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ActiveCaptain®

ActiveCaptain®

Garmin
Navigation
Rating
★ 3.964,976 ratings
Price
Free
Version
44.0
Size
195 MB
Age
4+
Released 2017-11-07First seen 2026-05-28App Store →

Screenshots

ActiveCaptain® screenshot 1ActiveCaptain® screenshot 2ActiveCaptain® screenshot 3ActiveCaptain® screenshot 4ActiveCaptain® screenshot 5ActiveCaptain® screenshot 6

Description

The free ActiveCaptain app creates a powerful connection between your compatible mobile device and Garmin chartplotter, charts, maps and the boating community. Whether you use your Garmin products for cruising, fishing, sailing or diving, this all-in-one app will help you enjoy your time on the water. Just pair the app with your compatible chartplotter to wirelessly transfer and access charts and maps, software updates, routes, waypoints and helpful feedback from the ActiveCaptain Community. And, with the purchase of the OnDeck™ hub(1), you can track and monitor your boat from virtually anywhere. Please note that this app is intended for Garmin chartplotter owners and is not recommended for use as a stand-alone navigational app. FEATURES AVAILABLE: - ONECHART™: > New Garmin Navionics+™ and premium Garmin Navionics Vision+™ cartography, featuring a Navionics® style appearance, advanced Auto Guidance+™ technology(2) and a one-year subscription to daily updates, is available now for North America and Europe, and coming soon to the rest of the world. Purchase our newest-generation charts or legacy BlueChart® g3 charts from your mobile device, and upload them to registered Garmin chartplotters on your vessel. You will get exceptional coverage, clarity and detail with charts that feature integrated Garmin and Navionics data and much more. Plus, the NOAA raster cartography(3) and premium features can be downloaded for free through the ActiveCaptain app. Visit Garmin.com/marinemaps. - PLAN A TRIP: Plan your trip, or e-scout a new fishing spot before you’re on the water. Then, transfer your data to your chartplotter where you can view your routes and waypoints. - USER DATA SYNC: Automatically back up and sync your data between your chartplotter and the ActiveCaptain app. - ACTIVECAPTAIN COMMUNITY: Join a community of boaters to get up-to-date feedback on marinas, boat ramps and other points of interest (POI). Check ratings, read reviews, and view pictures of POIs to make informed decisions on the water. Contribute your own POI, reviews and pictures from your compatible mobile device. - CONTROL YOUR CHARTPLOTTER: Using the built-in Helm™ feature, the ActiveCaptain app lets you view and control your compatible(4) chartplotter from your smartphone or tablet, even when someone else is at the helm(5). - EASY SOFTWARE UPDATES: Receive notifications about software updates from the app, and update your chartplotter wirelessly. - ONDECK HUB: Use the ActiveCaptain app to track, monitor and control any number of switches with the OnDeck system(1) from nearly anywhere. Door open? Bilge running? Peace of mind comes in the form of text alerts and updates. - GARMIN QUICKDRAWTM COMMUNITY: Download the latest 1’ HD contour maps shared by your fellow boaters, and sync with your chartplotter. You can also upload your own Quickdraw Contours map data. - SMART NOTIFICATIONS: Connect the app to your chartplotter, and turn on smart notifications(4) to see calls, text messages and more on the chartplotter display while your phone is somewhere safe and dry. FOOTNOTES 1)OnDeck hub sold separately and requires an active subscription plan 2)Auto Guidance+ is for planning purposes only and does not replace safe navigation operations 3)NOAA raster cartography cannot be viewed on echoMAP™ CHIRP and ECHOMAP™ Plus combos but can be viewed on mobile devices via the ActiveCaptain mobile app 4)Helm feature is not compatible with ECHOMAP series chartplotters 5)Check device compatibility on the ActiveCaptain app web page; visit https://www.garmin.com/c/marine/marine-apps/ End User License Agreement: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/legal/marine-mobile-eula/

What's New

v44.0 · 2026-06-25

Bug fixing and optimization

Details

Developer
Garmin
Main Category
Navigation
Version
44.0
Version Release
2026-06-25
Initial Release
2017-11-07
Size
195 MB
Age Rating
4+
Price
Free
Languages
BG, HR, CS, DA, NL, EN and 25 more
Bundle ID
com.garmin.MarineMobile
Version Rating
★ 3.96 (4,976)
First Seen
2026-05-28

Metadata updated 2026-07-19

Rank History

Free · Max 90 days · Top 5 categories shown (Y-axis: rank, lower is better)

Free Rankings

2026-07-19

Paid Rankings

2026-07-19

No rankings

Competitive Benchmark — Navigation Top 10

US · Free Rankings

What it takes to beat this app — comparison with the category's top apps. The orange row is the current app.

#AppPriceRatingRatingsLangsLast Update
1Google MapsFree★ 4.687,277,988422026-07-17
2Waze Navigation & Live TrafficFree★ 4.843,178,197472026-07-09
3ParkMobile: Park. Pay. Go.Free★ 4.761,333,259212026-07-13
4SpotHero: #1 Rated Parking AppFree★ 4.86400,33512026-07-13
5Transit • Subway & Bus TimesFree★ 4.63959,22792026-07-10
6MTA TrainTimeFree★ 4.88211,09862026-07-16
7Metropolis: Remarkable ParkingFree★ 4.8645,08112026-07-09
8onX Offroad: Trail Maps & GPSFree★ 4.418,99612026-07-15
9Shell: Fuel, Charge & MoreFree★ 4.7887,35922026-06-29
10earnifyFree★ 4.8669,24612026-06-29
84ActiveCaptain®Free★ 3.964,976312026-06-25

More by This Developer

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User Reviews

Latest 12
★★★★Garmin as always…🇺🇸 US

Works

RuMbLeOn...· 2026-06-27
★★★★★Garmin🇺🇸 US

The active captain app has been a game changer for me and where I fish, makes marking waypoints easy, and allows me to scout areas. Love it

Claltum· 2026-06-26
★★★★★Capt Jackl🇺🇸 US

Love my Garmin

Tansi fishing· 2026-06-24
★★★★★Great App🇺🇸 US

Love it

Sandpit 567· 2026-06-23
★★★★Sync with Garmin- disastrous, painful- do not use this app🇺🇸 US

Atrocious product- cannot sync, waste hours every season trying to resync the app with the garmin device. Embarrassingly poor tech- do NOT use

tahoekid66ca1· 2026-06-23
★★★★★Garmin🇺🇸 US

1785

Tira y saca· 2026-06-22
★★★★★Poor App given Garmin’s resources.🇺🇸 US

Could be so much better. Little changes or updates over the years. It’s a finicky, balky app that is minimalist in functionality. But it’s better than nothing. I just wish Garmin would put a little effort into it as well as their confusing plotter software and interface.

marko blanco· 2026-06-21
★★★★★Great app🇺🇸 US

This thing rocks so far. I’m the dummy in this equation while it is pretty simple plug and play this and the navionics has so many features it’ll take me awhile to learn it all. But first time using I was able to set a few waypoints and it took me there.

Macmpi· 2026-06-20
★★★★★ActiveCaptain🇺🇸 US

Interface has been great to start working with as we are getting the new big boat all setup for offshore action

Linc Darrow· 2026-06-18
★★★★ACapt🇺🇸 US

Pathetic

shitigiveup· 2026-06-18
★★★★★Captain Kyle🇺🇸 US

Great

Capt.Kyle· 2026-06-10
★★★★Won’t update GPSMAP software🇺🇸 US

There might be worse apps than this, but I don’t know which that would be. Error messages are useless. Customer technical support still can’t figure it out after 3 contacts over the past week.

Jcpny1· 2026-06-10

Reviews are collected only for apps with detected changes (new entries or sharp risers).