KnowWake vs Waterway Guide
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Waterfront destinations
- Real-time waterway reports
- Wake zone indicators
- Marine weather forecasts
- Anchor alarm
- Location sharing
- Offline mode
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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!!
Waterway Guide
This app provides a comprehensive boating resource with a verified database of marinas, anchorages, and navigation alerts. Users can access real-time hazard information, plan trips with a digital handbook, and utilize detailed content optimized for mobile devices. Engage with a community of boaters through comments and reviews.
- Verified points of interest database
- Real-time navigation alerts
- Community comments and reviews
- Skipper's Handbook for trip planning
- Offline content access
- Marina filtering by amenities
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Optimized for your mobile devices with Waterway Guide's detailed and verified points of interest database. Includes over 1.3 million data points on marinas, anchorages, navigation alerts, free docks, bridges and locks displayed on the embedded map or satellite view. Benefit from the experience of 75 years of publishing and hundreds of thousands of active boaters through verified comments and reviews. Share your comments, add points of interest, earn rewards and engage with others from within the app. Stay informed with the latest hazards to navigation reported real time from USCG, government agencies, local experts and boaters everywhere. Plan your time on the water with Waterway Guide's Skipper's Handbook, which is included with the free app download. Access Waterway Guide's library of books as individual chapters or entire guides for the information and details you need for navigation. Content is optimized for mobile devices and can be bookmarked for availability offline. Easily find marinas that fit your needs. Filter our entire database of marinas based on amenities and your preferences. Same functionality as Waterway Guide’s Marinas App. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Waterway Guide at 4.7 against KnowWake's 4.1. Waterway Guide also leads on ratings volume (2.9K vs 250) and chart position (#112 vs unranked). KnowWake's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 43) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). 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
Both are free to download. Waterway Guide sells 43 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. KnowWake asks for nothing beyond the download.
Waterway Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterway Guide has 2.9K 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 51% of Waterway Guide's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
KnowWake ships an update every 11 days, Waterway Guide every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KnowWake | Waterway Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (250 ratings) | 4.7 (2.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.3% of reviews — better | 51.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 250 | 2.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #112 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Application Generation, Inc | Waterway Guide |
Customer experience
KnowWake
Waterway Guide
User reviews
KnowWake
From 250 App Store ratingsWhat 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)
Waterway Guide
From 2.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent integration with Aqua Map
- 👍 Useful resource for boating
- 👍 Great information and details
- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- 👍 Invaluable for planning trips
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🐛 Inconsistent and unreliable
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate and use
- 🐛 Outdated information and images
- 🐛 Subscription and access 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
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- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Waterway Guide
Reported bugs
4 issues- App not working with latest iOS version
- Subscription purchases not working properly
- Unable to access purchased content
- Frequent crashes and errors
Requested features
4 requests- Provide vertical bridge clearances
- Improve offline functionality
- Enhance search and filtering options
- Implement dark mode
In-app purchases
KnowWake
No in-app purchases
Waterway Guide
- Chesapeake Bay Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.6$4.991 Year
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- Southern Ch.6$4.991 Year
- Southern Bridges & Locks$4.991 Year
- Bahamas Cruising Guide$4.991 Year
- Florida Keys Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.10$4.991 Year
- Gulf IWW Ch.1$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Southern Ch.4$4.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Ch.3$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW East Coast Inlets$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.12$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.11$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.7$4.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Ch.9$4.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.1 Ch.2$4.991 Year
- Northern Ch.1$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.8$14.991 Year
- Great Lakes Vol.2 Ch.6$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.13$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.10$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.12$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.3$14.991 Year
- Southern Ch.11$14.991 Year
- Anchorages Along the ICW$20.991 Year
- Bahamas Bound$20.991 Year
- ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423$29.991 Year
- Northern Edition$49.991 Year
- 1st Ed. Bahamas Land and Sea$49.991 Year
- Chesapeake Bay Edition$54.991 Year
- Atlantic ICW Edition$54.991 Year
- Southern Edition$54.991 Year
- Bahamas Edition$54.991 Year
- Western Gulf Coast Edition$54.991 Year
- Florida Keys Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 1 Edition$54.991 Year
- Great Lakes Volume 2 Edition$54.991 Year
- Cuba Edition$59.991 Year
