The popular fishing apps charge for the good part
Forecasts, depth maps, AI and other anglers’ catch locations sit behind a subscription almost everywhere. In Cobia, all twenty one features are free today. Here is the side by side, with prices checked October 17, 2026.
Android coming soon
What the paid tier costs you each year
The top yearly price each app lists for its paid tier in the US App Store or on its own pricing page.
The four things people ask about most
Price, an AI you can talk to, depth maps, and whether somebody can pay to see your spots.
| App | Price | AI guide | Depth maps | Exact catch pins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobia | Free. Every feature | Free, unlimited | Free | Only what the angler shared. Nothing for sale |
| Fishbrain | Free tier with ads. Pro is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year | No chat assistant found. AI powers Pro forecasts and spot prediction | Pro only, Navionics depth maps | Pro members see exact pins for public catches |
| FishAngler | Free tier with ads. VIP is $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year | FINN AI is VIP, 500 credits a month | VIP only, Navionics and 3D maps | VIP members see exact GPS of shared catches |
| Fishidy | Free tier. Premium is $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year | Not offered | Premium only | Not listed |
| Fishing Points | Free tier with ads. Premium is $49.99 a year | Not offered | Premium. Nautical charts and lake depth in six states | Your logbook is private |
| onWater | Free tier. Paid plans from $49.99 to $89.99 a year | Angler Intelligence Chat is onWater+ | Pro only, Garmin depth maps | Not listed |
| onX FishMidwest freshwater only. No Florida and no saltwater. | No free plan after a seven day trial. $34.99 a year | Not offered | Included, 13 Midwest states only | No catch log or feed |
| Navionics BoatingA navigation chart app, which Cobia is not. Navigate by official charts. | Charts need a subscription. $49.99 a year, US and Canada | Not offered | Subscription, navigation charts | No catch log or feed |
Pick the app you use now
Cobia vs Fishbrain
The biggest fishing social network, with its forecasts, depth maps, lure picks and exact catch locations sold as Pro.
See the comparisonCobia vs FishAngler
A free tier with ads, and its FINN AI, bite windows, depth maps and other anglers’ exact catch GPS on VIP.
See the comparisonCobia vs Fishidy
A spot and map app whose depth contours, structure layers, hot spots and forecasts are Premium.
See the comparisonCobia vs Fishing Points
A private logbook and forecast app that shows today free and everything further out on Premium.
See the comparisonCobia vs onWater
A freshwater and river app whose Angler Intelligence Chat and photo ID are on onWater+, and depth maps on Pro.
See the comparisonHow to judge any fishing app
Eight questions to ask before you install anything, including this one.
Read the checklistMore of the app, for less than nothing
Nothing to subscribe to
All twenty one features are free today. No trial timer, no credit card, no feature that used to be free and now is not.
A forecast map, free
Strike Zones shades the water in four tiers, fair, good, great and hot, by running live conditions, depth, habitat and real catch history through a model. Free today, and the one layer we may price later, so you would hear it here first.
An AI guide you can actually talk to
Ask it anything. It reads your tide station, the wind, the water temperature, your catch history and your tackle box before it answers, with no credits and no cap.
The data others charge for
Depth contours from NOAA BlueTopo, FWC seagrass and oyster layers, named NOAA tide stations and water temperature from more than 6,400 stations, all free.
Your pin is not the product
No paid tier shows anyone more of your catch than a free account sees. Share an exact pin, a general area, or just the water, catch by catch.
Leaderboards that mean something
Only catches shot live in the Cobia Camera rank. A three year old photo from another state cannot take your crown.
A game, not just a log
Crowns at every named water, a top ten for each of 605 species, weekly boards, and Slams you build for your own crew.
It knows what is in your box
Snap a tackle shop receipt and every lure is added. Recommendations come from what you own, not from what somebody is selling.
Choosing a fishing app
We built Cobia to be the answer, so weigh this accordingly. It is the one app here with no paid tier at all today: a scored daily briefing, an AI fishing guide with no message limit, depth contours, habitat layers, NOAA tides and solunar windows, verified catches and a full game layer, all free. Every other popular fishing app we compared keeps its forecasts, depth maps or AI behind a subscription.
Yes. Cobia covers what Fishbrain sells as Pro, best times to fish, a seven day outlook, depth maps and lure recommendations, for free, and adds an AI guide you can talk to. Fishbrain Pro is $79.99 a year.
Among the apps we compared, onWater has an Angler Intelligence Chat on onWater+, and FishAngler has FINN on VIP with 500 credits a month. Cobia’s AI fishing guide is free with no message limit, and it reads live conditions and your own tackle box before it answers.
Cobia, today. Strike Zones shades the water in four tiers, fair, good, great and hot, from live conditions, depth, habitat and the catches logged there, and it is free for everyone right now. It is the one layer we may price later, and we would say so on the pricing page first. Fishbrain’s spot prediction on the map is part of Fishbrain Pro.
Cobia. Its depth bands and contour lines come from NOAA BlueTopo and CRM soundings and are free. Fishbrain, FishAngler, Fishidy and Fishing Points all put depth maps in their paid tier, and Navionics charts need a subscription.
It depends on the app and on what you share. On Fishbrain and FishAngler, paying members can see the exact location of catches other anglers shared publicly. In Cobia there is no paid tier that sees more than a free account, every catch can be shared as exact, general area or water body only, and the hidden point cannot be reversed into the real spot.
Only if the app checks where a photo came from. In Cobia, only catches shot live in the in app camera, with the place, time and conditions bound in, can rank. Photos imported from the camera roll still fill your log and your Fishdex™ but never climb a board.
Every competitor fact on these pages was checked against that app’s own pricing page, US App Store listing or help center on October 17, 2026, and each comparison page lists its sources. App names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the apps compared. Cobia is not affiliated with any of them.
Free means free
Download Cobia, set your home water, and keep the subscription money for tackle.
Android coming soon
iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Setup takes about a minute.