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Maritime · head to head

Drewry vs Harbour Assist

Drewry logo

Drewry

Maritime

Maritime research and consulting

From
$1000/month
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: Drewry the World Container Index is described as free but still requires an account to read, and full access depends on subscription rights; 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: Drewry covers Market research, 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 Drewry and Harbour Assist actually diverge.

Attributes where Drewry and Harbour Assist differ
AttributeDrewryHarbour Assist
Starting price$1000/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded1970Unknown

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 Drewry

  • Market research
  • Forecasting
  • Benchmarking
  • Advisory services
  • Data exports
  • Custom reports
  • Web support

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.

Drewry

  • Tracking container freight rate movements through the weekly World Container Indexnot Harbour Assist
  • Supporting shipping and supply chain research with published rate assessmentsnot Harbour Assist

Harbour Assist

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

Where each one falls short

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

Drewry

  • The World Container Index is described as free but still requires an account to read, and full access depends on subscription rights
  • No subscription price is published anywhere on the index pages
  • The container index publishes weekly, so it is not a source for daily rate movement

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

Drewry

$1000/month
  • Research Subscription$3000/month
    • Market reports
    • Forecasts
    • Data access

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 Drewry if

  • You need market research.
  • You also want forecasting.
Drewry 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 Drewry or Harbour Assist better?
Neither clearly leads. Drewry starts at $1000/month and Harbour Assist at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Drewry or Harbour Assist?
Drewry starts at $1000/month and Harbour Assist at On request.
Does Drewry or Harbour Assist run on more platforms?
Drewry runs on Web. Harbour Assist runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Drewry best used for?
Drewry is most often used for tracking container freight rate movements through the weekly world container index, supporting shipping and supply chain research with published rate assessments. Of those, tracking container freight rate movements through the weekly world container index and supporting shipping and supply chain research with published rate assessments are not what Harbour Assist is typically brought in for.
What can Drewry do that Harbour Assist cannot?
Drewry covers Market research, Forecasting, Benchmarking, Advisory services. Harbour Assist covers Berth and mooring management, Contracts and licences, Recurring invoicing, Customer portal.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Drewry: How much do Drewry subscriptions cost?

Drewry offers annual subscriptions for various services including Container Freight Rate Insight, Benchmarking Club, and forecasters. Specific pricing is not published and requires contacting Drewry directly.

Source
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.

Drewry: Are Drewry services free?

Drewry offers free content to registered and logged-in users including the World Container Index, market trackers, and indices. Premium services require paid annual subscriptions.

Source
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.

Harbour Assist: Who owns it?

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

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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