VesselFinder vs Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+
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
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
VesselFinder ships an update fortnightly, Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VesselFinder | Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (276 ratings) | 4.5 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 276 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #191 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AstraPaging Ltd. | Bao Tram Nguyen |
Customer experience
VesselFinder
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+
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
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
VesselFinder
No in-app purchases
Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+
- Weekly plan$5.997 Days
- Yearly plan$39.991 Year
Questions
Is VesselFinder free?
Is Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ free?
Which has better reviews, VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+?
Do VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, VesselFinder or Marine Traffic Vessel Tracker+?
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