VesselFinder vs Pilot Dispatch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Real-time vessel tracking
- Vessel movement history
- Predicted routes and ETAs
- Comprehensive vessel particulars
- Port call details
- My Fleet for favorite vessels
- Weather overlays
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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
Pilot Dispatch
This software streamlines pilot dispatching with 24/7 reliability. It's designed with pilot input for maximum flexibility and customization, currently serving over 400 pilots across 12 organizations.
- 24/7/365 uptime
- Streamlined dispatching process
- Pilot-involved design
- Flexible and customizable
- Used by over 400 pilots
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24/7/365...Never Down Technology Currently in use by over 400 pilots across 12 organizations around the country, our Pilot.DISPATCH™ software vastly improves and streamlines the daily dispatching process. We actively involve pilots in the design and functionality of our software to ensure it is the most flexible and customizable solution available.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pilot Dispatch at 100% against VesselFinder's 28%. Pilot Dispatch also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and ads (none vs shown). VesselFinder's advantage is ratings volume (232 vs 4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Pilot Dispatch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VesselFinder has 232 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of VesselFinder's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pilot Dispatch's.
VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, Pilot Dispatch every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VesselFinder | Pilot Dispatch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (232 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 232 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #206 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AstraPaging Ltd. | Coe & Company, LLC |
Customer experience
VesselFinder
Pilot Dispatch
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
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- 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
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- 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
Pilot Dispatch
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
VesselFinder
No in-app purchases
Pilot Dispatch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is VesselFinder free?
Is Pilot Dispatch free?
Which has better reviews, VesselFinder or Pilot Dispatch?
Do VesselFinder or Pilot Dispatch have ads?
Which is updated more often, VesselFinder or Pilot Dispatch?
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