Comparison

ESA Instruments vs NavDesk

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

Head to head
About

ESA Instruments

Features
Read full description

ESA Instruments is the new App from Astra Yacht that transform your iPhone/iPad in a full function marine display. Connect ESA Instruments to an Astra Yacht GAMP (http://www.astrayacht.com/wp/en/shop/multiplexer-gamp-nmea-0183-esa/) and you can visualize every information coming from the boat instruments. Moreover, if you haven't any electronic instruments on board, you can use ESA Instruments App combined with the Astra Yacht box EBI. EBI has an internal GPS at high speed, and it's able to receive wind data directly from the most popular wind sensors both wired and wireless, and it can be connected to 4 other NMEA 0183 sensors (such as speed-depth sensor, electronic compass, AIS, wind sensor). Data from various sensors can be displayed via Wi-Fi directly on Apple devices through the App ESA Instruments that, in addition to the visualization of data in a very light and flexible way, allows you to easily calibrate your sensors thanks to a user friendly settings procedure. With ESA Instruments you can visualize data in various format: - page with a single data ; - page with two data; - page with tree data; - page with four data; - page with analog wind indicator; - page with GPS data; - page with graphic wind history (5', 10', 20' or 60' time period). in every page you can select the data you want to display in a very simple way.

About

NavDesk

Control your sailing instruments from any device on your boat. Adjust individual instruments or groups, customize settings like colors and text size, and calibrate sensors. Ping the start line and manage your ship's name for a comprehensive navigation experience.

Highlights
  • Control instruments individually or as a group
  • Customize instrument settings (colors, text size)
  • Calibrate sensors
  • Ping the start line
  • Set ship name and LOGS status
Features
Read full description

NAVDESK "A new dimension to your navigation experience" Get everything out of your Sailmon Instrument system with Navdesk. Control your instruments from every device anywhere on the boat. Some of the features: Control each Instrument individually or as a group Control in and outputs, colors, text size, name etc. Backlight control Calibrate all your sensors Ping the start line set the name of your ship and choose to be on LOGS ...and much more

Screenshots

ESA Instruments4 screens
NavDesk1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NavDesk at every 2 months against ESA Instruments's every 6 months. NavDesk also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESA Instruments ships an update every 6 months, NavDesk every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
ESA Instruments versus NavDesk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESA InstrumentsNavDesk
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstra YachtSailmon BV

In-app purchases

None

ESA Instruments

No in-app purchases

None

NavDesk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESA Instruments free?
ESA Instruments is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NavDesk free?
NavDesk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ESA Instruments or NavDesk have ads?
Neither ESA Instruments nor NavDesk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ESA Instruments or NavDesk?
ESA Instruments ships an update every 6 months, and NavDesk every 2 months. Most recently, ESA Instruments was updated on October 16, 2026 and NavDesk on October 24, 2026.

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