Comparison

VesselFinder vs OceanFishMap

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
Currently charting
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

OceanFishMap

This app provides fishing boats with oceanographic data and expert recommendations to optimize fishing operations. It allows users to record and share catch information, view vessel positions on a map, and send emergency messages.

Highlights
  • Oceanographic data updates
  • Expert fishing recommendations
  • Offline data viewing
  • Vessel position on map
  • Catch reporting and sharing
  • Emergency messaging
Features
Read full description

OceanBytes provides fishing boats Oceanographic data including fishing recommendations created by expert Oceanographers that helps the boats save time and fuel. The app also allows the boats to record and share catch information in addition to the ability to send SOS and emergency messages. With OceanBytes you can: Get daily updates of Sea Surface Temperature, Plankton, Sea Surface Height Anomaly and Surface Currents. Get updated Fishing Recommendations twice a week. Download and View the data offline. See your vessel position on the map to find good fishing locations near you. View course and distance to a location from your vessel. Create fish catch reports for different species and share it. Send different types of emergency messages. Make your fishing operations more efficient with OceanBytes. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

VesselFinder4 screens
OceanFishMap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OceanFishMap at 5.0 against VesselFinder's 4.1. OceanFishMap also leads on ads (none vs shown). VesselFinder's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (232 vs 1). On price, update cadence, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. OceanFishMap sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $100.00 per month. VesselFinder asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OceanFishMap 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, OceanFishMap every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
VesselFinder versus OceanFishMap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVesselFinderOceanFishMap
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (232 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings232 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#197 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstraPaging Ltd.OceanBytes Holding LLC

Customer experience

VesselFinder

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

OceanFishMap

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

OceanFishMap

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

VesselFinder

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

OceanFishMap

Subscriptions4
  • Coastal7 Days trial$100.001 Month
  • Coastal + AIS$149.001 Month
  • Pro7 Days trial$200.001 Month
Show 1 more
  • Pro + AIS$249.001 Month

Questions

Is VesselFinder free?
VesselFinder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OceanFishMap free?
OceanFishMap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, VesselFinder or OceanFishMap?
OceanFishMap is rated higher. VesselFinder averages 4.1 out of 5 from 232 ratings, while OceanFishMap averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do VesselFinder or OceanFishMap have ads?
VesselFinder shows ads; OceanFishMap does not.
Which is updated more often, VesselFinder or OceanFishMap?
VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, and OceanFishMap every 2 weeks. Most recently, VesselFinder was updated on October 11, 2026 and OceanFishMap on October 10, 2026.

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