Navionics alternatives: what each one offers and what it costs
By Luis Carvajal · Updated 1 October 2026
In short: Navionics charges €59.99 a year for the Mediterranean region, and the subscription renews automatically even if you only sail in summer: almost €180 over three years. Most alternatives also charge every year. Offing is a single payment of €14.99, the cheapest today among apps that work offline on the iPhone, with the whole Mediterranean chart, the Apple Watch and a logbook that writes itself.
Navionics is the best-known chart app, with the ActiveCaptain community built in. Its model is what draws the most complaints: a regional subscription that renews every year, and no Apple Watch app. These are the alternatives, with data checked on 1 October 2026.
Navionics vs Offing
| Navionics Boating | Offing | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Yearly regional subscription, auto-renewing: €59.99/year for the Mediterranean | One payment: €14.99 (€19.99 from 2027) |
| Over three years | €179.97 | €14.99 |
| Apple Watch | No | Yes: speed, course, ETA, and start/stop the passage |
| Offline | Yes, with an active subscription | Yes, by downloading the area |
| Charts | Navionics (Garmin) | OpenSeaMap and OpenStreetMap; EMODnet depths |
And what Offing gives you for that €14.99:
- Tap a spot and it tells you: what's there, the depth, and sea and wind hour by hour.
- Balearic seagrass from the government's official mapping, offline too, plus marine reserves.
- The official forecast from AEMET in Spain and IPMA in Portugal, with the warnings in force.
- A logbook that writes itself: track, miles, hours, entries and photos, as PDF whenever you like and as GPX.
- No account: your passages stay on your iPhone.
All the alternatives
| App | How you pay | Offline | Apple Watch | Charts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offing | One payment: €14.99 (€19.99 from 2027) | Yes, by downloading the area | Yes | OpenSeaMap and OpenStreetMap |
| Navionics Boating | Yearly subscription per region. Mediterranean & Black Sea: €59.99/year | Yes | No | Navionics (Garmin) |
| Aqua Map | Free app; charts by yearly subscription. Spain Mediterranean & Balearics: €19.99/year. Expert features extra (€14.99/year) | Yes | No | Official Spanish charts, by area |
| Wärtsilä iSailor | Each area bought separately: "Spain. Mediterranean Sea", €17.99, with one year of corrections. After that, updates are a yearly subscription | Yes | Yes | Wärtsilä TX-97 vector charts |
| savvy navvy | Yearly subscription in three plans; from £59 a year on its website | Higher plans only | Yes | Global, included |
| C-MAP: Boating | Free app with a yearly Premium plan per region | With Premium | No | C-MAP |
| Orca | Orca Plus €49/year (with offline charts); Smart Navigation €149/year | Paid plans | Yes | Europe |
| OpenCPN | Free on computers. o-charts charts extra: Spain Mediterranean, €25 + VAT | Yes | No (no iPhone version) | Whatever you load |
Prices from the Spanish App Store and official websites on 1 October 2026. They change often: check before you buy.
Which one, depending on what you want
Pay once and sail the Mediterranean coast
Offing. It is the cheapest today among apps that work offline on the iPhone: €14.99 once, for the whole Mediterranean, and there are no renewals, no account and no subscription to cancel at the end of the season. It brings the whole Mediterranean chart, the Apple Watch, Balearic seagrass, the official forecast and a logbook that writes itself.
Charts compiled from hydrographic data
Navionics, C-MAP, iSailor and Aqua Map base their charts on hydrographic data and keep updating them. In return you pay every year, or per chart in iSailor's case.
Automatic route planning
savvy navvy and Orca plan routes automatically taking wind into account and, in savvy navvy's case, tides. Orca also has its own hardware.
Something free on the boat's computer
OpenCPN: open source, very extensible with plugins, and with o-charts you get Spain for little money. The trade-off: there is no iPhone version.
Two companions that are not charts
- Navily: the largest community of anchorages and marinas in the Mediterranean, with reviews and berth booking at hundreds of marinas. Free, with a paid Premium.
- Windy: weather from more than fifteen models. Free, with a paid Premium. Needs a connection.
Frequently asked questions
Does Navionics work offline?
Yes, with an active subscription and the charts downloaded.
Is there a chart app you pay for once?
iSailor sells charts individually, although updates are a subscription. OpenCPN is free on computers and charts are bought separately. Offing is a single payment, updates included.
Which apps work on the Apple Watch?
Of those compared: iSailor, savvy navvy, Orca and Offing.
Offing
Mediterranean chart, Balearic seagrass, the official forecast and a logbook that writes itself. iPhone and Apple Watch, offline, one payment.
