Maritime & Shipping · head to head
Drewry vs Spire Global Maritime
Spire Global Maritime
Maritime & Shipping
Satellite-powered maritime data and analytics
- From
- $500/month
- Rated
- -
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; Spire Global Maritime now part of Kpler rather than Spire, and spire.com/maritime redirects into the Kpler site
- They diverge on capability: Drewry covers Market research, Spire Global Maritime covers Satellite AIS tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Drewry and Spire Global Maritime actually diverge.
| Attribute | Drewry | Spire Global Maritime |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $1000/month | $500/month |
| Platforms | Web | Api, Web |
| Founded | 1970 | 2012 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Drewry
- Market research
- Forecasting
- Benchmarking
- Advisory services
- Data exports
- Custom reports
Only in Spire Global Maritime
- Satellite AIS tracking
- Global coverage
- Predictive analytics
- Dark vessel detection
- REST API
- Streaming API
- AWS S3
- Snowflake
Both cover
- Web support
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 Spire Global Maritime
- Supporting shipping and supply chain research with published rate assessmentsnot Spire Global Maritime
Spire Global Maritime
- Satellite and terrestrial AIS vessel trackingnot Drewry
- Predicted destinations, ETAs and arrival eventsnot Drewry
- Historical AIS going back more than ten yearsnot Drewry
- Vessel particulars and ownership lookupsnot Drewry
- Sanctions and insurance screening against vessel movementsnot 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
Spire Global Maritime
- Now part of Kpler rather than Spire, and spire.com/maritime redirects into the Kpler site
- Pricing is not published
- Sold as a data feed to be consumed through APIs, Snowflake, NMEA streams or FTP, so it needs engineering work before it is useful
Pricing, plan by plan
Drewry
$1000/month- Research Subscription$3000/month
- Market reports
- Forecasts
- Data access
Spire Global Maritime
$500/month- Professional$2000/month
- Low-latency data
- Behavior analytics
- Predictive ETAs
Which should you pick?
Choose Spire Global Maritime if
- You need satellite ais tracking.
- You work on Api, Web.
- You also want global coverage.
Questions people ask
- Is Drewry or Spire Global Maritime better?
- Neither clearly leads. Drewry starts at $1000/month and Spire Global Maritime at $500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Drewry or Spire Global Maritime?
- Drewry starts at $1000/month and Spire Global Maritime at $500/month.
- Does Drewry or Spire Global Maritime run on more platforms?
- Drewry runs on Web. Spire Global Maritime runs on Api, Web.
- 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 Spire Global Maritime is typically brought in for.
- What can Drewry do that Spire Global Maritime cannot?
- Drewry covers Market research, Forecasting, Benchmarking, Advisory services. Spire Global Maritime covers Satellite AIS tracking, Global coverage, Predictive analytics, Dark vessel detection. Both handle Web support.