Is i-Boating a reasonable Navionics alternative?
Is i-Boating a reasonable Navionics alternative?
We receive several emails asking us every week if the i-Boating app is a viable Navionics alternative.
The short answer is yes. The long answer is this is why we have written this guide for those who are considering i-Boating as a backup or replacement to your Navionics . You have to consider several factors including device support, chart coverage, pricing etc. in making your decision.
Device Support
The i-Boating application is supported on major computing platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Raspberry Pi running Linux etc). Navionics is available for iOS, Android and legacy proprietary systems (Lowrance, Simrad, Humminbird etc). Amongst the popular systems, Navionics does not support Windows and MacOS. i-Boating has native support for Windows and MacOS including integration with 3rd party USB GPS & AIS receivers. On Windows, Bluetooth GPS & AIS receivers are also supported.
|
Platform |
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
iOS |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Android |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Windows |
Yes |
No |
|
MacOS |
Yes |
No |
|
Vexilar |
Yes |
No |
|
Raspberry Pi |
Yes (Developer only) |
No |
|
Lowrance, Humminbird, Simrad, Garmin etc |
No (These are proprietary systems. ) |
Yes |
Chart Coverage
We recommend that you use our online chart viewer to see if we have the coverage for your cruising area. i-Boating has very good coverage(both inland lakes, rivers and coastal) for US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. Navionics has coverage worldwide.
|
Region/Chart Type |
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
US, Canada, Europe(incl UK), Australia, NZ |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Rest of World |
Partial |
Yes |
Advanced Chart Types
At i-Boating, we have invested heavily in creating charts for inland lakes, rivers and reservoirs. This includes hi-resolution contours and hi-resolution relief shading scans. Our charts can be overlaid on satellite aerials, street maps from different sources and providers.
|
Chart Type |
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Inland Rivers |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Inland Lakes & Reservoirs |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Sonar contours (1ft) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Relief Shading |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Satellite Imagery |
Yes |
No |
|
Street Maps |
Yes |
No |
Lake Temperature Maps
The lake temperature maps layer (1F/0.5C) is only available in i-Boating.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Lake Temperature Maps |
Yes |
No |
Fishing AI
Fishing AI is an artificial intelligence model we have created to identify fishing spots in a lake/waterbody. Fishing AI is exclusive to the i-Boating app. It's not available in Navionics.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Fishing AI |
Yes |
No |
Marine Weather Forecasts
The i-Boating app is far ahead of Navionics in this department. Navionics app only supports Tide & Currents and Winds. The i-Boating app supports Tide & Currents, Wind, Wave, Pressure, Precipitation, Temperature and Gust. The i-Boating app includes support for multiple models (GFS, ECMWF etc).
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Tide & Currents |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Wind Speed & Direction |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Wave Height & Direction |
Yes |
No |
|
Pressure |
Yes |
No |
|
Precipitation |
Yes |
No |
|
Temperature |
Yes |
No |
|
Gust |
Yes |
No |
|
Multiple models(GFS,ECMWF) |
Yes |
No |
Sonar Logging
Its available on iOS and Android in the i-Boating app via Sonarphone. Its not available on Navionics.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Sonar logging (iOS & Android) |
Yes |
No |
Routes and WayPoints
Both i-Boating and Navionics have similar features for routes and waypoints.
|
Route/WayPoint Feature |
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Manual Routes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Automatic Routes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
WayPoints using Coordinates |
Yes |
Yes |
|
WayPoints on Map |
Yes |
Yes |
|
WayPoints using GPS |
Yes |
No |
|
Export GPX |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Import GPX |
Yes |
Yes |
GPS Features
The i-Boating app exclusively supports route assistance. Using this you can follow a pre-created route using device GPS and get alerts if you go off route or when you approach a way point. This feature is not available in Navionics.
|
GPS Feature |
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Auto Follow |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Track Recording |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Anchor Alarm |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Route Assistance |
Yes |
No |
NMEA/AIS Support
The i-Boating app has extensive support for NMEA as well as AIS using NMEA083. The Navionics app only support AIS. The i-Boating apps supports NMEA GPS sentences as well other sensor data over NMEA (Depth, Temperature, Wind Speed, Direction etc).
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
AIS Overlay |
Yes |
Yes |
|
NMEA(GPS Sentences) |
Yes |
No |
|
NMEA (Depth, Temperature, Wind etC) |
Yes |
No |
|
NMEA Alarms (Depth, Wind Speed etc) |
Yes |
No |
|
NMEA Autopilot |
Yes |
No |
Chartplotter Settings
There are tons of customizations that you can do in i-Boating or the Navionics app. Below is a list of some of these chartplotter settings that are available in these apps.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Map Rotation (Text Stays Upright) |
Yes |
No |
|
Custom Depth Unit |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Custom Distance/Speed Unit |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Magnify Text & Icons |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Depth Offset Support |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Highlight Depth Range |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Dark Color Scheme |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Satellite Imagery Background |
Yes |
No |
|
Street Maps Background |
Yes |
No |
|
Magnetic Bearing |
Yes |
No |
|
Strict Offline Mode |
Yes |
No |
|
Object Query |
Yes |
Yes |
3rd party Developer Tools
Both i-Boating and Navionics have SDKs and tools for 3rd party developers and partners. i-Boating develops and supports Marine & Lakes Mapping SDK and WMTS tools for their partners.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Developer SDKs |
Yes |
Yes |
|
WMTS |
Yes |
No |
Offline Support
Offline support for maps is extremely important. This is especially important if you are going to be in an area with spotty or no cellular connectivity. There are plenty of tablets that lack cellular support but include built-in GPS or Glonass. For such devices it is important that the application includes offline support.
Both i-Boating and Navionics include support for offline charts.
|
|
i-Boating |
Navionics |
|
Offline Support |
Yes |
Yes |
Pricing
The i-Boating app costs a lot less than Navionics.