Comparison

Ship Tracker vs FerryDodger

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β€” 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

FerryDodger

Features
Read full description

FerryDodger is the sailing planner that goes to sea with you: plan the route, check the weather along it, see where you'd cross a ferry lane, then sail LIVE with alerts β€” offline too. PLAN THE ROUTE Draw the route on the map: waypoints snap to water and the coastal path is computed automatically, keeping the boat off land and β€” with your draft set β€” out of the shallows. Set departure and average speed and every leg gets its passing time. WEATHER ALONG THE ROUTE Four forecast models (GFS, ECMWF, ICON, GEM) compared for wind, gusts, waves, swell and rain. A 2-hourly table for any point at sea, color-coded Quiet / Rock / War against YOUR thresholds; the route line itself is colored by the forecast at the time you'll pass. Weather mode lays wind, waves and point of sail over the route. DEPARTURE ANALYSIS The best windows to leave in the coming days, with the expected points of sail (close-hauled, reach, run), wave direction relative to the boat β€” all computed offline. ROUTE SUMMARY One glance: ferry crossings and when the first one comes, duration and arrival time, wind and waves expected for that departure, the points of sail you'll actually sail. DEPTHS AND HAZARDS, WORLDWIDE Download your region's data from the Maps page or with one tap from the route: coastline and harbours in vector detail, depth contours and shallow-water bands, rocks, wrecks and obstructions, and coastal place names, all offline. Europe uses EMODnet 2024 (~115 m grid), the rest of the world GEBCO 2024 (~460 m). This is open data, not an official nautical chart. Packs include the ferry lines and stay valid for 12 months from download, then you download them again for free. Optional: the offline base map. FERRY LANE CROSSINGS Every point where your route crosses a ferry lane mapped in OpenStreetMap, on the map and in a list with distance from departure and estimated crossing time. The app flags the crossing with the lane: it does not know where the ships actually are. LIVE NAVIGATION Follow your GPS position on the route: speed, miles run and remaining, next crossing with ETA, weather ahead, arrival time and daylight left. Get a notification + vibration before a crossing at the distance you choose, even with the screen off. Free navigation mode without a route, too. With an AIS receiver on the boat's Wi-Fi: nearby vessels, course vectors and collision alarms (CPA/TCPA), with the screen kept on. ANCHOR ALARM At anchor, set the anchor where you are or on the map and choose the radius: if the boat leaves the circle or GPS is lost, sound and notification. On iPhone with the screen off only the notification arrives. OFFLINE Ferry data, maps and the forecasts you've viewed stay on the phone. PRIVACY No account, NO ADS. Your data stays on the device: your GPS track is never uploaded, and the weather and map services receive only the coordinates needed to answer: in LIVE, your position goes to the weather service. FREE FerryDodger is free and ad-free: no subscription, no in-app purchases. Paid features may arrive in the future, always announced in advance and never as automatic charges: what you use today stays free. SAFETY DISCLAIMER FerryDodger is a planning-support and alert tool. Bathymetry and hazards are indicative open data (~115 m grid in Europe, ~460 m elsewhere) and do not replace official nautical charts, a certified AIS display, radar or a proper lookout. Responsibility always remains with the skipper. The anchor alarm does not replace an anchor watch. Contact: info@boomlab.it Β· https://www.ferrydodger.com/support/ Privacy Policy: https://www.ferrydodger.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.ferrydodger.com/terms/

Screenshots

Ship Tracker4 screens
FerryDodger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FerryDodger at every 5 days against Ship Tracker's every 6 weeks. FerryDodger also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Ship Tracker sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and FerryDodger sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $8.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ship Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, FerryDodger every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Ship Tracker versus FerryDodger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShip TrackerFerryDodger
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size56 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAPPMERGE TEKNOLOJI LIMITED SIRKETIdomenico ceravolo

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
1 purchases

FerryDodger

Subscriptions1
  • FerryDodger Premium1 Year trial$8.991 Year

Questions

Is Ship Tracker free?
Ship Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FerryDodger free?
FerryDodger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ship Tracker or FerryDodger have ads?
Neither Ship Tracker nor FerryDodger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ship Tracker or FerryDodger?
Ship Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, and FerryDodger every 5 days. Most recently, Ship Tracker was updated on October 25, 2026 and FerryDodger on October 24, 2026.

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