I have written five texts describing the use of the electronic navigation applications: Navionics (Boating), C-MAP, OpenCPN, Savvy Navvy and SeaIQ. Each text examines hot to perform eight essential navigation tasks.
Which one is best suited to your needs? The table below assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each.
| Criteria | Navionics | C-MAP | OpenCPN | Savvy Navvy | SeaIQ |
| Navigate without a cellular connection? | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. | Not with the basic subscription. | Yes. |
| Share routes in open format? | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. | No. | Yes. |
| Price (in 2025) | 80$/year (including North American charts). | 70$/year (including Canadian charts). | Free application. Canadian charts at $33. | 99$/year (basic subscription). | 70$ for the application (one-time fee). Canadian charts extra, price depending on provider. |
| Best feature | Intuitive tide menu. | Conforms to international chart symbols. | Free and highly configurable. | Basic subscription includes charts from around the world. Manual fixes possible. | Comprehensive, professional application. Capable of interpreting S-100 charts. |
| Most annoying feature | Erroneous assessment of currents (in Quebec). | Tends to crash on Android phones. | Takes a long time to adjust the application to your liking. | Cannot save routes on Android phones. | Not available on Android. Configuration options are confusing. |
| Target audience | Recreational boaters | Recreational boaters | Recreational boaters | Recreational boaters | Professionals |
| It can be used on… | Tablet, mobile phone, chartplotter. | Tablet, mobile phone, chartplotter. | Tablet, mobile phone, personal computer, chartplotter. | Tablet, mobile phone. | Tablet, mobile phone, personal computer. |
Pick one or two applications that seem interesting to you. By reading the specific texts, you’ll be able to choose the one that suits you best.
There are, of course, other navigation applications. By design, the above comparison does not cover them.
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