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Maritime · head to head

Baltic Exchange vs Helm Operations

Baltic Exchange logo

Baltic Exchange

Maritime

Global shipping market benchmarks

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Helm Operations logo

Helm Operations

Maritime

Dispatch, maintenance, compliance and crewing software built for tug, barge and workboat fleets

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Baltic Exchange no pricing published on website, membership and data services require contacting the organization; Helm Operations the product is built for workboat and towage operations, so a deep-sea owner running bulkers or tankers gets no chartering, voyage accounting or cargo handling and should not shortlist it.
  • They diverge on capability: Baltic Exchange covers Freight indices, Helm Operations covers Dispatch.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baltic Exchange and Helm Operations actually diverge.

Attributes where Baltic Exchange and Helm Operations differ
AttributeBaltic ExchangeHelm Operations
Starting price$500/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1744Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maritime).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Baltic Exchange

  • Freight indices
  • Market assessments
  • Forward curves
  • Historical data
  • API
  • Data feeds
  • Trading platforms
  • Web support

Only in Helm Operations

  • Dispatch
  • Job billing
  • Planned maintenance
  • Compliance and safety
  • Crew scheduling
  • Customer portal
  • Vessel applications
  • Reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Baltic Exchange

  • Shipping market freight data and indicesnot Helm Operations
  • Freight derivatives tradingnot Helm Operations
  • Vessel investment decision makingnot Helm Operations
  • Dry bulk and tanker rate assessmentsnot Helm Operations
  • Container freight market analysisnot Helm Operations

Helm Operations

  • A harbour towage company that dispatches dozens of jobs a day and wants invoices generated from the dispatch recordnot Baltic Exchange
  • A barge operator tracking maintenance and certificates across assets that rarely visit the same port twicenot Baltic Exchange
  • A ferry or passenger vessel fleet that must evidence drills, audits and crew certification to a regulatornot Baltic Exchange
  • An offshore support operator replacing a mixture of spreadsheets, whiteboards and an accounting packagenot Baltic Exchange

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Baltic Exchange

  • No pricing published on website, membership and data services require contacting the organization
  • Custom pricing based on organization type and data needs

Helm Operations

  • The product is built for workboat and towage operations, so a deep-sea owner running bulkers or tankers gets no chartering, voyage accounting or cargo handling and should not shortlist it.
  • Modules are licensed separately, so the figure quoted for dispatch alone is not the figure a fleet ends up paying once maintenance, compliance and crewing are included.
  • There is no financial ledger, so job costs and payroll still post into a separate accounting system, and maintaining that interface is an ongoing task for the customer.
  • Vessel applications sync rather than run fully offline indefinitely, so boats operating with poor connectivity see a lag between what the crew recorded and what the dispatcher can see.
  • The company does not disclose its ownership publicly and is comparatively small, which leaves a fleet that standardises on Helm carrying concentration risk it cannot fully assess.

Pricing, plan by plan

Baltic Exchange

$500/month
  • Data Services$1500/month
    • Freight indices
    • Market assessments
    • Historical data

Helm Operations

On request
  • Helm platform$undefined/year
    • Quoted by fleet size and modules taken
    • Maintenance, Compliance, Logistics, Personnel and Portal licensed separately
    • Implementation and data migration quoted as services

Which should you pick?

Choose Baltic Exchange if

  • You need freight indices.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want market assessments.
Baltic Exchange review

Choose Helm Operations if

  • You need dispatch.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want job billing.
Helm Operations review

Questions people ask

Is Baltic Exchange or Helm Operations better?
Neither clearly leads. Baltic Exchange starts at $500/month and Helm Operations at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baltic Exchange or Helm Operations?
Baltic Exchange starts at $500/month and Helm Operations at On request.
Does Baltic Exchange or Helm Operations run on more platforms?
Baltic Exchange runs on Web, Api. Helm Operations runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Baltic Exchange best used for?
Baltic Exchange is most often used for shipping market freight data and indices, freight derivatives trading, vessel investment decision making, dry bulk and tanker rate assessments. Of those, shipping market freight data and indices and freight derivatives trading are not what Helm Operations is typically brought in for.
What can Baltic Exchange do that Helm Operations cannot?
Baltic Exchange covers Freight indices, Market assessments, Forward curves, Historical data. Helm Operations covers Dispatch, Job billing, Planned maintenance, Compliance and safety.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baltic Exchange: How much does Baltic Exchange membership cost?

Baltic Exchange does not publish pricing on their website. Membership and data service pricing is customized and requires direct contact with the organization.

Source
Helm Operations: Does Helm handle chartering or voyage accounting?

No. It models dispatched jobs, not voyages, and has no commercial chartering capability.

Baltic Exchange: What services does Baltic Exchange provide?

Baltic Exchange provides shipping market data services including daily published indices (200+), freight derivatives trading facilities, member fixtures database, and analytical tools for shipping professionals.

Source
Helm Operations: Will it work for a deep-sea fleet?

Poorly. The functional design assumes short repeated jobs on tugs, barges and workboats.

Helm Operations: Does it include accounting?

No. It produces invoices and job costs and passes them to a separate accounting system.

Helm Operations: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by fleet size and by which of the five modules are licensed.

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