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Maritime · head to head

VesselFinder vs Vortexa

VesselFinder logo

VesselFinder

Maritime

Free AIS vessel tracking web site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vortexa logo

Vortexa

Maritime

Real-time seaborne energy cargo flow data sold as a subscription to a feed, not an application

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only VesselFinder has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: VesselFinder aPI access is billed in credits, and a satellite AIS position costs 10 credits against 1 for a terrestrial position; Vortexa cargo attribution is inference from AIS, imagery and pattern analysis, not measurement, so grade and volume figures carry an error band that matters if you size a position on them and the vendor cannot fully quantify it for every route.
  • They diverge on capability: VesselFinder covers Real-time tracking, Vortexa covers Cargo-level flow tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which VesselFinder and Vortexa actually diverge.

Attributes where VesselFinder and Vortexa differ
AttributeVesselFinderVortexa
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Cloud, API
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: 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 VesselFinder

  • Real-time tracking
  • Vessel database
  • Port information
  • Weather overlay
  • API access
  • Mobile apps
  • Web support
  • Ios support

Only in Vortexa

  • Cargo-level flow tracking
  • Multi-commodity coverage
  • Floating storage analytics
  • API, Excel and Python access
  • Anywhere Freight Pricing
  • Satellite and AIS fusion

What people use each for

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

VesselFinder

  • Tracking vessel positions and voyages from AIS datanot Vortexa
  • Pulling ship positions and particulars into a logistics or chartering system over an APInot Vortexa

Vortexa

  • A crude trading desk sizing a position on inferred cargo flows into a region before customs data confirms them weeks laternot VesselFinder
  • A shipowner assessing tonne-mile demand and ballast patterns to decide where to reposition vesselsnot VesselFinder
  • A refiner tracking competing product cargoes arriving into its market to anticipate margin pressurenot VesselFinder
  • A research team pulling flow data into Python models rather than reading a vendor dashboardnot VesselFinder

Where each one falls short

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

VesselFinder

  • API access is billed in credits, and a satellite AIS position costs 10 credits against 1 for a terrestrial position
  • Credits expire 12 months after purchase
  • Credit packs start at 330 EUR for 10,000 credits, excluding VAT
  • Tracking a vessel outside terrestrial AIS range multiplies the cost of every position tenfold, so open ocean coverage is the expensive case rather than the standard one

Vortexa

  • Cargo attribution is inference from AIS, imagery and pattern analysis, not measurement, so grade and volume figures carry an error band that matters if you size a position on them and the vendor cannot fully quantify it for every route.
  • What you buy is a feed rather than an application, so a firm without quantitative capability to consume it gets far less value than the subscription costs, and the terminal alone rarely justifies the price.
  • Pricing is by seat and by data scope with nothing published, so cost scales with how many analysts need access, which discourages exactly the broad internal distribution that would make the data useful.
  • It overlaps materially with other commodity flow subscriptions and price reporting services, and most desks that buy Vortexa are paying twice for a partly duplicated picture.
  • Coverage quality varies by trade and region; dark fleet activity, ship-to-ship transfers and sanctioned trades are the hardest cases and also the ones where accurate data is worth the most.

Pricing, plan by plan

VesselFinder

Free
  • Basic$4.99/month
    • Ad-free
    • Extended history
    • Fleet monitoring

Vortexa

On request
  • Vortexa$undefined/year
    • Subscription priced by seat and by data scope
    • API, Excel add-in and Python SDK access licensed separately from terminal seats
    • Commodity coverage selectable, crude, products, LPG, LNG

Which should you pick?

Choose VesselFinder if

  • You need real-time tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want vessel database.
VesselFinder review

Choose Vortexa if

  • You need cargo-level flow tracking.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, API.
  • You also want multi-commodity coverage.
Vortexa review

Questions people ask

Is VesselFinder or Vortexa better?
Neither clearly leads. VesselFinder starts at Free and Vortexa at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, VesselFinder or Vortexa?
VesselFinder has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for VesselFinder and On request for Vortexa.
Does VesselFinder or Vortexa run on more platforms?
VesselFinder runs on Web, Ios, Android. Vortexa runs on Web, Cloud, API.
Can I use VesselFinder for free?
Yes. VesselFinder has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Vortexa starts at On request.
What is VesselFinder best used for?
VesselFinder is most often used for tracking vessel positions and voyages from ais data, pulling ship positions and particulars into a logistics or chartering system over an api. Of those, tracking vessel positions and voyages from ais data and pulling ship positions and particulars into a logistics or chartering system over an api are not what Vortexa is typically brought in for.
What can VesselFinder do that Vortexa cannot?
VesselFinder covers Real-time tracking, Vessel database, Port information, Weather overlay. Vortexa covers Cargo-level flow tracking, Multi-commodity coverage, Floating storage analytics, API, Excel and Python access.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

VesselFinder: What are the main pricing tiers for VesselFinder?

VesselFinder offers four tiers: Free (no cost), Basic (4 dollars per month), Premium (34 dollars per month), and Satellite (139 dollars per month).

Source
Vortexa: Is Vortexa an application or a data feed?

Fundamentally a data feed. There is a web terminal, but the API, Excel add-in and Python SDK are how most subscribers actually use it.

VesselFinder: What does the Free plan include?

The Free plan provides terrestrial coverage, 1-day track history, a 10-ship fleet capacity, and 100 route planner uses.

Source
Vortexa: Are the cargo volumes measured or estimated?

Estimated. Vortexa infers cargo, grade and volume from AIS, satellite imagery and pattern analysis. Treat the numbers as estimates with an error band.

VesselFinder: What tracking capabilities come with the Satellite plan?

The Satellite plan includes both satellite and terrestrial coverage, 90-day track history, 2,000-ship fleet capacity, terminal and berth data, proximity event alerts, and ETA prediction.

Source
Vortexa: How is it priced?

By seat and by data scope, quoted annually. Redistribution and derived-data rights are negotiated separately and matter for internal use.

VesselFinder: Do subscriptions automatically renew?

No, subscriptions do not renew automatically. Users receive reminder notifications one week before expiration.

Source
Vortexa: Does it cover LNG and LPG as well as oil?

Yes, alongside crude and refined products, though commodity scope affects what you pay.

VesselFinder: Do the listed prices include VAT?

No, the prices displayed do not include VAT. Payment options include bank transfers and credit or debit cards processed online.

Source
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