Comparison

VesselFinder vs Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+

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

Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+

Discover and track vessels worldwide with live marine traffic data. Access detailed ship information, explore global waters on an interactive map, and monitor weather conditions at sea. Organize your favorite ships for easy access.

Highlights
  • Find and track any vessel worldwide
  • Live marine traffic map
  • Detailed vessel information
  • Save favorite ships to 'My Fleet'
  • Marine weather and conditions
  • Explore nearby ships
Features
Read full description

Track the vessels that matter to you and discover what’s happening at sea. Whether you're following a cruise ship, keeping an eye on an important vessel, or simply curious about a ship you spotted nearby, Marine Traffic: Vessel Tracker makes it easy to find vessels, explore marine traffic, and access detailed maritime information in one place. KEY FEATURES - Find & Track Any Vessel: Search for vessels worldwide and follow their latest available positions, movements, speed, course, navigation status, and AIS-based information. - Live Marine Traffic Map: Explore vessel activity across oceans, coastlines, harbors, and ports on an interactive global map. - Detailed Vessel Information: Access vessel type, flag, IMO, MMSI, coordinates, speed, course, status, and other essential maritime details. - My Fleet: Save the vessels you care about and keep your favorite ships organized for quick access. - Marine Weather & Conditions: Check wind, waves, visibility, atmospheric pressure, and other marine weather information directly on the map. - Explore Nearby Ships: See a vessel near the coast, harbor, beach, or port? Discover nearby marine traffic and learn more about the ships around you. From cruise ships and cargo vessels to tankers, passenger ships, fishing vessels, and more, Marine Traffic: Vessel Tracker gives you a simple and informative way to explore the maritime world. Download Marine Traffic: Vessel Tracker today and stay connected to the vessels, voyages, and marine activity that matter to you. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after the purchase of the subscription. Please note that terms and conditions, as well as our privacy policy, apply. Terms of Use: https://freeappstudio.com/marine-traffic/terms Privacy Policy: https://freeappstudio.com/marine-traffic/privacy

Screenshots

VesselFinder4 screens
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ at 100% against VesselFinder's 28%. Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). VesselFinder's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (276 vs 11). On price, ads, 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. Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. VesselFinder asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VesselFinder has 276 ratings behind it against 11, 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 Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
VesselFinder versus Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVesselFinderMarine Traffic Vessel Tracker+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (276 ratings)4.5 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings276 — better11
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#191 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstraPaging Ltd.Bao Tram Nguyen

Customer experience

VesselFinder

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

Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews43 reviews
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

Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

VesselFinder

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly plan$5.997 Days
  • Yearly plan$39.991 Year

Questions

Is VesselFinder free?
VesselFinder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ free?
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+?
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ is rated higher. VesselFinder averages 4.2 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ averages 4.5 from 11 ratings.
Do VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ have ads?
Both VesselFinder and Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ show ads.
Which is updated more often, VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+?
VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, and Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ weekly. Most recently, VesselFinder was updated on October 26, 2026 and Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons