Comparison

VesselFinder vs SEAiq Watch

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

Head to head
About

VesselFinder

Track ships and monitor maritime traffic globally in real-time. Access detailed vessel information, movement history, and predicted routes. Ideal for maritime professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Highlights
  • Real-time vessel tracking
  • Vessel movement history
  • Predicted routes and ETAs
  • Comprehensive vessel particulars
  • Port call details
  • My Fleet for favorite vessels
  • Weather overlays
Features
Read full description

VesselFinder is the world’s most popular and trusted vessel tracking and marine traffic app, delivering real-time information on ship positions and movements worldwide. Using a powerful network of satellites, roaming and terrestrial AIS receivers, VesselFinder provides accurate and up-to-date insight into global maritime activity. Designed for maritime professionals, shipping enthusiasts, and anyone interested in live ship tracking, VesselFinder offers a fast, intuitive, and reliable way to explore vessel traffic across the globe. VesselFinder key features: • Real-time tracking of over 300,000 vessels daily using global AIS data • Vessel movement history with track visualization • Predicted routes and ETAs to next port • Comprehensive vessel particulars, including technical specifications, and cargo capacity information • Contact details for the owning company, manager, ISM manager, and more • Port Calls per vessel, showing arrival times and duration of stay • Port Calls per port, with detailed lists of expected vessels, arrivals, departures, and ships currently in port • My Fleet – save and monitor favorite vessels, synchronized with your VesselFinder account • My Views – save preferred map views for fast and easy navigation • Ship Photos contributed by the VesselFinder user community • Multiple map styles: Simple, Detailed, Dark, Satellite, and Nautical • Weather overlays, including wind, waves, and temperature • See your location feature for instant orientation • Distance measurement tool for route and range estimation Vessel visibility depends on AIS signal availability, with near-shore coverage consistent with the data provided on VesselFinder.com. If a vessel is outside our terrestrial AIS coverage area, its last reported position will be displayed and updated as soon as new data is received. Extended real-time coverage via satellite and roaming AIS sources is available through a subscription. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, the completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. Connect with VesselFinder • Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vesselfinder • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vesselfinder

About

SEAiq Watch

This companion app displays critical navigation data from SEAiq Pilot on your Apple Watch. It requires an Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone, along with SEAiq Pilot installed on your iPad. Setup is detailed within the app itself.

Highlights
  • View navigation data on Apple Watch
  • Requires SEAiq Pilot on iPad
  • Relays data from iPad to Apple Watch
  • Detailed setup and troubleshooting
  • Companion app functionality
Features
Read full description

You can see important information from SEAiq while away from your iPad. Use of this app requires the following: * An Apple Watch, Apple iPad, and Apple iPhone * SEAiq Pilot or SEAiq Pilot VPP on your Apple iPad * SEAiq Watch on your Apple iPhone Turn on Settings / Status Bar / Apple Watch in SEAiq Pilot on your iPad to enable sharing of your status information. See detailed setup, help, and troubleshooting information in SEAiq Watch. IMPORTANT: This app is ONLY useful if you already have SEAiq Pilot or SEAiq Pilot VPP (with an Enterprise Subscription) and wish to use it with your watch. This app runs on your iPhone and relays data from your iPad to your Apple Watch. This app has no function when used independently of other apps.

Screenshots

VesselFinder4 screens
SEAiq Watch1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SEAiq Watch at 5.0 against VesselFinder's 4.2. SEAiq Watch also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). VesselFinder's advantage is ratings volume (280 vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SEAiq Watch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VesselFinder has 280 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, SEAiq Watch every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
VesselFinder versus SEAiq Watch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVesselFinderSEAiq Watch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (280 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings280 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstraPaging Ltd.Sakhalin

Customer experience

VesselFinder

All ratings232 ratings
Positive78.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews220 reviews
Positive28.2%
Neutral6.4%
Negative65.5%

SEAiq Watch

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

VesselFinder

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App freezes on splash screen and won't load
  • Crashes when attempting to zoom on map
  • Black screen display on certain devices
  • App won't open or opens after long delays
  • Crashes on iOS 11 and newer versions
Show 10 more
  • Incompatible with iPhone X and newer models
  • Data not updating for days or weeks
  • Crashes when searching for vessels
  • Freezing issues after recent updates
  • Map not displaying on iPad
  • App crashes in low power mode
  • Vessel information not loading correctly
  • Inconsistent performance across iOS versions
  • App becomes unstable after working briefly
  • Zoom functionality broken in multiple versions

Requested features

13 requests
  • Real-time GPS tracking instead of delayed AIS data
  • Distance measurement tool restoration
  • German language support
  • Destination and departure information display
  • Ability to remove ads without expensive pro version
Show 8 more
  • Better search functionality in free version
  • Vessel departure time information
  • Improved map zoom functionality
  • Live results in search function
  • Picture display before clicking on vessel
  • Better map background/quality
  • Local time display instead of UTC only
  • Ability to delete incorrect vessel photos from profile

SEAiq Watch

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

VesselFinder

No in-app purchases

None

SEAiq Watch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VesselFinder free?
VesselFinder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SEAiq Watch free?
SEAiq Watch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VesselFinder or SEAiq Watch?
SEAiq Watch is rated higher. VesselFinder averages 4.2 out of 5 from 280 ratings, while SEAiq Watch averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do VesselFinder or SEAiq Watch have ads?
VesselFinder shows ads; SEAiq Watch does not.
Which is updated more often, VesselFinder or SEAiq Watch?
VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, and SEAiq Watch every 3 months. Most recently, VesselFinder was updated on November 1, 2026 and SEAiq Watch on October 19, 2026.

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