Tool Comparison
MarineTraffic vs Social Blade
- Paid from
- On request
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, Mobile, API
Best if
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want data visualizations, shipping & trade, and alerts.
- Paid from
- $5/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web, API
Best if
- You want app & website traffic.
Start here
MarineTraffic
Free • Contact for pricing · Web · Mobile · API
- You do a lot of your research from your phone
- You want data visualizations, shipping & trade, and alerts.
Pick Social Blade instead if
Social Blade
Free • From $59.99/yr · Web · API
- You want app & website traffic.
Skip both if: Neither one clicks with how you research; there are strong third options.
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Our take
The bottom line
MarineTraffic includes data visualizations and shipping & trade, and Social Blade includes app & website traffic. On paper they're closely matched, so let pricing, platform fit, and the details below break the tie.
What readers say
MarineTraffic
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Social Blade
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Key differences at a glance
- Mobile app
- MarineTraffic
- Free trial
- MarineTraffic7 days
- Free plan
- Both
What MarineTraffic does best
- Tracking vessels on a live AIS map with filters for ship type, capacity, status, destination, and custom smart filters.
- Create notifications for port calls, area entries, speed or course changes, drifting, ETA updates, draught updates, proximity events, and AIS coverage changes.
- Email, mobile push, and notification archives to monitor maritime events are available without constantly watching the map.
- Review Past Track playback, with history depth varying by plan from limited free access to deeper Enterprise history.
- Route-forecast tools for path previews, ETA detail, and speed detail where the plan supports them.
What Social Blade does best
- Track public creator statistics across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections where supported.
- Platform rankings, top lists, SB Rank or grade, live subscriber or follower counts, and plan-based list lengths.
- Save favorite profiles and remove ads on paid plans.
- Review table history by plan.
- Download YouTube report cards as PDFs and export Custom Reports to Excel.
Side by side
Pricing comparison
See for yourself
Side by side
Price, platforms, data, and market coverage.ShowHide
Side by side
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & plans | ||
Starting price | Free • Contact for pricing | Free • From $59.99/yr |
Free tier | Yes | Yes |
Free trial | 7 days | — |
Plan limits | 5 limits: Basic: csv exports per month: 5, Essential: csv exports per month: 300 +3 more | 21 limits: Free (Logged In): favorites per platform: 5, Free (Logged In): top list length: 100 +19 more |
| Platforms & access | ||
Web app | Yes | Yes |
Mobile app | Yes | No |
API access | Yes | Yes |
Broker sync | No | No |
Integrations | — | Chrome Extension |
| Audience & fit | ||
Experience level | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced | Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced |
Best for | — | — |
Categories covered | 4 | 2 |
Regions | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa | North America, Europe, APAC, LatAm, Middle East, Africa |
| Data & capabilities | ||
Data quality | Latency: Streaming | Latency: Real-time and End of Day and Granularity: EOD |
| Try it | Visit MarineTraffic | Visit Social Blade |
Standout features
The best features of MarineTraffic and Social Blade.ShowHide
Standout features
What MarineTraffic does best
- Tracking vessels on a live AIS map with filters for ship type, capacity, status, destination, and custom smart filters.
- Create notifications for port calls, area entries, speed or course changes, drifting, ETA updates, draught updates, proximity events, and AIS coverage changes.
- Email, mobile push, and notification archives to monitor maritime events are available without constantly watching the map.
- Review Past Track playback, with history depth varying by plan from limited free access to deeper Enterprise history.
- Route-forecast tools for path previews, ETA detail, and speed detail where the plan supports them.
What Social Blade does best
- Track public creator statistics across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and Facebook, including estimated earnings and growth projections where supported.
- Platform rankings, top lists, SB Rank or grade, live subscriber or follower counts, and plan-based list lengths.
- Save favorite profiles and remove ads on paid plans.
- Review table history by plan.
- Download YouTube report cards as PDFs and export Custom Reports to Excel.
All details
Every attribute we track for MarineTraffic and Social Blade.ShowHide
All details
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Coverage & fit | ||
Asset types | Other | Other |
Experience | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced | BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced |
Regions | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica | North AmericaEuropeAPACLatAmMiddle EastAfrica |
| Data | ||
Data freshness | Streaming | Real-timeEnd of Day |
Data granularity | Not specified | EOD |
| Access & integrations | ||
API protocols | REST | REST |
API auth & delivery | Auth: APIKey | Auth: APIKey |
Import methods | CSVManual | Not specified |
Integrations | Not specified | Chrome Extension |
Export formats | CSV | ExcelPDFJSON |
| Plans & trust | ||
Vendor & support | Kpler (MarineTraffic)Support: Email | Social Blade, LLCCountry: United StatesFounded 2008Support: Email |
Curation ratings | Methodology 3/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 | Methodology 3/5Reliability 4/5UX 4/5 |
Green tags are exclusive to that tool in this comparison.
Pricing
Plans, billing, free trials, and monthly prices.ShowHide
Pricing
| Tier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free | Free“Free (Logged In)”favorites per platform: 5 · top list length: 100 |
| Entry paid plan | Subscription“Basic”csv exports per month: 5 | $59.99/yr≈ $5/mo“Bronze”favorites per platform: 15 · top list length: 250 · +2 more |
| Tier 2 | Subscription“Essential”csv exports per month: 300 · past track days: 7 | $149.99/yr≈ $12.50/mo“Silver”favorites per platform: 25 · top list length: 500 · +3 more |
| Tier 3 | — | $599.99/yr≈ $50/mo“Gold”favorites per platform: 100 · top list length: 1,000 · +3 more |
| Top plan | — | $1439.99/yr≈ $120/mo“Platinum”favorites per platform: 500 · top list length: 5,000 · +3 more |
| Custom / enterprise | Contact sales“Enterprise”csv exports per month: 10,000 · past track years: 5 | — |
| Free trial | 7 days | — |
Questions we keep getting
What's the difference between MarineTraffic and Social Blade?
MarineTraffic leans toward data visualizations, APIs & data feeds, and shipping & trade, while Social Blade puts more weight on app & website traffic and APIs & data feeds. They overlap in 1 categories, so for most people it comes down to workflow preference and price.
How much do MarineTraffic and Social Blade cost?
Good news: both MarineTraffic and Social Blade have free plans, so you can run them side by side and only pay if you hit a wall.
Can I use MarineTraffic or Social Blade on my phone?
MarineTraffic lists a dedicated mobile app, so it travels better. Social Blade doesn't list a dedicated mobile app; its documented access is web and API.
Do MarineTraffic and Social Blade have APIs?
Yes, both offer API access, so developers and quants can pull data programmatically or wire up their own integrations.
Should I choose MarineTraffic or Social Blade?
It depends on what you're after. Pick MarineTraffic if data visualizations and shipping & trade matter to you; go with Social Blade if you'd rather have app & website traffic. And if you only need the basics both share, let price decide.
Do MarineTraffic and Social Blade offer real-time data?
Yes, both serve real-time market data, so either works when timing matters.
Can I export data from MarineTraffic and Social Blade?
Yes, both export to spreadsheets (MarineTraffic: CSV; Social Blade: Excel), which is handy if you like running your own numbers.
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This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).
Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.