# Sailing Reference vs Tidelight

The clearest difference is price: Tidelight at Free against Sailing Reference's $2.99. Tidelight also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Sailing Reference's advantage is chart position (#77 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Tidelight is free to download; Sailing Reference costs $2.99 up front. Sailing Reference sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Tidelight asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sailing Reference ships an update every 3 months, Tidelight every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sailing Reference | Tidelight |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | **#77** | — |
| Size | 16 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Oliver Shingler](https://appshunter.io/developer/886565740) | [TIDELIGHT LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1790898622) |

## What reviewers say

### Sailing Reference

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sailing-reference/id978062677)

**Currently charting:** #77 Top Paid · Reference (US App Store)

This comprehensive nautical navigation guide offers offline access to essential sailing information, including how-to guides, calculators for tides and courses, and flashcards for COLREGs. It also features a race timer and knot-tying animations.

**Highlights:** Offline nautical reference guide, Tidal stream and time calculators, Course to steer estimation, COLREGs/IRPCS flashcards, Race timer and lap timer, Nautical knot animations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Flashcards | $0.99 | one-time |
| Knots | $0.99 | one-time |


### Tidelight

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tidelight/id6740635123)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sailing Reference free?

Sailing Reference costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Tidelight free?

Tidelight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Sailing Reference or Tidelight have ads?

Neither Sailing Reference nor Tidelight shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sailing Reference or Tidelight?

Sailing Reference ships an update every 3 months, and Tidelight every 5 months. Most recently, Sailing Reference was updated on October 10, 2026 and Tidelight on October 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*