MSI MAP vs CHIEFMATE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
MSI MAP
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Bring your passage into the app, keep only the navigational warnings that actually touch it, and carry them over to the ECDIS. NAVAREA and coastal NAVTEX warnings are plotted on a world map whose coastline is bundled inside the app β no tile server, and the last warnings you pulled stay readable with no connection. WARNINGS ALONG YOUR ROUTE β MSI PRO Β· Import a route file (RTZ, GPX, CSV or JSON) and see it drawn under the warning pins Β· Keep only the warnings within 100, 200 or 300 nm of that route and clear the rest away Β· Re-fetch every source on demand, instead of the free once-daily cycle EXPORT TO THE ECDIS β MSI PRO Warnings are carried over as latitude/longitude lines with text marks, ready to open on the bridge. Β· JRC user map (.uchm) β native format Β· GPX Β· Furuno user chart (beta) WARNING SOURCES Β· NGA β worldwide NAVAREA plus HYDROLANT, HYDROPAC and HYDROARC Β· Coastal NAVTEX, collected automatically from seven countries β the United States (USCG), Australia (AMSA), Japan (JCG/MSIL), Taiwan (MOTC), Hong Kong (Marine Department), Finland (Traficom) and Denmark (DMA Niord) Β· NAVAREA III β Spain (IHM) Β· Korea (KHOA) β collected as well once you enter your own free data.go.kr service key in Settings THE MAP Β· Fully offline vector coastline at three levels of detail, three bathymetry bands, national boundaries and 167 place labels covering major ports, straits and canals Β· Coordinates and areas are extracted from the warning text and drawn as points, circles, polygons and tracklines Β· Filter by NAVAREA, by geometry type, and by NAVAREA versus coastal NAVTEX Β· Place and port search in English, with no network call Β· Your own GPS position on the chart CHANGE HISTORY Compares each refresh with the one before it and lists what is new, what was cancelled and what changed. DEPARTURE BRIEFING SHEET Print the current list to an A4 PDF. Free. MSI PRO IS A ONE-TIME PURCHASE Not a subscription. Restores on a new device with Restore Purchase under the same store account. The map, the warning list, the change history and the briefing sheet are free. LOCATION GPS is read only when you tap the my-position button, and only while the app is in the foreground. It is used solely to draw your own position on the chart on this device β it is never sent to a server, never stored as a history, and never collected in the background. Decline the location permission and everything else keeps working. There are no push notifications. Refresh is checked when you open the app or return to it. English and Korean. Note β for reference only. Not for navigation. Not a substitute for GMDSS receiving equipment or official notices to mariners.
CHIEFMATE
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CHIEFMATE is a professional maritime navigation companion built for mariners who need tools that keep working when everything else goes dark. WORKS OFFLINE, NO SIGNAL NEEDED Even in airplane mode, far offshore, CHIEFMATE computes celestial navigation entirely on your device: β’ Sight reduction (intercept method) for the Sun, Moon, planets, and all 57 navigational stars. Enter your sextant altitude and get a line of position. β’ Sun & twilight: sunrise, sunset, meridian passage (LAN), civil and nautical twilight windows, day length, and sunrise amplitude. β’ Latitude at noon (LAN) and by Polaris. β’ STCW / MLC hours of rest compliance. Positions are computed to arcminute accuracy, finer than a sextant resolves, using a built-in solar model and a bundled astronomical ephemeris. No internet, no subscription, no account required for the offline tools. THE FULL PLATFORM WHEN YOU'RE CONNECTED Sign in with your CHIEFMATE account to open the complete platform: charts that work offline, weather routing, electronic logbooks, tides and currents, stability and loading, publications, emergency procedures, and an AI watch assistant. BUILT BY MARINERS, FOR MARINERS CHIEFMATE is one connected workplace: a sight reduction flows into your logbook and plotting sheet automatically. It runs on a rugged shipboard computer, on the desktop, and now in your pocket. Use CHIEFMATE alongside official publications, a paper almanac, and sound judgment. It supports your decisions. It does not replace prudent seamanship or required carriage equipment. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ CHIEFMATE is a product of STEM Maritime Systems LLC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: CHIEFMATE at every 3 days against MSI MAP's every 3 weeks. 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
Both are free to download. MSI MAP sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and CHIEFMATE sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $49.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
MSI MAP ships an update every 3 weeks, CHIEFMATE every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.
| Parameter | MSI MAP | CHIEFMATE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JIWON SEO | STEM Maritime Systems LLC |
In-app purchases
MSI MAP
- 500 Points$3.99
- MSI MAP Pro$6.99
- 1,200 Points$9.99
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- 3,000 Points$19.99
CHIEFMATE
- Watch Officer$49.001 Month
- Master$89.001 Month









