SHIP TRACKING HEAD-TO-HEAD
MarineTraffic vs VesselFinder (2026)
MarineTraffic and VesselFinder answer the same question — where is that ship? — at very different prices. MarineTraffic is the industry's default: the biggest receiver network reputation, 4,000+ ports with live ETAs, deep history and a compliance business built on top. VesselFinder is the challenger that publishes simple dollar pricing and undercuts it at every tier, including satellite coverage of the open ocean. If you track ships for work or for love, this is the comparison that decides your subscription.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Sources listed at the bottom of this page
Key differences at a glance
- Port schedules and live ETAsMarineTraffic: YesVesselFinder: PartialMarineTraffic covers 4,000+ ports with arrival/departure schedules; VesselFinder offers port data without the same schedule depth
- Notifications and alertsMarineTraffic: YesVesselFinder: PartialMarineTraffic includes notifications on paid plans (100/month on Basic); VesselFinder's fleet monitoring sits on paid plans
What is MarineTraffic?
MarineTraffic (founded 2007) is the default ship-tracking platform: real-time vessel positions from thousands of shore AIS receivers, live ETAs and arrival/departure schedules for 4,000+ ports, vessel particulars and photos, port-call logs and animated voyage playback. The free tier opens the map but reserves menus and features for registered users; paid plans scale from a 10-vessel Basic list up to Enterprise fleets of 2,000 vessels with five years of history. Its parent company also sells risk, compliance and port-intelligence products built on the same data.
What is VesselFinder?
VesselFinder tracks ships worldwide through 7,000+ terrestrial AIS data sources, with satellite AIS layered on top for open-ocean coverage (it says 90% of satellite positions arrive within an hour). The site pairs positions with vessel photos, port data, weather overlays and a distance tool. Its plans are published in plain dollars and undercut the market leader at every tier, and its subscriptions do not renew automatically. API access and historical data are sold separately.
MarineTraffic vs VesselFinder: feature comparison
Verified against official sources. “Not verified” means we couldn’t confirm it — not that it doesn’t exist.
FEATURE TALLY — FROM THE TABLE BELOW
MarineTraffic
7 yes · 2 partial · 0 no
VesselFinder
5 yes · 4 partial · 0 no
A count of the rows in the verified table beneath — not a quality rating. The rows themselves, and what each product does best, matter more than the totals.
| Feature | MarineTraffic | VesselFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Live AIS ship mapThe core of both products | Yes | Yes |
| Satellite AIS (open-ocean positions)MarineTraffic: from Essential, one vessel at a time. VesselFinder: Satellite plan, unlimited ships; positions typically under 1-hour latency | Yes | Yes |
| Port schedules and live ETAsMarineTraffic covers 4,000+ ports with arrival/departure schedules; VesselFinder offers port data without the same schedule depth | Yes | Partial |
| Historical track history and playbackMarineTraffic playback reaches 5 years on Enterprise; VesselFinder history is 1–90 days by plan | Yes | Yes |
| Fleet listsMarineTraffic: 10 vessels (Basic) to 2,000 (Enterprise). VesselFinder: 10 (free) to 2,000 (Satellite) | Yes | Yes |
| Vessel photos and particularsBoth pair positions with photos and vessel data | Yes | Yes |
| Notifications and alertsMarineTraffic includes notifications on paid plans (100/month on Basic); VesselFinder's fleet monitoring sits on paid plans | Yes | Partial |
| Free tier without payingMarineTraffic's free tier requires registration for features; VesselFinder's is functional with ads and limits | Partial | Partial |
| API and data feedsMarineTraffic offers a commercial API on paid plans; VesselFinder sells API and historical data separately from subscriptions | Partial | Partial |
Pricing: MarineTraffic vs VesselFinder
MarineTraffic pricing
Free tier with registration required for features. Web plans are licensed per user: Basic £10/user/month (10 vessels, 100 notifications/month), Essential £100/user/month (adds 7-day track history and satellite positions for one vessel at a time), and Enterprise on request (2,000 vessels, 5-year history, unlimited notifications). A cheaper Mobile Pro plan is sold inside its apps.
VesselFinder pricing
Free tier (10 ships, 1-day history). Basic $4/month or $12/year (20 ships, 3-day history); Premium $34/month or $179/year (500 ships, 7-day history); Satellite $139/month or $1,399/year (2,000 ships, 90-day history, satellite AIS). Prices checked against VesselFinder's subscription page in October 2026, excluding VAT; subscriptions do not renew automatically, and API access and historical data are sold separately.
Where MarineTraffic is stronger
MarineTraffic is the maritime-intelligence leader: 4,000+ port schedules with live ETAs, animated historical playback (up to five years of history on Enterprise), port-call logs, vessel ownership and dimensions, 48-hour wind forecasts, fleet management, a voyage planner and a mature commercial API. For compliance analysts, sanctions researchers, port professionals and fleet operators, its institutional depth is in a different league.
Where VesselFinder is stronger
VesselFinder's edge is honest, budget maritime tracking: affordable satellite AIS covering the open oceans where terrestrial receivers can't reach, a practical single-ship satellite pass for occasional needs, vessel photos and particulars, and plans that undercut the big rival at every level — Basic is $12 for a whole year. For port agents, cargo superintendents and individual surveyors who need affordable fleet watching, it is the value play in ship tracking.
The verdict
Choose MarineTraffic if…
Choose MarineTraffic if ships are your job — port operations, fleet management, journalism or compliance — and you need schedules, ETAs, playback and years of history more than you need a low price.
Choose VesselFinder if…
Choose VesselFinder if you track a fleet or a few favourite ships on a budget, want satellite ocean coverage without enterprise pricing, and prefer subscriptions that never renew behind your back.
Is MarineTraffic better than VesselFinder?
MarineTraffic is better for professional depth — port schedules, ETAs, playback, history and compliance-grade data. VesselFinder is better value for straightforward tracking — cheaper plans, cheaper satellite coverage, no automatic renewal. Casual viewers checking one ship are served by either free tier; the paid decision is really about whether you need MarineTraffic's port and history machinery.
ANOTHER OPTION
Where WorldEye fits
For casual watching, WorldEye shows live ships free on a 3D globe — no registration at all — in the same view as live flights, satellites, weather, earthquakes, wildfires and 74,229 public cameras. It has neither MarineTraffic's port machinery nor VesselFinder's satellite plans; it's the free, everything-at-once picture. An optional Pro tier ($7.99/week, $13.99/month or $74.99/year) adds the OSINT toolkit and maritime intel feeds.
Full WorldEye head-to-heads: WorldEye vs MarineTraffic · WorldEye vs VesselFinder
MarineTraffic vs VesselFinder: quick answers
Which has better coverage, MarineTraffic or VesselFinder?
On land, both are strong — they aggregate thousands of terrestrial AIS receivers. Offshore, coverage depends on satellite AIS: MarineTraffic includes it from its Essential plan (one vessel at a time), while VesselFinder's Satellite plan covers an unlimited fleet. In dense coastal waters the two are broadly comparable.
How much does MarineTraffic cost?
MarineTraffic's Basic plan is £10 per user per month (10 vessels, 100 notifications/month); Essential is £100 per user per month and adds 7-day history plus satellite positions for one vessel at a time; Enterprise is quoted and reaches 2,000 vessels with 5-year history.
How much does VesselFinder cost?
Free (10 ships, 1-day history), Basic $4/month or $12/year (20 ships, 3-day history), Premium $34/month or $179/year (500 ships, 7-day history) and Satellite $139/month or $1,399/year (2,000 ships, 90-day history, satellite AIS). Prices were checked against VesselFinder's subscription page in October 2026, exclude VAT, and subscriptions do not renew automatically.
Which is better for free ship tracking?
MarineTraffic's free tier lets you view the live map, but menus and features require registration. VesselFinder's free tier is functional without paying, with ad interruptions and small limits (10 ships, 1-day history).
Is there a free ship tracker with no registration?
WorldEye shows live ship positions free on its 3D globe — no registration — together with flights, satellites, weather and 74,229 cameras. For port schedules, playback and history, MarineTraffic and VesselFinder remain the specialists.
How we researched this comparison
Every row in the table above was checked against MarineTraffic’s and VesselFinder’s official sites, documentation or published pricing — the sources are listed at the bottom of this page, and the comparison was last reviewed in October 2026. Where a capability couldn’t be confirmed from an official source, it is marked “Not verified” rather than guessed.
This page is published by WorldEye, so the head-to-head above is kept deliberately neutral: each product’s strengths are stated in its own terms, and WorldEye appears only in the labelled “another option” section. WorldEye’s own figures there are counted, not estimated — 74,229 public cameras in its live directory across 105 countries, and a free map (flights, satellites, ships, weather, earthquakes, wildfires, cameras and satellite imagery) with an optional Pro tier at $7.99/week, $13.99/month or $74.99/year.
Products change. If you spot a row that has gone stale, the sources below show exactly what each claim rests on.