Comparison

DONIA vs navCenter

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

Head to head
About

DONIA

This app provides detailed seabed visualization and marine information for safe and respectful sea navigation. It allows users to book mooring buoys, share observations, and monitor their vessels. Access premium features like high-definition charts for enhanced planning and exploration.

Highlights
  • Seabed visualization
  • Marine information access
  • Mooring buoy booking
  • User observation sharing
  • Navigation preparation and monitoring
  • Mooring monitoring with alarms
  • Offline mapping
Features
Read full description

DONIA – Enjoy & protect the sea, together Donia is the reference app to choose your anchorages and navigate safely while minimizing your impact on the seabed. Join a community of over 100,000 sea enthusiasts who use DONIA to plan and experience their journeys across the Mediterranean and beyond. *** Visualize the seabed and anchor in the right place *** • High-precision mapping of marine habitats (Posidonia, coralligenous reefs, Cymodocea, sand and rock)
• Enhanced anchoring assistance with weather conditions
• Improved anchor alarm system
• Smart selection of anchoring zones adapted to your vessel *** Complete nautical charts *** • Detailed mapping of navigation areas (French Mediterranean, Atlantic, Greece, Andalusia, Liguria, Croatia, Balearics)
• Advanced integration of SHOM charts and HD bathymetric layers (Premium)
• Optimized map display for real-time navigation *** A community of sailors *** • View and share sea observations
• Rating system and favorites
• Easy sharing inside and outside the app *** Donia Mooring – connected buoys *** • Connected mooring buoys for vessels over 24m
• Dedicated anchoring zones
• In-app booking, payment and management *** DONIA Premium *** • Advanced SHOM chart integration
• Access to HD bathymetric layers A mission: protecting the sea Created by marine biologists and divers from Andromède Océanologie, DONIA aims to make seabed maps visible and accessible so everyone can contribute to their protection. Inspired by maritime solidarity, the app continuously evolves based on user feedback to become a more innovative, useful and effective anchoring tool. Information Using GPS in the background may significantly reduce battery life.
 Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. You can manage your subscriptions and turn off automatic renewal in your account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://mooring.donia.fr/cgv/donia/cgv-donia-fr.pdf Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

navCenter

This app transforms your Apple devices into a multifunctional display for marine navigation data, including NMEA and AIS. It also provides autopilot remote control capabilities for compatible systems, connecting via a WiFi gateway.

Highlights
  • NMEA and AIS data display
  • Autopilot remote control
  • SeaTalk1™ and SeaTalkNG™ compatibility
  • WiFi gateway connection
  • NMEA2000 and NMEA0183 format support
  • Multifunctional display for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch
Features
Read full description

navCenter (nC) enables your iPhone/iPad/Mac/Watch to operate as a multifunctional display (MFD) for NMEA data (including AIS) and as an autopilot remote control for SeaTalk1™ and SeaTalkNG™ autopilots. navCenter connects to your boats instruments via a WiFi gateway and can handle both NMEA2000 and NMEA0183 formats simultaneously. Information on WiFi gateways can be found here: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/navCenterGatewaysMultiplexers.html navCenter is able to control SeaTalkNG™ and SeaTalk1™ autopilots when partnered with a compatible WiFi multiplexer or Gateway. More information on the autopilot remote control can be found here: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/navCenterAutopilotRemote.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ privacy policy: https://www.guardiandigital.tech/html/privacyPolicy.html

Screenshots

DONIA4 screens
navCenter4 screens

Verdict

The call

DONIA and navCenter both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 78% of navCenter's written reviews are positive against 63% of DONIA's. DONIA's advantage is ratings volume (34 vs 7). On price, rating, 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. DONIA sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and navCenter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for DONIA against 4.4 for navCenter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 34 and 7 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of DONIA's written reviews are positive against 78% of navCenter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DONIA ships an update every 4 weeks, navCenter monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
DONIA versus navCenter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDONIAnavCenter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (34 ratings) — better4.4 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews63.3% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings34 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.4
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndromede OceanologieGUARDIAN DIGITAL LTD

Customer experience

DONIA

All ratings34 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral20.0%
Negative16.7%

navCenter

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral28.6%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DONIA

Subscriptions2
  • DONIA® Premium Monthly7 Days trial$2.491 Month
  • DONIA® Premium Version7 Days trial$22.991 Year
2 purchases

navCenter

Subscriptions1
  • Subscribed annually$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Purchased$34.99

Questions

Is DONIA free?
DONIA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is navCenter free?
navCenter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DONIA or navCenter?
DONIA is rated higher. DONIA averages 4.5 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while navCenter averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.
Do DONIA or navCenter have ads?
Neither DONIA nor navCenter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DONIA or navCenter?
DONIA ships an update every 4 weeks, and navCenter monthly. Most recently, DONIA was updated on October 14, 2026 and navCenter on October 5, 2026.

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