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Maritime & Shipping · head to head

Clarksons vs Portcast

Clarksons logo

Clarksons

Maritime & Shipping

World's leading shipbroker and data provider

From
$3000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portcast logo

Portcast

Maritime & Shipping

AI-powered container tracking and ETA

From
$500/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clarksons uK government contract award notice on find-tender.service.gov.uk shows a Clarkson Research Services Limited data subscription contract valued at 6,500 GBP excluding VAT (7,800 GBP including VAT) for the period 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026; Portcast pricing is not published
  • They diverge on capability: Clarksons covers Market intelligence, Portcast covers Predictive ETAs.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clarksons and Portcast actually diverge.

Attributes where Clarksons and Portcast differ
AttributeClarksonsPortcast
Starting price$3000/month$500/month
Founded18522018

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maritime & Shipping).

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 Clarksons

  • Market intelligence
  • Fleet database
  • Freight rates
  • Research reports
  • API
  • Excel add-in
  • Data exports

Only in Portcast

  • Predictive ETAs
  • Container tracking
  • Exception alerts
  • Port congestion data
  • TMS platforms
  • ERP systems
  • Shipping lines

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Clarksons

No use cases recorded yet. See the Clarksons review.

Portcast

  • Real-time container and air cargo tracking across carriersnot Clarksons
  • Predicted ETAs and delay forecasting for ocean freightnot Clarksons
  • Port congestion monitoringnot Clarksons
  • Auditing freight invoices automaticallynot Clarksons
  • Feeding predicted arrival data into a TMS or ERPnot Clarksons

Where each one falls short

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

Clarksons

  • UK government contract award notice on find-tender.service.gov.uk shows a Clarkson Research Services Limited data subscription contract valued at 6,500 GBP excluding VAT (7,800 GBP including VAT) for the period 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026

Portcast

  • Pricing is not published
  • Sold to freight forwarders, 3PLs and shippers rather than to businesses tracking their own occasional shipments
  • Value depends on integrating with an existing TMS or ERP rather than working standalone

Pricing, plan by plan

Clarksons

$3000/month
  • Shipping Intelligence Network$5000/month
    • Market data
    • Fleet database
    • Research reports

Portcast

$500/month
  • Professional$1500/month
    • AI-powered ETAs
    • Container tracking
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Clarksons if

  • You need market intelligence.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want fleet database.
Clarksons review

Choose Portcast if

  • You need predictive etas.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want container tracking.
Portcast review

Questions people ask

Is Clarksons or Portcast better?
Neither clearly leads. Clarksons starts at $3000/month and Portcast at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clarksons or Portcast?
Clarksons starts at $3000/month and Portcast at $500/month.
Does Clarksons or Portcast run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What can Clarksons do that Portcast cannot?
Clarksons covers Market intelligence, Fleet database, Freight rates, Research reports. Portcast covers Predictive ETAs, Container tracking, Exception alerts, Port congestion data. Both handle Web support, Api support.
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Related pages

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