Tide apps all draw from the same well: official prediction stations run by national agencies such as NOAA. What you are choosing between is how that data is presented, whether it works offline, and whether it connects to the rest of your trip planning. Here are the best tide apps in 2026 and an honest note on what is worth paying for.
- Tide predictions come from official stations; apps differ in presentation, not the underlying data.
- Tides Near Me is the simple free pick; AyeTides is the deep paid option with offline coverage.
- Chart apps like Navionics and Aqua Map include tide and current stations on the chart.
- US boaters can always read NOAA predictions directly for free.
- The skill is reading tides against your draft and timing, not finding the numbers.
#Tides Near Me (free)
Tides Near Me does one thing cleanly: shows the nearest stations and their next highs and lows. It is free, fast, and enough for most day boating. What it does not do is deep planning: no long-range graphing to speak of, and no connection to your route.
#AyeTides (paid, iOS)
AyeTides is the enthusiast tool: thousands of stations worldwide, full offline operation, and detailed graphs years into the future. Cruisers who plan around tide gates pay for it happily. If you need tides without signal, this is the one that keeps working.
#Tide data inside chart apps
Navionics and Aqua Map show tide and current stations directly on the chart, which is where the information is most useful: next to the shallow bar you are worrying about. If you already pay for a chart app, check what it includes before buying a separate tide app.
#NOAA directly (free, US)
Every US tide app ultimately reads NOAA's prediction stations, and NOAA publishes them free on the web. Bookmarking your home station costs nothing and is the fastest sanity check there is. The Marine OS route planner reads the same NOAA stations to show tides at your route's start and can flag the state of tide for your departure time.
The question is never "what is the tide" but "what is the tide when I get there with my draft." A bar that carries 2 meters at low water is a non-event for a dinghy and a hard gate for a 1.8 meter keel. Check the tide at your arrival time at the shallow spots, which is why tide data belongs inside your route plan.
Marine OS is marina management software, and the Marine OS route planner includes NOAA tide predictions for US waters alongside route weather and the departure scanner, so the tide question is answered inside the plan rather than in a separate app.
See tides where they matter: on your route
Plan the trip, set a departure, and check weather and tides along the way in one place.
#Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Pick one tide source, learn your home station, and check arrival-time tides at the shallow spots. More of the stack: best boating apps and how to plan a boat route.
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