Comparison

Dockwa vs PierShare

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

Head to head
About

Dockwa

Easily book slips and moorings at marinas nationwide. Discover new locations, view amenities, and manage reservations directly from your device. Boaters use it for free, enjoying a streamlined booking process.

Highlights
  • Reserve slips and moorings
  • Discover new marinas
  • View marina amenities and photos
  • Manage reservations
  • Add boat and payment information
  • Compare rates and services
  • Read marina reviews
Features
Read full description

Spend more time boating, less time booking. Dockwa is the best way to reserve slips or moorings at marinas, yacht clubs, and boatyards all over the country. For Life On The Water! (TM) Discover new marinas, view marina amenities and photos, and request and manage marina reservations right from your iPhone or iPad. There are no additional costs to boaters who use Dockwa – all marina prices and policies on the Dockwa platform reflect those set by the marina for all reservations. Say goodbye to webforms, phone tag, and uncertainty about your itinerary. Download Dockwa today and experience the future of boating! More about why Dockwa is awesome: For Boaters: • Reserve slips and moorings at hundreds of marinas and yacht clubs throughout the East Coast, the Bahamas, Caribbean, Great Lakes and West Coast, with new locations coming aboard daily. • Dockwa is FREE for boaters: Free app, free account, no booking fees, and no price mark-up. • Add your boat (or multiple boats) and credit card to your Dockwa account so you never need cash on hand. With Dockwa your information is encrypted, and you can say goodbye to reciting your boat specs or payment information over the phone of VHF! • Submit your reservation request through Dockwa for faster confirmation directly from the marina staff, with no middleman. Talk about smooth sailing. • Compare rates, amenities, and services, and get quotes in-app, and reserve last-minute or months in advance. • See marina reviews and recommendations from your fellow boaters For Marinas, Yacht Clubs and Boatyards: • Join the future of boating: Dockwa provides back-end marina management software at no cost. Schedule your demo today at dockwa.com/signup • Enable new and existing customers to quickly reserve your transient slips and moorings without manual entry or phone • Hands-down the best technology in the industry, with new features Questions? Comments? Glowing praise? Hit us up: thecrew@dockwa.com Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/Dockwa Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/getdockwa Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/dockwa Explore Dockwa: https://dockwa.com

About

PierShare

This platform connects boat owners with available dock spaces, offering flexible rental options from daily to monthly. Dock owners can list their spaces for free and have payments processed automatically. It simplifies the process of finding and securing a place to dock your boat.

Highlights
  • Real-time availability updates
  • Flexible daily, weekly, or monthly rentals
  • Automated inquiry and booking process
  • Free for dock owners
  • Secure payment processing
  • Search with filters for location and space characteristics
Read full description

Looking for a space to store your boat, or have an empty dock, slip, boat lift or mooring to rent? PierShare is the first ever mobile docking platform that makes it easier than ever to discover and secure great dock spaces. Whether you’d like to keep your boat docked in the water or on a lift, behind a private home, in a marina, behind a restaurant, or attached to a mooring buoy, PierShare makes the docking process incredibly simple. KEY BOATER FEATURES -Real-time availability updates - We keep track of each space’s real-time availability, as well as keep you updated on whether other boaters are interested in the same spot as you are at any time during your inquiry. -Flexibility - enjoy the first ever fully flexible docking arrangement. Pay by the day or by the week, whether your docking originally started by the day or by the week, or whether you are coming off of a month-to-month plan. For long-term dockings, take advantage of special rates based on your anticipated length of stay. -No more phone craziness - our technology allows you to inquire about dock spaces automatically without ever needing to play phone tag. Our automated systems are always working to ensure that your docking keeps moving along without you needing to worry about it. KEY DOCK OWNER FEATURES -No fees, ever! PierShare is entirely free for dock owners, both on listing and on taking transactions. -Our app keeps all of your personal and address information completely private. Our security features ensure that only verified boaters who are interested in your space can contact you and visit your spot. -We process all dockage payments on your behalf so that you never, ever have to worry anymore about collecting rental payments or dealing with late payments. PIERSHARE IS THE NEW WAY TO DOCK A BOAT Search Use filters to narrow down the spot that’s right for you. Whether you are searching for a space in a particular location, or need to make sure the technical characteristics of the space are a precise fit for your vessel, our app will present to you the best spaces, priced accordingly to reflect whether you would like to stay by the day, by the week, or month to month. Inquire Uploading your boat to your profile and choosing a docking plan (daily, weekly, monthly) lets you set up a pending docking in the app. Whenever you’re ready, choose your anticipated start date and submit your inquiry to get pre-approved for your docking. Secure After completing our quick payment verification process, get in touch with any dock owner you’re interested in contacting to get more information about their space. Sail directly to the space, or visit beforehand to meet the owner to introduce yourself. Keep multiple inquires pending side by side so that you can decide on the best spot, and once you find the right one, our secure functionality blocks off the space for you so no one else can take it. Dock Confirm your arrival after securing a space and your docking officially begins! Our app’s communication tools allow boater and dock owner to stay in touch throughout their docking, and if you need any help our support is one quick live chat message away at any time! And when it's time to leave, prepare your departure, and pay by the day or by the week as you’re departing depending on your schedule. We’ll get the spot ready for the next boater and ensure that the transition goes smoothly!

Screenshots

Dockwa4 screens
PierShare4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PierShare at 100% against Dockwa's 75%. PierShare also leads on iOS requirement (10.2 vs 18.6). Dockwa's advantage is ratings volume (34K vs 5) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dockwa holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dockwa has 34K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Dockwa's written reviews are positive against 100% of PierShare's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dockwa ships an update every 3 weeks, PierShare every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Dockwa versus PierShare: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDockwaPierShare
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (34K ratings) — better4.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews74.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings34K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.610.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size210 MB49 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDockwa, Inc.PIERSHARE LLC

Customer experience

Dockwa

All ratings33,857 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive74.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative17.7%

PierShare

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Dockwa

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Issues with accepting terms and conditions
  • Reservation cancellation and editing problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Calendar integration for reservations
  • Filters for specific marina amenities
  • Real-time availability updates
  • Group reservation management

PierShare

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Dockwa

No in-app purchases

None

PierShare

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dockwa free?
Dockwa is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PierShare free?
PierShare is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dockwa or PierShare?
Dockwa is rated higher. Dockwa averages 4.9 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while PierShare averages 4.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Dockwa or PierShare have ads?
Neither Dockwa nor PierShare shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dockwa or PierShare?
Dockwa ships an update every 3 weeks, and PierShare every 4 months. Most recently, Dockwa was updated on October 23, 2026 and PierShare on October 20, 2026.

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