Comparison

Ship Tracker vs RiverPilot

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

Head to head
About

Ship Tracker

Features
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Ship Tracker is a fast AIS vessel map for following ships, checking ports, and understanding marine traffic from your iPhone. Search vessels by name, IMO, MMSI, callsign, or flag. Open clean vessel details with speed, heading, identity, ETA, latest position, and route context. Use the map to inspect nearby traffic, discover ports, and keep important ships in a lightweight fleet watchlist. Key features: - Live AIS vessel map - Ship search by name, IMO, MMSI, callsign, or flag - Vessel details with identity, speed, heading, flag, ETA, and latest position - Nearby ship and port discovery - Port intelligence with inbound vessel context - Maritime information including NAVTEX, port events, and navigation aids - Fleet watchlist for saved vessels with quick refresh - Native iOS design with MapKit, CoreLocation, haptics, and a focused maritime workspace Ship Tracker Pro unlocks the full workspace, including nearby vessel tools, fleet watchlist, port intelligence, and maritime intel. Built for boat watchers, maritime enthusiasts, logistics teams, port observers, and anyone who wants a clear ship tracking experience without clutter. Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/shiptrackern/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/shiptrackern/privacy-policy

About

RiverPilot

Features
Read full description

RiverPilotX Lite is the pocket companion for the Danube: official river kilometers on an offline nautical chart, plus water levels, shallows and nautical notices when you are online. See the river kilometre nearest to you, check gauges and forecasts, and read fairway announcements before you get there. YOUR RIVER KILOMETRE — EVEN OFFLINE The app resolves your GPS position to the official Danube river kilometre (rkm / fkm), including navigable branches. A bundled nautical chart keeps the map and the kilometre reading available without a network. WATER ALONG THE DANUBE Live gauges, water temperature and forecasts for stations from Germany to Romania. Filter by country and tap a station to see it on the map. NAUTICAL NOTICES ON YOUR STRETCH Fairway announcements for Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. Open PDFs and attachments, and show notices on the map. SHALLOWS AND BOTTLENECKS See reported shallow sections and bottlenecks — including minimum depth and width — before you arrive. MAP THE WAY YOU WORK Switch between nautical, satellite and OSM backgrounds. Follow your position, zoom to your stretch, and keep speed in view. WHO IT IS FOR Skippers, crew and anyone who needs a reliable Danube river kilometre on their phone — without a shipboard AIS installation. RiverPilotX Lite is a navigation companion. It does not replace official nautical publications, ENC charts or the skipper’s duty to navigate safely. Location is used only to show your position and nearest river kilometre. Naviscon Zrt. https://naviscon.hu/riverpilotx/

Screenshots

Ship Tracker4 screens
RiverPilot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RiverPilot at none against Ship Tracker's 6. RiverPilot also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Ship Tracker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. RiverPilot asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ship Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, RiverPilot every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Ship Tracker versus RiverPilot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShip TrackerRiverPilot
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB173 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAPPMERGE TEKNOLOJI LIMITED SIRKETINaviscon Mérnöki Tanácsadó Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Ship Tracker

Subscriptions6
  • Premium Pro3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Weekly Pro$4.997 Days
  • Premium Pro3 Days trial$7.997 Days
Show 3 more
  • Premium Pro3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Premium Access3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro$39.991 Year
None

RiverPilot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ship Tracker free?
Ship Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RiverPilot free?
RiverPilot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ship Tracker or RiverPilot have ads?
Neither Ship Tracker nor RiverPilot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ship Tracker or RiverPilot?
Ship Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, and RiverPilot every 3 days. Most recently, Ship Tracker was updated on October 10, 2026 and RiverPilot on October 2, 2026.

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