Comparison

KnowWake vs Wavve Boating

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

Head to head
About

KnowWake

This marine navigation platform offers detailed waterway information for numerous global locations. Discover waterfront destinations, access real-time community reports on hazards and marine life, and utilize advanced navigation features for a safer and more informed boating experience.

Highlights
  • Waterfront destinations
  • Real-time waterway reports
  • Wake zone indicators
  • Marine weather forecasts
  • Anchor alarm
  • Location sharing
  • Offline mode
Features
Read full description

KnowWake is a FREE marine navigation platform packed with waterfront destinations in the United States, Canada, Caribbean, Mexico, South Africa, United Kingdom, parts of Europe, Arabian Peninsula and NOW all of Australia and New Zealand!! Salt and freshwater points of interest include 50,000+ VERIFIED: restaurants, marinas, fuel docks, yacht clubs, lodging, vessel services, dive shops, boat ramps, dive & snorkel areas, bridges, locks, popular spots, town docks, anchorages, inlets and more! KnowWake also uses real-time waterway reports from the community to see and share things like hazards, marine life, police and other important information. Features include: · Wake zones - Simplified, color-coded waterways · Marine Weather Suite - Current and forecasted marine conditions · NAVAIDS - Navigation Channel Markers, Buoys & Beacons · Anchor Alarm - Get notified if your vessel moves outside of a predetermined area · Virtual Dive Flag - Alert other vessels of swimmers in the water · Routing - Point to point waterway routing with distance to location · Depth - See depth based on current NOAA bathymetry charts · Location sharing - Share location with a single person, group or everyone · Vessel Tracks - Leave tracks along the way to see or share later · Offline mode - Use KnowWake anywhere, even with bad network service · Augmented Reality - See what's ahead including all KnowWake points of interest · Safety First - An SOS button, Safety Checklists and Float Plan generator Sharing with friends is easier than ever. Simply click the share button on any point, route or favorite location and choose who you want to share it with - This feature is perfect to retrace steps, show friends how to get somewhere or just share your adventures. Adding to the chart helps everyone. Whether posting a waterway report, adding a missing point or updating an existing one, you can help keep the chart current with local knowledge. Thank you to everyone helping keep the chart updated and we'll see you on the water soon!!

About

Wavve Boating

Navigate waterways with detailed nautical charts, tide predictions, and weather forecasts. Connect with a community of boaters to share points of interest and track friends on the water. Enjoy simplified GPS navigation tailored to your boat's draft.

Highlights
  • Simple GPS navigation
  • Customizable nautical charts
  • Community points of interest
  • Tide predictions
  • 7-day weather forecasts
  • Friend tracking (Fleets)
Features
Read full description

Ever have a stressful day navigating on the water? Wanted to know more about the conditions you are about to head into? Are you looking for exciting places to explore, the best place to refuel, or just trying to meet up with a friend? Wavve Boating takes a new spin on traditional boating navigation by bringing detailed nautical charts, tide predictions, weather forecasts, and more in one easy-to-use tool. Join a fast-growing community of boaters building a network of marine knowledge that everyone can enjoy. With Wavve Boating you get: - Simple and Seamless Marine GPS Navigation - Put away overcrowded and complex charts and apps. Wavve Boating's GPS focuses on important and relevant information so that navigating is as easy as staying in the blue and avoiding the red. - Custom Nautical Charts - View and change Wavve Boating's nautical charts based on your unique boating needs and preferences. Set your draft and Wavve Boating redraws the nautical charts to fit your boat. Nautical charts are available for the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. You can view a map of our coverage on our website. - Community Boating - Just like at the dock or on the water, we all help each other in Wavve Boating. Share expert knowledge of the local waterways by adding shared points of interest to the map. The community can vote on pins, making sure they are all valid and valuable. Not quite ready to share a great find? No problem, you can keep your points of interest private as well. - Tides - Track changes in water height in tidal regions and along rivers and lakes with the tides function. View a body of water in North America, and the app will update to reflect the current water levels. View predicted water heights up to 18 hours in advance and track the next tidal variances. - Weather - Check the weather, including a complete seven-day forecast, across all of North America. Easily view the temperature, wind speed, and wave height as you move around the map. The local daily forecasts are color-coded to show if it is dangerous to go boating, using guidelines from the Coast Guard's small vessel advisory. - Fleets of Friends - See who is on the water and where they are by adding friends to your fleet. Share your locations with members of your fleet to make meeting up a breeze. Want to keep your best fishing hole a secret, even from your boating buds? Easily hide your location to boat under the radar. - So Long Chart Plotters - Marine navigation is more than concentrating on a cluttered chart plotter. Get your head out of the cabin and enjoy the journey. Stop buying marine charts piece by piece for your chart plotter. Wavve Boating has integrated all the marine charts into one map for your boating GPS needs. Subscription Pricing and Terms Wavve Boating is free to download, and all customers are welcome to a free 14 day trial period. Should you choose to continue to use the Wavve Boating app after the free trial, we offer two auto-renewing subscription options, monthly ($11.99/month) or yearly ($69.99/year). Wavve Boating needs you! We've built the platform, but it is boaters that will build our Wavver community. Share your knowledge, share your time, and save a prop or two in the process. MORE INFORMATION Want to learn more about Wavve Boating’s marine navigation aid? Still deciding if this is the right boat GPS app for you to replace your chart plotter? Looking for an alternative to Navionics, Embark, Garmin Active Captain or other? Head to our website to learn more. TERMS OF SERVICE https://wavveboating.com/terms-of-service/ PRIVACY POLICY https://wavveboating.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

KnowWake4 screens
Wavve Boating4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Wavve Boating at 4.7 against KnowWake's 4.1. Wavve Boating also leads on ratings volume (6.4K vs 250) and chart position (#16 vs unranked). KnowWake's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Wavve Boating sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. KnowWake asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Wavve Boating holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wavve Boating has 6.4K ratings behind it against 250, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of KnowWake's written reviews are positive against 52% of Wavve Boating's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KnowWake ships an update every 11 days, Wavve Boating every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
KnowWake versus Wavve Boating: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnowWakeWavve Boating
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (250 ratings)4.7 (6.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.3% of reviews — better51.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2506.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#16 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB197 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplication Generation, IncWavve Boating INC

Customer experience

KnowWake

All ratings250 ratings
Positive74.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative22.0%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive55.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative39.8%

Wavve Boating

All ratings6,402 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews234 reviews
Positive51.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative42.7%

User reviews

KnowWake

From 250 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Comprehensive wake zone and speed restriction information
  • 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
  • 🆓 Free app with valuable features
  • 📍 Accurate location data for marinas, restaurants, and fuel docks
  • 🚤 Essential tool for boaters and water sports enthusiasts

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
  • ⏱️ App becomes unstable after 30 seconds of use
  • 🔌 Constant stability problems across multiple iOS versions
  • ❌ Routing functionality frequently fails
  • 🗺️ Limited coverage for certain regions (Great Lakes, some Florida lakes)

Wavve Boating

From 6.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate navigation
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Helpful features like weather and wave data
  • 🚢 Great for new and experienced boaters
  • 🤝 Good customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate depth charts
  • 🚫 Limited coverage for certain areas
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔒 Forced to sign up before trying
  • 🤯 Confusing login/account issues

Bugs and requests

KnowWake

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes immediately upon opening
  • App freezes after 30 seconds of use
  • Login/registration fails or times out indefinitely
  • Routing returns error messages and crashes
  • Tapping on location icons does nothing or crashes app
Show 9 more
  • Filtering options don't work (removed items still appear)
  • Depth chart feature returns 'error tap on water area' message
  • Freshwater/saltwater detection incorrect
  • NOAA overlay charts work once then fail
  • Vessel picture change causes symbol display issues
  • Buoy recognition inconsistent (only recognizes one random buoy)
  • Contact form CAPTCHA rejects valid input
  • App won't load or appear in app list after download
  • Force closing and random shutdowns

Requested features

12 requests
  • Improved stability and crash prevention
  • Course-up/heading-up map orientation option
  • Depth layer integration for navigation safety
  • NOAA raster charts availability
  • Better routing algorithm with estimated time and distance
Show 7 more
  • Ability to save multiple vessel profiles
  • Layer on/off toggle functionality
  • Bridge information with contact details and height specifications
  • Water amenities for canal boaters (water points, Elsan disposal, pump out sites)
  • Improved filtering system that actually works
  • Better icon explanations or legend
  • Expanded lake coverage in central Florida and other regions

Wavve Boating

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when accessing depth data
  • Logged out unexpectedly, unable to log back in
  • Subscription charges despite cancellation

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more inland lake and river coverage
  • Improve auto-routing capabilities
  • Allow editing of saved routes
  • Integrate with more boat displays
  • Add social features to share trips with friends

In-app purchases

None

KnowWake

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Wavve Boating

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly Subscription (No Data)$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$11.991 Month
  • Best Value - Wavve Boating14 Days trial$69.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Yearly Subscription (No Data)14 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Best Value - Wavve Boating1 Month trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is KnowWake free?
KnowWake is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Wavve Boating free?
Wavve Boating is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, KnowWake or Wavve Boating?
Wavve Boating is rated higher. KnowWake averages 4.1 out of 5 from 250 ratings, while Wavve Boating averages 4.7 from 6.4K ratings.
Do KnowWake or Wavve Boating have ads?
Neither KnowWake nor Wavve Boating shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KnowWake or Wavve Boating?
KnowWake ships an update every 11 days, and Wavve Boating every 6 days. Most recently, KnowWake was updated on September 24, 2026 and Wavve Boating on September 22, 2026.

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