Celestial Navigator vs Binnacle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Celestial Navigator
This app assists with celestial navigation training by providing a perpetual almanac, star finder chart with animation, and tools for calculating lines of position and meridian passages. It can utilize device sensors for real-time chart positioning, though a marine sextant is still required for actual navigation.
- Perpetual almanac
- Animated star finder chart
- Line of position calculation
- Meridian passage calculation
- Real-time sensor integration
- Celestial object data
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Celestial Navigation Calculator with - perpetual Almanac - star finder chart with animation. Use phone sensor for altitude. - calculation of lines of position ( intercept/delta ) - celestial object data - meridian passage calculation - running fix support - astronomical position calculations with two or more altitude observations - Hipparchus 150 star catalog - World chart with lines and position Program can be set to use device's sensors (gyro, compass) to position the star finder chart in real time. Capture celestial object approximate altitude. Correct Altitude with a Marine Sextant reading (not included). You still need a marine sextant to do celestial navigation, but the phone sensors may be used for training. Software for iPhone and iPad, with the same features. e-book with manual and celestial navigation tutorial.
Binnacle
This navigation app provides tools for maritime professionals and sailing enthusiasts. It offers features like true wind calculation, celestial navigation, ETA estimation, logbook management, and port search. Stay informed with real-time NavArea warnings for safer voyages.
- True Wind Calculation
- Celestial Navigation Tools
- ETA Estimation
- LogBook Management
- UNLOCODE Search
- NavArea Warnings
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Binnacle is a set of bridge instruments for merchant marine deck officers. Thirteen tools, most of them working with no signal, and none of them pretending to be more certain than it is. ON WATCH • Navigational warnings, plotted. NAVAREA and the coastal services drawn on a chart where they actually are, instead of read as a wall of text at three in the morning. Set a radius from your position and follow only the services that concern the passage. • Weather for a position and a time you choose — wind in forces, the barometric tendency, fog risk. Forecast data from MET Norway. • True wind from course, speed and apparent wind. • Manoeuvring board — CPA and TCPA for two to five contacts at once, and one alteration that clears all of them. POSITION AND CHECKS • Compass error by amplitude or azimuth, worked against celestial data for the moment you observed. • Celestial fix — reduce two or three sights and see the cocked hat plotted, with its residuals, not just a number. • ETA and passage timing in UTC, with the arithmetic shown. • Heel, trim and roll period from the phone's own sensors, with GM estimated from the roll period. RECORDS AND REFERENCE • Log book for bridge events, kept for the whole contract and handed over as a PDF. • 17,998 ports by UN/LOCODE, and 11,728 port facilities with their GISIS codes, searchable by name or code — the reference is bundled, so it works alongside. • Manoeuvring miles — passage legs with sea and manoeuvring totals kept apart. • Unit converter for the units a bridge actually uses: knots, cables, fathoms, hectopascals, tonnes and the rest. WHAT IT WILL NOT DO It is an aid, not an authority. It does not replace corrected charts, official publications, the ship's procedures or the officer's judgement. Every screen states its own limits rather than hiding them, and every export says on its face what it is. WHAT STAYS FREE True wind, ETA, compass error, the manoeuvring board, heel and trim, weather and the unit converter are free, with no limit and no trial. The log book keeps ten entries free. Celestial reduces one sight free. Port search and the match count are free. ONE PURCHASE, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION • Navigational warnings — NAVAREA and the coastal services, with the chart and the radius • The facility's own record in Port Facilities • Fixes from two or three lines of position, and the plot • PDF export, on every screen including the free ones One payment of $5.99 unlocks all of it, on every device signed in to your Apple Account. There is no subscription, nothing renews, and there is nothing to cancel. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy and Terms are also in the app, under More.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Binnacle at 100% against Celestial Navigator's 43%. Binnacle also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.2) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months). Celestial Navigator's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Binnacle holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Celestial Navigator has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Celestial Navigator's written reviews are positive against 100% of Binnacle's.
Celestial Navigator ships an update every 9 months, Binnacle every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Celestial Navigator | Binnacle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Omar reis | Danylo Budylkin |
Customer experience
Celestial Navigator
Binnacle
In-app purchases
Celestial Navigator
No in-app purchases
Binnacle
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Celestial Navigator free?
Is Binnacle free?
Which has better reviews, Celestial Navigator or Binnacle?
Do Celestial Navigator or Binnacle have ads?
Which is updated more often, Celestial Navigator or Binnacle?
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