Comparison

Boat Sim Elite vs Ship Maneuvering Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Boat Sim Elite

Experience realistic maritime travel by sailing and walking the decks of large vessels. Navigate challenging harbors, explore scenic islands, and enjoy dynamic weather and day/night cycles in an open-world simulation.

Highlights
  • Sail large ships
  • Walk on ship decks
  • Realistic navigation tools
  • Challenging harbor docking
  • Dynamic weather and day/night cycles
  • Explore scenic islands
Features
Read full description

Boat Sim Elite takes boat simulation to a whole new level, sail and walk the deck of your huge ships! Includes three large ships for you to sail, a large ferry, an exploration ship and now a cruise ship, each with with multiple decks. WALK around your ships - take a walk around the deck (a challenge in rough seas!) SAIL from the bridge - use the radar, map and compass to navigate. Dock ships by walking outside of the bridge and looking down at the dock, use the bow thrusters to maneuver the ship carefully to the dock side. Challenging harbors to dock at - maneuver the ship around a sea wall, or dock in busy boating areas. Dynamic day / night cycle - beautiful changing time and conditions as you sail, watch the sun come up, and stars at night. Scenic islands to explore, with lots of other boats that really float! Watch them ride the waves in rough seas! HUGE waves at sea to content with (random wave conditions). HUGE area of water to sail! Historic scenery items on some of the islands, find them and develop cruises your passengers will enjoy! By design there's no objectives, no score to get, simple relax and enjoy being the skipper of massive ships, in an open sim. So what are you waiting for, come on-board and take to the sea, sail large ships in changing conditions and see how good you are at docking these huge vessels! We're already working on the next version and appreciate the positive reviews from around the world, including; "Mind Blown!" "Wow this game is amazing, I love walking around the ferry in giant waves." - New Zealand "This game is amazing" - Canada The various boats and objects really float, the waves are dynamic and the conditions really change, therefore we recommend a newer device, without 50 other apps running for best performance! If you have any issues drop us a line.

About

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

Experience realistic ship handling with this simulator. It features advanced physics like astern propeller effects, drift during turns, and velocity-dependent rudder and bow thruster performance. Explore various environments with different ship types.

Highlights
  • Astern propeller effect
  • Drift during turns
  • Pivot point movement
  • Velocity-based rudder effectiveness
  • Bow thruster influenced by velocity
  • Sandbox environment
Features
Read full description

This simulator will give you a realistic experience of what it's like to handle a large ship. It includes some features which often seem to be missing in other simulators: - Astern effect of the propeller - Drift during turn - Pivot point movement - Rudder effectiveness based on propeller flow and ship's own velocity - Bow thruster effectiveness influenced by ship's velocity For the moment there are three ships (cargo ship, supply ship and battle ship). In the future more may be added. The game is played in a sandbox style with a sea, river and port environment and customisable current. I plan to also add wind effect. The simulation is based on the mathematical hydrodynamic MMG model which is also used in professional ship handling and mooring simulators.

Screenshots

Boat Sim Elite4 screens
Ship Maneuvering Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ship Maneuvering Simulator at Free against Boat Sim Elite's $1.99. Ship Maneuvering Simulator also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.4) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). Boat Sim Elite's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, 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

Ship Maneuvering Simulator is free to download; Boat Sim Elite costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ship Maneuvering Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 81 and 104 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Boat Sim Elite's written reviews are positive against 86% of Ship Maneuvering Simulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Boat Sim Elite ships an update every 2 months, Ship Maneuvering Simulator every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Boat Sim Elite versus Ship Maneuvering Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBoat Sim EliteShip Maneuvering Simulator
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.4 (81 ratings)4.3 (104 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.3% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81104 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size314 MB338 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGary ChambersWPC

Customer experience

Boat Sim Elite

All ratings81 ratings
Positive56.8%
Neutral12.3%
Negative30.9%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive65.3%
Neutral12.0%
Negative22.7%

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

All ratings101 ratings
Positive79.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative11.0%

In-app purchases

None

Boat Sim Elite

No in-app purchases

None

Ship Maneuvering Simulator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Boat Sim Elite free?
Boat Sim Elite costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ship Maneuvering Simulator free?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Boat Sim Elite or Ship Maneuvering Simulator?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator is rated higher. Boat Sim Elite averages 3.4 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while Ship Maneuvering Simulator averages 4.3 from 104 ratings.
Do Boat Sim Elite or Ship Maneuvering Simulator have ads?
Ship Maneuvering Simulator shows ads; Boat Sim Elite does not.
Which is updated more often, Boat Sim Elite or Ship Maneuvering Simulator?
Boat Sim Elite ships an update every 2 months, and Ship Maneuvering Simulator every 6 days. Most recently, Boat Sim Elite was updated on October 21, 2026 and Ship Maneuvering Simulator on October 24, 2026.

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