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Maritime · head to head

Dockwa vs Harbour Assist

Dockwa logo

Dockwa

Maritime

Marina reservation, management and boater marketplace software

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Harbour Assist logo

Harbour Assist

Maritime

Marina, harbour and boatyard management software for United Kingdom and European operators

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Dockwa the marina absorbs the transaction cost because Dockwa forbids charging boaters more for booking through the platform, so roughly three and a half per cent of dockage revenue comes off the marina margin.; Harbour Assist no pricing is published, and the mandatory setup and data migration fee means the first-year cost is materially above the recurring subscription, which is easy to miss when budgeting.
  • They diverge on capability: Dockwa covers Transient reservations, Harbour Assist covers Berth and mooring management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dockwa and Harbour Assist actually diverge.

Attributes where Dockwa and Harbour Assist differ
AttributeDockwaHarbour Assist
Pricing modelPer booking plus optional monthly modulesquote

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Dockwa

  • Transient reservations
  • Seasonal contracts
  • Slip assignment
  • Boater marketplace
  • Integrated payments
  • Guest communication
  • Occupancy reporting
  • Revenue management module

Only in Harbour Assist

  • Berth and mooring management
  • Contracts and licences
  • Recurring invoicing
  • Customer portal
  • Boatyard work orders
  • Team tasking
  • Online reservations
  • Reporting

What people use each for

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

Dockwa

  • A transient-heavy marina on a popular cruising route wanting booking demand as well as softwarenot Harbour Assist
  • A harbour replacing a paper ledger and phone-based reservation processnot Harbour Assist
  • A yacht club managing seasonal contracts and renewals alongside visitor dockagenot Harbour Assist
  • A marina group standardising slip assignment and occupancy reporting across sitesnot Harbour Assist

Harbour Assist

  • A trust port managing several hundred moorings with annual licence renewals and arrears chasingnot Dockwa
  • A sailing club combining membership, berthing and bar accounts under one customer recordnot Dockwa
  • A boatyard scheduling lifts and winter storage alongside berth contractsnot Dockwa
  • A harbour office cutting phone traffic by moving invoice payment and service requests to a customer portalnot Dockwa

Where each one falls short

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

Dockwa

  • The marina absorbs the transaction cost because Dockwa forbids charging boaters more for booking through the platform, so roughly three and a half per cent of dockage revenue comes off the marina margin.
  • Pricing has shifted from purely transactional toward an annual software fee plus transaction costs, which changes the economics for marinas that signed on the original basis.
  • The revenue management and premium capability sits behind an extra monthly subscription of a few hundred dollars, so the useful version of the product is not the entry-level one.
  • Demand is heavily concentrated in North American cruising corridors; a marina elsewhere pays marketplace economics for software-only benefit.
  • A marina that comes to rely on Dockwa for occupancy has handed its customer relationship and its booking channel to a third party, which is a real strategic dependency in a fragmented industry.

Harbour Assist

  • No pricing is published, and the mandatory setup and data migration fee means the first-year cost is materially above the recurring subscription, which is easy to miss when budgeting.
  • The vendor explicitly does not discount, so a small harbour has no negotiating room even when the entry point is a stretch for its budget.
  • Ownership by ClearCourse, a private-equity-backed consolidator of vertical software, brings the pricing and roadmap risks that come with that model, and buyers should ask about uplift terms before committing.
  • It is built for United Kingdom and Irish harbour practice, so an operator elsewhere gets a system full of concepts that do not match local regulation.
  • There is no marketplace or booking demand attached, so unlike Dockwa it fills no berths for you; visitor income still depends on your own marketing.

Pricing, plan by plan

Dockwa

On request
  • Booking$undefined/month
    • Around 2.5% card processing plus roughly 1% service fee on platform bookings
    • Reservation management and slip assignment
    • Boater marketplace exposure
  • Premium modules$299/month
    • Additional monthly subscription on top of transaction fees
    • Revenue management and dynamic dockage pricing
    • Extended reporting

Harbour Assist

On request
  • Harbour Assist$undefined/month
    • Quoted by size and complexity of the operation
    • Directory listings place the entry point near GBP 400 per month
    • Mandatory setup and installation fee covering customisation, data migration and training

Which should you pick?

Choose Dockwa if

  • You need transient reservations.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want seasonal contracts.
Dockwa review

Choose Harbour Assist if

  • You need berth and mooring management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want contracts and licences.
Harbour Assist review

Questions people ask

Is Dockwa or Harbour Assist better?
Neither clearly leads. Dockwa starts at On request and Harbour Assist at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dockwa or Harbour Assist?
Dockwa starts at On request and Harbour Assist at On request.
Does Dockwa or Harbour Assist run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Dockwa best used for?
Dockwa is most often used for a transient-heavy marina on a popular cruising route wanting booking demand as well as software, a harbour replacing a paper ledger and phone-based reservation process, a yacht club managing seasonal contracts and renewals alongside visitor dockage, a marina group standardising slip assignment and occupancy reporting across sites. Of those, a transient-heavy marina on a popular cruising route wanting booking demand as well as software and a harbour replacing a paper ledger and phone-based reservation process are not what Harbour Assist is typically brought in for.
What can Dockwa do that Harbour Assist cannot?
Dockwa covers Transient reservations, Seasonal contracts, Slip assignment, Boater marketplace. Harbour Assist covers Berth and mooring management, Contracts and licences, Recurring invoicing, Customer portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dockwa: What does Dockwa cost a marina?

Around 2.5 per cent card processing plus roughly 1 per cent service fee on bookings taken through the platform, with premium modules such as revenue management sold as an additional monthly subscription near 299 dollars.

Harbour Assist: How much does Harbour Assist cost?

It is quoted by size and complexity. Directory listings put the entry point near 400 pounds a month, and every client also pays a setup fee for customisation, migration and training.

Dockwa: Does the boater pay a fee?

No. Dockwa requires that boaters pay the same rate through the app as they would by calling the marina, so the cost sits with the marina.

Harbour Assist: Does it bring visitor bookings?

No. It takes online visitor reservations through your own website but has no consumer marketplace, so demand generation remains your responsibility.

Dockwa: Is it worth it outside the north east and Florida?

Less so. The software works anywhere but the demand side is concentrated, so marinas in thinner markets pay marketplace pricing for management software.

Harbour Assist: Who owns it?

ClearCourse, a private-equity-backed group that acquires vertical software businesses in the United Kingdom.

Dockwa: Can it handle seasonal contracts as well as transients?

Yes, both seasonal slip agreements and nightly transient dockage are managed in the same system.

Harbour Assist: Does it handle swinging moorings and drying berths?

Yes, and that is one of the reasons British harbours choose it over marina software designed around American pontoon dockage.

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