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Maritime · head to head

Dockwa vs NAVTOR

Dockwa logo

Dockwa

Maritime

Marina reservation, management and boater marketplace software

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
NAVTOR logo

NAVTOR

Maritime

Digital navigation and maritime compliance

From
$200/month
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.; NAVTOR specialized product focused only on maritime industry, not suitable for other domains
  • They diverge on capability: Dockwa covers Transient reservations, NAVTOR covers Digital chart services.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dockwa and NAVTOR actually diverge.

Attributes where Dockwa and NAVTOR differ
AttributeDockwaNAVTOR
Starting priceOn request$200/month
Pricing modelPer booking plus optional monthly modulessubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Dockwa

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

Only in NAVTOR

  • Digital chart services
  • Passage planning
  • Compliance management
  • Fleet monitoring
  • ECDIS systems
  • Fleet management
  • Classification societies
  • Web support

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 NAVTOR
  • A harbour replacing a paper ledger and phone-based reservation processnot NAVTOR
  • A yacht club managing seasonal contracts and renewals alongside visitor dockagenot NAVTOR
  • A marina group standardising slip assignment and occupancy reporting across sitesnot NAVTOR

NAVTOR

  • Planning routes with weather integration and ENC chartsnot Dockwa
  • Monitoring vessel emissions and UK ETS regulatory compliancenot Dockwa
  • Replacing paper logbooks with digital navigational recordsnot Dockwa
  • Connecting onboard systems with shore-based fleet managementnot 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.

NAVTOR

  • Specialized product focused only on maritime industry, not suitable for other domains
  • Requires subscription to PRIMAR or IC-ENC chart sources

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

NAVTOR

$200/month
  • NavStation$500/month
    • Digital charts
    • Passage planning
    • Compliance tools

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 NAVTOR if

  • You need digital chart services.
  • You also want passage planning.
NAVTOR review

Questions people ask

Is Dockwa or NAVTOR better?
Neither clearly leads. Dockwa starts at On request and NAVTOR at $200/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dockwa or NAVTOR?
Dockwa starts at On request and NAVTOR at $200/month.
Does Dockwa or NAVTOR run on more platforms?
Dockwa runs on Web, iOS, Android. NAVTOR runs on Web.
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 NAVTOR is typically brought in for.
What can Dockwa do that NAVTOR cannot?
Dockwa covers Transient reservations, Seasonal contracts, Slip assignment, Boater marketplace. NAVTOR covers Digital chart services, Passage planning, Compliance management, Fleet monitoring.

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.

NAVTOR: What are Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs)?

ENCs are official digital charts used for maritime navigation. NAVTOR distributes ENCs from PRIMAR and IC-ENC in S-63 format and NAVTOR SENC format, covering over 15,800 official charts.

Source
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.

NAVTOR: What is NAVTOR's PAYS pricing model?

PAYS (Pay As You Sail) charges vessels only for the chart cells they pass through during a voyage, while allowing navigators free access to any ENC for planning purposes before sailing.

Source
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.

NAVTOR: What is NavStation used for?

NavStation is NAVTOR's voyage planning software that integrates official ENC charts with overlays of navigational data to assist in route planning and voyage optimization.

Source
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.

NAVTOR: What platforms does NAVTOR serve?

NAVTOR focuses on the maritime shipping industry, serving vessel operators, fleet managers, and navigation professionals with e-Navigation solutions and digital logbooks.

Source
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