VesselSpot vs BoardPass
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VesselSpot
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See what's on the water, live. VesselSpot tracks ships, ferries, and boats in real time on a beautiful, map-first display powered by live AIS - built to be fast, honest, and genuinely useful. LIVE, REAL-TIME TRACKING Vessels move on the map as they broadcast, so what you see is happening now. - Smooth, interactive map - pan to any coastline, harbor, bay, or shipping lane - Vessels color-coded by type: cargo, tanker, passenger, fishing, tug - Tap any vessel for its name, type, speed, course, heading, and destination - Trails show where a tracked boat has been REAL VESSEL PHOTOS Many vessels show an actual photo on their details page - including the full Washington State Ferries fleet, Kitsap Transit fast ferries, the Victoria Clipper, fireboats, Coast Guard cutters, and more. YOUR FLEET, ALWAYS THERE - Save the vessels you care about and watch them on the map - See clear LIVE or OFFLINE status at a glance - Your fleet keeps each boat's last-known position even when it sails out of range - tap to jump straight to it - Pull to refresh, remove with a tap FIND ANY VESSEL - Search by name, MMSI, or IMO - Recent searches at your fingertips SIMPLE AND HONEST No account required. No ads. Start free, and every feature is included when you upgrade to Pro. Built for boaters, ferry riders, ship spotters, harbor watchers, and anyone tracking a loved one's ship or just curious about what's out on the water. Live AIS coverage follows shore-based receivers, so it is strongest along coasts, harbors, bays, and shipping lanes. Not to be used for navigation. VesselSpot is for informational and situational-awareness purposes only. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
BoardPass
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BoardPass turns your phone into a clean live airport board, with the extra context airport screens do not show: TSA waits, METAR weather, FAA delays, route search, inbound aircraft intelligence, gates, terminals, and watchlists. Built for travelers who need fast answers, BoardPass helps you check departures and arrivals, pick someone up, monitor a connection, or keep an eye on the flight that matters. LIVE AIRPORT BOARDS See real-time departures and arrivals for airports worldwide. View flight numbers, airlines, destination cities, scheduled times, gates, terminals, and status in a clear board-style layout made for quick scanning. FLIGHT DETAIL INTELLIGENCE Tap any flight for the full picture: gate assignments, terminal details, baggage claim belts, aircraft information, and inbound aircraft context so you can spot delay risk before it becomes obvious. TSA WAIT TIMES Check security wait estimates before heading to the airport. BoardPass surfaces TSA checkpoint information where available so you can plan your arrival with less guesswork. METAR WEATHER See current aviation weather at a glance, including temperature, wind, visibility, and flight category from NOAA Aviation Weather Center METAR data. FAA DELAY ALERTS Get visibility into FAA ground delays, ground stops, and airspace flow programs affecting your airport. ROUTE SEARCH Search city-pair routes to see flights operating between two airports. Save frequent routes for one-tap access when you check the same travel corridor often. WATCHLIST Add flights to your watchlist for quick status checks without searching again. It is built for the flights you are flying, meeting, tracking, or watching from home. TRACKER LINKS Open flights directly in FlightAware or FlightRadar24 when you want full radar and map tracking. WHY TRAVELERS USE BOARDPASS - Clean airport-board design - Fast airport search by city, name, or code - Nearby airport detection - Favorites and recent airports - Dark mode for airport and red-eye use - Adjustable text size and 12-hour or 24-hour time - Works with cached data when connectivity is spotty DATA SOURCES Flight data: FlightAware AeroAPI Weather: NOAA Aviation Weather Center Delay information: FAA TSA wait times: Transportation Security Administration BoardPass is free to use and supported by advertising.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BoardPass at none against VesselSpot's 2. VesselSpot's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. VesselSpot sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. BoardPass asks for nothing beyond the download.
VesselSpot ships an update weekly, BoardPass every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VesselSpot | BoardPass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vikorus, LLC | JSP Media LLC |
In-app purchases
VesselSpot
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Annual$14.991 Year
BoardPass
No in-app purchases









