RANKED GUIDE
Six AIS trackers compared on what actually differs between them — coverage model, history, price, and context. MarineTraffic remains the best-known dedicated platform; WorldEye is our pick when you want vessels inside a wider live picture. Here's how to choose.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Almost every tracker is built on AIS — the Automatic Identification System vessels broadcast their identity, position, course and speed on. What differs: receiver coverage (terrestrial networks see coastal traffic; open-ocean coverage needs satellite AIS), history and fleet tools, price — free tiers are limited versions of paid AIS services — and context: what else shares the screen with the ships.
Rank accordingly: pick the tracker whose differences match your reason for tracking. The list below is organized by genuine best-fit, not by who has the largest marketing fleet.
Ship tracking as one layer of a live world picture: WorldEye's Pro maritime intel feed places vessels alongside the free globe's flights, satellites, weather, earthquakes, wildfires and 74,229 public cameras. Stated plainly — maritime is a Pro feature on WorldEye, not part of the free map. The pick when a ship's context matters as much as its position.
Compare WorldEye vs WorldEyeThe default name in vessel tracking: a large AIS network, vessel photos and details, port calls and fleet tools. The free tier shows the live map with limits; serious features — history, fleets, alerts — are paid plans aimed at enthusiasts and professionals alike.
Compare MarineTraffic vs WorldEyeA well-established AIS tracker with live vessel positions, ship details, port information and voyage history, offered in free and paid tiers. The closest like-for-like alternative to MarineTraffic, with a similar free-map, paid-depth model.
Compare VesselFinder vs WorldEyeA professional-leaning AIS platform with vessel tracking, fleet management and maritime data services. Strongest for business and logistics users who need data and tooling beyond watching ships move on a map.
Compare FleetMon vs WorldEyeA free AIS-based tracker showing live vessel positions, ship details and port activity. A capable no-cost way to follow ships casually, with the coverage and freshness limits typical of free AIS tiers.
Compare MyShipTracking vs WorldEyeA long-running ship tracking app for following vessels from your phone, with live AIS positions and ship details. Worth a look if your tracking is mostly mobile; its strongest features sit in paid tiers.
Compare ShipFinder vs WorldEyeWorldEye Pro's maritime intel sits on the same globe as live weather, ports on camera, flights and satellites. See the vessel and the world around it.
The short version: most commercial vessels continuously broadcast AIS messages — identity, position, course, speed and destination — originally for collision avoidance and safety. Networks of shore receivers pick up those broadcasts near coasts, and satellite AIS extends coverage across open oceans. Tracking services combine those feeds and plot the ships on maps.
That architecture explains the pricing shape of the whole category: coastal live positions are comparatively cheap to offer, while satellite coverage, long histories and fleet-grade data cost real money to collect — which is why free tiers are limited versions of paid services. Our AIS explainer goes deeper if you're curious.
Watching ships in a wider live picture
WorldEye Pro — maritime intel on a globe with weather systems, port-area cameras, flights and satellites in the same frame. Best when context is the point.
Following one vessel or a fleet
MarineTraffic or VesselFinder — vessel pages, port calls, history and fleet tools are their home turf, in paid tiers.
Casual free ship-spotting
MyShipTracking or the free tiers of the big platforms — live coastal positions at no cost, with the usual freshness limits.
Professional maritime data
FleetMon or the business tiers of the major AIS platforms — data services and fleet management beyond a public map.
On dedicated AIS platforms, the live coastal picture is typically free with limits, and you pay for everything around it: satellite AIS for open-ocean positions, voyage history, fleet lists, alerts, expected arrivals and data exports. None of that is necessary to enjoy watching ships; all of it matters once tracking becomes a job or a serious hobby.
WorldEye is priced differently, so here is the honest version: the free map — globe, flights, satellites, weather, earthquakes, wildfires and 74,229 cameras, no signup — does not include ship tracking. Maritime intel is part of Pro (weekly $7.99, monthly $13.99, annual $74.99), alongside the OSINT toolkit, cyber/GDELT intel, satellite imagery view, advanced search filters and the AI analyst. If ships are all you want, a dedicated AIS free tier may serve you first; if ships plus the whole live planet is the point, Pro is the bundle built for it.
Plainly: if your work is maritime — fleet operations, logistics, port research, deep vessel history — a dedicated platform like MarineTraffic or FleetMon goes deeper on vessels than a general live globe does. That depth is their entire product. WorldEye's strength is the opposite direction: breadth, with ships read alongside the weather, air traffic and events that affect them.
MyShipTracking and the free tiers of MarineTraffic and VesselFinder all show live coastal AIS positions at no cost, with limits on freshness, history and features. For casual ship-spotting, any of them works — try the map you enjoy using.
No — maritime vessel tracking is a WorldEye Pro feature, and we say so rather than burying it. The free map covers the globe, flights, satellites, weather, earthquakes, wildfires and 74,229 cameras with no signup; Pro adds maritime intel with the rest of the intelligence toolkit.
Because free tiers usually rely on terrestrial AIS receivers, which only hear vessels near coasts. Open-ocean positions come from satellite AIS, which costs providers money — so continuous mid-ocean tracking is normally a paid feature everywhere.
Maritime intel on a live 3D globe — start with the free map, unlock Pro for the ships.
Prefer the dedicated tracker page? Open the ship tracker
Ship tracker
Vessels on a live globe with maritime intel — the page this guide is about.
What is AIS?
The broadcast system behind every ship tracker, explained.
Features
Everything the globe can do — free layers and Pro intelligence tools.
Pricing
Weekly $7.99, monthly $13.99, annual $74.99 — maritime intel is in Pro.