Maritime & Shipping · head to head
FourKites vs Spire Global Maritime
FourKites
Maritime & Shipping
Real-time supply chain visibility
- From
- $2000/month
- Rated
- -
Spire Global Maritime
Maritime & Shipping
Satellite-powered maritime data and analytics
- From
- $500/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: FourKites fourKites uses an Outcome-as-a-Service model with no per-seat pricing published; all pricing requires talking to an Outcome Advisor; Spire Global Maritime now part of Kpler rather than Spire, and spire.com/maritime redirects into the Kpler site
- They diverge on capability: FourKites covers Real-time tracking, Spire Global Maritime covers Satellite AIS tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which FourKites and Spire Global Maritime actually diverge.
| Attribute | FourKites | Spire Global Maritime |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2000/month | $500/month |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android, Api | Api, Web |
| Founded | 2014 | 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 FourKites
- Real-time tracking
- Predictive ETAs
- Exception alerts
- Yard management
- TMS platforms
- ERP systems
- WMS
- Ios support
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
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
FourKites
No use cases recorded yet. See the FourKites review.
Spire Global Maritime
- Satellite and terrestrial AIS vessel trackingnot FourKites
- Predicted destinations, ETAs and arrival eventsnot FourKites
- Historical AIS going back more than ten yearsnot FourKites
- Vessel particulars and ownership lookupsnot FourKites
- Sanctions and insurance screening against vessel movementsnot FourKites
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
FourKites
- FourKites uses an Outcome-as-a-Service model with no per-seat pricing published; all pricing requires talking to an Outcome Advisor
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
FourKites
$2000/month- Professional$5000/month
- Multi-modal tracking
- Predictive ETAs
- Analytics
Spire Global Maritime
$500/month- Professional$2000/month
- Low-latency data
- Behavior analytics
- Predictive ETAs
Which should you pick?
Choose FourKites if
- You need real-time tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want predictive etas.
Choose Spire Global Maritime if
- You need satellite ais tracking.
- You work on Api, Web.
- You also want global coverage.
Questions people ask
- Is FourKites or Spire Global Maritime better?
- Neither clearly leads. FourKites starts at $2000/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, FourKites or Spire Global Maritime?
- FourKites starts at $2000/month and Spire Global Maritime at $500/month.
- Does FourKites or Spire Global Maritime run on more platforms?
- FourKites runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Spire Global Maritime runs on Api, Web.
- What can FourKites do that Spire Global Maritime cannot?
- FourKites covers Real-time tracking, Predictive ETAs, Exception alerts, Yard management. Spire Global Maritime covers Satellite AIS tracking, Global coverage, Predictive analytics, Dark vessel detection. Both handle Web support, Api support.