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Maritime & Shipping · head to head

MarineTraffic vs NAPA

MarineTraffic logo

MarineTraffic

Maritime & Shipping

Global ship tracking intelligence

From
Free
Rated
-
NAPA logo

NAPA

Maritime & Shipping

Ship design and operational excellence

From
$5000/year
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only MarineTraffic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: MarineTraffic specific numeric prices for the Basic/Essential tiers are not published on a directly accessible page (plans pages are bot-protected); NAPA the Internet Archive's capture of NAPA's homepage on 1 January 2020 named six distinct maritime software products, NAPA Loading Computer, NAPA Emergency Computer, NAPA Logbook, NAPA Fleet Intelligence, NAPA Voyage Optimization and ClassNK-NAPA GREEN, with no price figure published for any.
  • They diverge on capability: MarineTraffic covers Real-time vessel tracking, NAPA covers Ship design.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MarineTraffic and NAPA actually diverge.

Attributes where MarineTraffic and NAPA differ
AttributeMarineTrafficNAPA
Starting priceFree$5000/year
Pricing modelUnknownone-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWindows, Web
Founded20071989

Identical on both: 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 MarineTraffic

  • Real-time vessel tracking
  • Global AIS coverage
  • Voyage history
  • Port call data
  • ETA predictions
  • REST API
  • Google Earth
  • GIS systems

Only in NAPA

  • Ship design
  • Stability calculation
  • Voyage optimization
  • Performance monitoring
  • CAD systems
  • Fleet management
  • Weather routing
  • Windows support

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

MarineTraffic

  • Real-time vessel trackingnot NAPA
  • Port call and ETA tracking for logisticsnot NAPA
  • Fleet monitoring for shipping and charteringnot NAPA
  • Maritime research and analytics via API feedsnot NAPA
  • Vessel and company database lookupsnot NAPA

NAPA

No use cases recorded yet. See the NAPA review.

Where each one falls short

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

MarineTraffic

  • Specific numeric prices for the Basic/Essential tiers are not published on a directly accessible page (plans pages are bot-protected)
  • Enterprise tier is sales-assisted, quote-only
  • API access is credit-consumption based with cost varying by AIS data source and detail level, making cost opaque
  • Commercial API access now routes through parent company Kpler via demo request

NAPA

  • The Internet Archive's capture of NAPA's homepage on 1 January 2020 named six distinct maritime software products, NAPA Loading Computer, NAPA Emergency Computer, NAPA Logbook, NAPA Fleet Intelligence, NAPA Voyage Optimization and ClassNK-NAPA GREEN, with no price figure published for any.

Pricing, plan by plan

MarineTraffic

Free
  • Basic$undefined/mo
    • Free vessel tracking account
  • Essential$undefined/mo
    • Expanded tracking features
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Quote-only, sales-assisted

NAPA

$5000/year
  • Fleet Intelligence$15000/year
    • Voyage optimization
    • Performance monitoring
    • Analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose MarineTraffic if

  • You need real-time vessel tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want global ais coverage.

Choose NAPA if

  • You need ship design.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want stability calculation.

Questions people ask

Is MarineTraffic or NAPA better?
Neither clearly leads. MarineTraffic starts at Free and NAPA at $5000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MarineTraffic or NAPA?
MarineTraffic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MarineTraffic and $5000/year for NAPA.
Does MarineTraffic or NAPA run on more platforms?
MarineTraffic runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. NAPA runs on Windows, Web.
Can I use MarineTraffic for free?
Yes. MarineTraffic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. NAPA starts at $5000/year.
What is MarineTraffic best used for?
MarineTraffic is most often used for real-time vessel tracking, port call and eta tracking for logistics, fleet monitoring for shipping and chartering, maritime research and analytics via api feeds. Of those, real-time vessel tracking and port call and eta tracking for logistics are not what NAPA is typically brought in for.
What can MarineTraffic do that NAPA cannot?
MarineTraffic covers Real-time vessel tracking, Global AIS coverage, Voyage history, Port call data. NAPA covers Ship design, Stability calculation, Voyage optimization, Performance monitoring. Both handle Web support.

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