quickly orient to your preferred spots without searching every time. Places - Create and customize your own places on the map. Whether it’s a quiet cove for relaxation, a prime wake surfing area, or a popular hangout spot, places allows you to mark and personalize locations important to you. Tracks - Record your day on the water and save your path. Live Sessions - Share your real-time location with a link or code. 3D Map Mode - Follow your course with terrain and depth in perspective. Locate Yourself Instantly - See your exact location on the map to orient with ease. Current - Check the latest lake news, water level and temperature, and weather forecast. Choose Your Map Style - Choose from various base maps to find the view that best suits your needs, whether it’s a standard map, satellite imagery, or a dark mode map for nighttime adventures. Map Overlays - Toggle on and off overlays to see additional information on the map. Overlays include fuel docks, boat launches, navigational markers, and more. Terms of Use - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Luna Marine Charts

This app provides marine charts and navigation tools for boaters. Plan routes, access nautical charts with tides and currents offline, and customize your display for day or night use. Ideal for coastal passages and offshore voyages.

Highlights
  • Offline NOAA and USACE nautical charts
  • Route planning with waypoint adjustment
  • Integrated tide and current data
  • Day, dusk, and night display modes
  • GPX route export
  • Path Finder and Great Circle route calculation
Features
Read full description

Luna Marine Charts is a fast, modern marine navigation app built for sailors, cruisers, and recreational boaters. Plan routes in seconds, navigate with official NOAA and USACE vector charts, and access tides and currents 100% offline. Whether you're preparing at home, planning a coastal passage, or navigating on the water, Luna helps you stay informed and focused. ▶ Chart Intelligence AI - Get more from your charts with AI-powered explanations and route analysis. - Chart area overview: Understand the important features and conditions in the area you're viewing. - Navigation hazards: Identify hazards and things to watch out for. - Rules, depths & shoaling: Understand restrictions, charted depths, and shallow-water hazards. - Traffic & Coast Pilot :Learn about expected vessel traffic and relevant official guidance. - Route review: Analyze your route for hazards, restrictions, depths, and other potential concerns. ▶ Charts & Offline Navigation - Download NOAA Coastal and USACE Inland River charts for offline use - Full offline access to chart data, tide stations, and current predictions - High-contrast Day, Dusk, and Night display modes to protect night vision - Customizable units for depth, distance, and speed ▶ Fast Route Planning - Tap to place, drag, or insert waypoints to edit routes instantly - Real-time distance, bearing, and ETA calculations - Smart Auto-Routing with Great Circle navigation support - Seamless GPX route import and export ▶ Integrated Tides & Currents - Tap any tide or current station directly on the map for instant forecasts - View water level predictions and flow speed/direction in clean graph views - Access full station metadata and daily prediction tables off the grid ▶ Live Instrument Dashboard (Pro) - Turn your phone, tablet, or laptop into a real-time marine display - Monitor live Speed Over Ground (SOG), Course Over Ground (COG), and GPS signal strength - Track distance and time remaining to your active waypoint ▶ AIS Traffic & NMEA Integration (Pro) - Connect to your boat’s NMEA network via Wi-Fi or serial cable - Overlay live AIS targets directly on your chart for enhanced collision awareness - Stream high-accuracy position data from your vessel’s external GPS receiver ▶ GPS Track Recording (Pro) - Record your tracks with flexible pause, resume, and multi-segment tracking - Export tracks as GPX files to archive your logs or share with other boaters

Screenshots

Float SML4 screens
Luna Marine Charts4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Luna Marine Charts at Free against Float SML's $2.99. Luna Marine Charts also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 11 months). On ratings volume, 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

Luna Marine Charts is free to download; Float SML costs $2.99 up front. Float SML sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Luna Marine Charts sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Luna Marine Charts holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Float SML ships an update every 11 months, Luna Marine Charts every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Float SML versus Luna Marine Charts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFloat SMLLuna Marine Charts
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJason Sanford45 Adapter LLC

Customer experience

Float SML

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Luna Marine Charts

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Float SML

Subscriptions2
  • Float+ Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Float+ Annual$19.991 Year
1 purchases

Luna Marine Charts

One-time1
  • Luna Pro$19.99

Questions

Is Float SML free?
Float SML costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Luna Marine Charts free?
Luna Marine Charts is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Float SML or Luna Marine Charts?
Luna Marine Charts is rated higher. Float SML averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Luna Marine Charts averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Float SML or Luna Marine Charts have ads?
Neither Float SML nor Luna Marine Charts shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Float SML or Luna Marine Charts?
Float SML ships an update every 11 months, and Luna Marine Charts every 2 weeks. Most recently, Float SML was updated on October 24, 2026 and Luna Marine Charts on October 8, 2026.

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