Navionics® Boating vs Aqua Map Boating
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Navionics® Boating
Access detailed nautical charts and advanced boating features offline on your mobile device. Plan trips with dock-to-dock guidance, check weather and tides, and connect with a community of boaters. Ideal for cruising, fishing, sailing, and diving.
- Offline nautical charts
- HD bathymetry maps
- Dock-to-dock route planning
- Weather and tide forecasts
- Community edits and recommendations
- Track recording and sharing
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Get up-to-date, detailed charts you can use offline plus a boatload of features on your mobile device, so they’re on hand wherever you go. The Boating app is a must-have for cruising, fishing, sailing, diving and all your activities on the water. Try it free for a limited time. To continue using charts and advanced features, you can purchase a yearly auto-renewable subscription*. A COMPLETE PACKAGE • INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED NAVIONICS® CHARTS: Use them offline along with multiple overlays, so you can be more aware of what’s above and below the water. - NAUTICAL CHART: Use this premier marine reference to study port plans, anchorages and safety depth contours, locate navaids, marine services and more. - SONARCHART™ HD BATHYMETRY MAPS: Extraordinary 1’ (0.5 meter) HD bottom contour detail is the ideal tool for locating new fishing areas. - U.S. GOVERNMENT CHARTS (NOAA): These are available within the following coverages: U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Caribbean to Brazil. - OVERLAYS: The relief shading overlay allows you to have a better understanding of bottom topography for improved fishing and diving. Sonar imagery reveals bottom hardness clearly and in vivid color on select lakes. Want more? Display satellite imagery on land and water. - MAP OPTIONS: Change chart-overlay combinations to customize chart views, activate night mode, highlight shallow areas, target multiple fishing ranges and more. - DAILY UPDATES: Benefit of thousands of daily updates worldwide. • TOOLS FOR PLANNING AND ENJOYING YOUR DAY - AUTO GUIDANCE+TM TECHNOLOGY**: Easily plan your trip with a suggested dock-to-dock path based on chart data and navigation aids. Get ETA, distance to arrival, heading to waypoint, fuel consumption and more. - WEATHER AND TIDES: Knowing conditions before heading out is crucial. Access real-time weather data, daily and hourly forecasts as well as wind, weather buoys, tides and currents. - MARKERS, TRACKS, DISTANCE: Place a marker on a good anchorage spot or where you reeled in a big fish. Record your track, take photos and videos within the app, and look back at your day anytime. Easily check distance among two points. • AN ACTIVE AND HELPFUL COMMUNITY - COMMUNITY EDITS and the ACTIVECAPTAIN® COMMUNITY: Obtain and contribute useful local knowledge along with thousands of fellow boaters, such as points of interest, navigation aids and valuable recommendations from people with firsthand experience of the local environment. - CONNECTIONS: Stay in touch with your friends and fellow boaters by sharing your live location, tracks, routes and markers to easily meet on the water or let them check out your adventures. - GPX IMPORT/EXPORT: Share your saved data outside the app or transfer it to your chartplotter. - SHARE MAP OBJECTS: Share a marina, repair shop or any other location outside the app. • EXTERNAL DEVICE-FRIENDLY FOR MORE FEATURES - PLOTTER SYNC: If you own a compatible chartplotter, sync it with the app to transfer routes and markers, activate, update or renew your Navionics chartplotter card subscription. - SONARCHART LIVE MAPPING FEATURE***: Connect with a compatible sonar/plotter, and create your own maps in real time while navigating. - AIS: Connect to a compatible AIS receiver with Wi-Fi® connectivity to see nearby marine traffic. Set a safe range, and receive visual and aural alerts to signal potential collisions. NOTES: *You can manage your subscription anytime, and you can turn auto-renewal off. **Auto Guidance+ is for planning purposes only and does not replace safe navigation operations ***Free features A tablet device with Wi-Fi connectivity locates your approximate position if it is connected to Wi-Fi. A tablet Wi-Fi + 3G model operates similarly to a phone device with GPS. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. iOS is a trademark licensed to Apple, Inc.
Aqua Map Boating
This app provides official, weekly updated nautical charts for marine navigation. It allows for offline map downloads, GPS track recording, and integration with onboard instruments. Enhance your boating safety and experience with advanced features like weather forecasts and AIS collision detection.
- Official NOAA nautical charts
- Offline map downloads
- GPS track recording
- Tides and currents predictions
- Anchor Alarm
- NMEA instrument connectivity
- AIS with collision detection
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Free 14-day trial for all subscriptions Aqua Map offers weekly updated OFFICIAL NAUTICAL CHARTS (NOAA) for marine navigation. Purchase a chart subscription for the area of your interest, download the map areas for offline use, and connect your onboard instruments for a complete experience. ● BASIC FEATURES - Switch between manual and auto route planning modes - Record your GPS tracks - Store and share your navigation data (markers, routes, and recorded tracks) - Display tides and currents predictions and simulations - Increase your safety with Anchor Alarm - Enable Live Sharing to interact with the Aqua Map community - Display points of interest from the "ActiveCaptain" and "Waterway Guide" communities ● EXPERT SUBSCRIPTION Note: this subscription does not include charts; it must be paired with a chart subscription. - Marine forecasts (wind, waves, currents, gusts, salinity, sea surface temperature + weather information for any point on the map) - Overlay satellite images on the charts - Advanced AnchorLink with anchorage mirroring and email/telegram notifications for greater peace of mind while anchored, even if you are away from the boat - Connect your NMEA instruments via WiFi (autopilot, depth sounder, wind sensor, compass, GPS) and use their data on the app - AIS with automatic collision detection - Route Explorer for real-time information on all elements along your route ● MASTER SUBSCRIPTION FOR THE BEST NAVIGATION EXPERIENCE Note: this subscription does not include charts; it must be paired with a chart subscription. - All features of the EXPERT subscription are included in the MASTER subscription. + LOCAL DATA: > US: Army Corps of Engineers surveys for safe navigation in shallow waters > US: LNMs and "List of Lights" navaids from the Coast Guard. > Canada: NAVWARNs from the Coast Guard. > France: Warnings, Notices and Regulations from the PING > Denmark: Warnings and Notices from the DMA > Western Australia: temporary Notices from the Transport WA ● PURCHASE OPTIONS To access the charts, you need to purchase a chart subscription for the area of interest. Optionally, you can add the Expert subscription or the Master subscription to unlock extra navigation features and additional data. Subscription payments will be made through your account (Apple ID). The annual subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before expiration. You can manage your subscription and disable automatic renewal in the account settings section after purchase. Terms of use: https://www.aquamap.app/terms-and-conditions Privacy policy: https://www.aquamap.app/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Aqua Map Boating at 65% against Navionics® Boating's 22%. Aqua Map Boating also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.9) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). Navionics® Boating's advantage is chart position (#5 vs #88). 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. Navionics® Boating sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year and Aqua Map Boating sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Aqua Map Boating holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aqua Map Boating has 14K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of Navionics® Boating's written reviews are positive against 65% of Aqua Map Boating's.
Navionics® Boating ships an update every 6 weeks, Aqua Map Boating weekly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Navionics® Boating | Aqua Map Boating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (2.4K ratings) | 4.7 (14K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 22.3% of reviews | 64.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K | 14K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #5 — better | #88 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 154 MB | 174 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | GEC s.r.l. |
Customer experience
Navionics® Boating
Aqua Map Boating
User reviews
Navionics® Boating
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great navigation app
- 🗺️ Detailed charts and maps
- ⚓ Useful for boating and sailing
- 💰 Good value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Login issues and unreliable offline access
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🗺️ Inaccurate or outdated map data
Aqua Map Boating
From 14K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent navigation tool
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 🗺️ Detailed and accurate charts
- 💡 Helpful features like AIS, weather, and fuel prices
- 🤝 Responsive and helpful customer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional issues with map downloads and disappearing charts
- 🔍 Lack of intuitive route planning functionality
- 🔍 Slow map loading and tracking issues in certain areas
- 💰 Subscription model with additional costs for map downloads
Bugs and requests
Navionics® Boating
Reported bugs
3 issues- GPS signal loss and position tracking issues
- Inability to download or access previously purchased maps
- Constant requirement to log in, even offline
Requested features
4 requests- Add anchor alarm feature
- Improve route planning and waypoint functionality
- Provide better support for multiple devices
- Enhance user interface and customization options
Aqua Map Boating
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inconsistent GPS tracking and positioning
- Compatibility issues on older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Improved route planning and optimization
- Offline map caching and seamless downloads
- Tidal and wind data overlays
- Sync capabilities across devices
In-app purchases
Navionics® Boating
- Norway$49.991 Year
- Baltic Sea3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Australia & New Zealand7 Days trial$49.991 Year
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- Africa & Middle East7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Mexico, Caribbean to Brazil7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Indian Ocean and South China7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Pacific Islands7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- US & Canada7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- UK, Ireland & Holland7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Chile, Argentina&Easter Island$49.991 Year
- China Sea & Japan$49.991 Year
- Central and West Europe7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Mediterranean & Black Sea7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Adriatic & Ionian Seas7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Scandinavia S. & Germany N.$99.991 Year
Aqua Map Boating
- Florida - NOAA Nautical chart14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Alabama to Texas charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Cape Cod to Chesapeake Charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
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- New England - Nautical charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Virginia to Georgia - Charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Midwest-Minnesota lake charts14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- Michigan & Great Lakes chart14 Days trial$4.991 Year
- US - Nautical & Lakes charts14 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Canada - nautical charts14 Days trial$9.991 Year
- US & Canada - nautical charts14 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Caribbean South Nautical chart14 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Bermuda - nautical charts14 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Aqua Map Expert14 Days trial$14.991 Year
- Aqua Map Master14 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Bahamas - Explorer Charts14 Days trial$49.991 Year
- US & Canada - Nautical chart$49.99
- Bahamas - Explorer Chartbooks$139.99
Questions
Is Navionics® Boating free?
Is Aqua Map Boating free?
Which has better reviews, Navionics® Boating or Aqua Map Boating?
Do Navionics® Boating or Aqua Map Boating have ads?
Which is updated more often, Navionics® Boating or Aqua Map Boating?
Which is more popular, Navionics® Boating or Aqua Map Boating?
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