# Ship Spotter vs Cedar

The clearest difference is rating: Ship Spotter at 5.0 against Cedar's 4.5. Ship Spotter also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 89%) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Cedar's advantage is ratings volume (150 vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Ship Spotter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Cedar sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Ship Spotter holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cedar has 150 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Ship Spotter's written reviews are positive against 89% of Cedar's.

Ship Spotter ships an update weekly, Cedar every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ship Spotter | Cedar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ship-spotter/id6757749520/reviews)** | [4.5 (150 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cedar-cigar-scanner-and-tracker/id6775632277/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **150** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 88.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 41 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MATT KING](https://appshunter.io/developer/1868657080) | [SCALINGWEB TECHNOLOGIES](https://appshunter.io/developer/1712899707) |

## What reviewers say

### Ship Spotter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ship-spotter/id6757749520)

Record and organize your ship sightings with photos, location, and notes. Track your spotting history and access advanced vessel data with an optional Pro upgrade. Your data is private and under your control.

**Highlights:** Log ship sightings with photos, Record date, time, and location, Add personal notes to entries, Track spotting history, Access advanced vessel data (Pro), Export data to CSV (Pro)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ship Spotter Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Ship Spotter Pro Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Ship Spotter Pro Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |


### Cedar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cedar-cigar-scanner-and-tracker/id6775632277)

Catalog your cigar collection, log every smoke with detailed ratings and notes, and monitor your humidor's environment. Features AI-powered band scanning for quick entry and iCloud sync for cross-device access. Offers insights into your collection's value and aging.

**Highlights:** AI cigar band scanning, Per-purchase aging lot tracking, Detailed smoke logging with sub-ratings, Humidor humidity and temperature monitoring, Boveda pack refresh reminders, Collection insights and export options, iCloud sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $59.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ship Spotter free?

Ship Spotter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Cedar free?

Cedar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Ship Spotter or Cedar?

Ship Spotter is rated higher. Ship Spotter averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Cedar averages 4.5 from 150 ratings.

### Do Ship Spotter or Cedar have ads?

Neither Ship Spotter nor Cedar shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ship Spotter or Cedar?

Ship Spotter ships an update weekly, and Cedar every 3 days. Most recently, Ship Spotter was updated on October 31, 2026 and Cedar on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*