VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Tool Comparison

MarineTraffic vs Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

MarineTraffic adds Data Visualizations, Shipping & Trade, and Alerts coverage that Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) skips.

Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) includes APIs & SDKs, Citations & Source Pinning, and Other categories that MarineTraffic omits.

In depth comparison

MarineTraffic

marinetraffic.com

Global AIS vessel tracking platform with map views, alerts, voyage history, and data exports. Many features are plan-gated: CSV export quotas, Past Track history, detailed Route Forecasts, and the number of Custom Areas you can define. API access is available with an API key, and mobile apps provide push notifications.

Platforms

WebMobileAPI

Pricing

FreeSubscription

Quick highlights

Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters.
Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive.
CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000).
Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).
Route Forecast tools: Basic shows path previews; Essential and Enterprise unlock ETA and speed details.

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Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)

web.archive.org

General‑purpose web archiving used widely in financial research to cite and compare historical webpages (IR pages, fund fact sheets, product sites). Save Page Now (SPN2) enables on‑demand snapshots with options like outlink capture and full‑page screenshots. Availability and CDX APIs expose snapshot discovery; Memento provides time‑based negotiation. Rate limits/quotas apply to SPN2; crawling and replay behavior may vary by target site robots/policies. Some large platforms (e.g., Reddit) restrict Wayback access to content.

Platforms

WebAPIMobile

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within).
Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation.
Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2.
Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup.
Quotas/limits (SPN2): per‑minute, per‑day, per‑URL, resource size and screenshot size limits; concurrency dampening by host; max outlinks/embeds returned.

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Where they differ

MarineTraffic

Distinct strengths include:

Data Visualizations Shipping & Trade Alerts

Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters.
Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive.
CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000).
Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows).

Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)

Distinct strengths include:

APIs & SDKs Citations & Source Pinning Other

On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within).
Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation.
Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2.
Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	MarineTraffic	Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Data APIs Unique: Data Visualizations, Shipping & Trade, Alerts	Shared: Data APIs Unique: APIs & SDKs, Citations & Source Pinning, Other
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Other
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, Mobile, API	Web, API, Mobile
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free, Subscription	Free
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters. Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive. CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000). Past Track playback varies by plan: Free (1 day), Essential (7 days), Enterprise (up to 5 years, in 7-day playback windows). Route Forecast tools: Basic shows path previews; Essential and Enterprise unlock ETA and speed details. Custom Areas can be created or imported (KMZ/KML/GEOJSON/WKT), with plan limits from 1 area (Essential) up to 2,000 (Enterprise).	Unique On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within). Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation. Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2. Mobile & extensions: official iOS/Android apps and browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) for quick saving and lookup. Quotas/limits (SPN2): per‑minute, per‑day, per‑URL, resource size and screenshot size limits; concurrency dampening by host; max outlinks/embeds returned. Timestamps and replay: captures are timestamped (UTC) and replayed with toolbar metadata; screenshot capture available as a separate archived asset.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do MarineTraffic and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) both support?

Both platforms cover Data APIs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do MarineTraffic and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) require subscriptions?

Both MarineTraffic and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access MarineTraffic and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)?

Both MarineTraffic and Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

MarineTraffic differentiates itself with Live Map with advanced filters, including ship type, capacity, status, and custom smart filters., Notifications for port calls, area entries, vessel movements (speed, course changes, drifting), AIS data updates (ETA, destination, draught), proximity events (STS, tug, pilot, bunkering), and AIS-coverage changes, delivered via email, mobile push, or archive., and CSV exports from vessel and port databases, with monthly quotas depending on plan: Basic (5), Essential (300), Enterprise (10,000)., whereas Wayback Machine (Internet Archive) stands out for On‑demand archiving via Save Page Now (SPN2) with POST/GET; options include capture_outlinks, capture_all, capture_screenshot, custom UA/cookies, and conditional capture (if_not_archived_within)., Snapshot discovery: Availability API (/wayback/v1/available) returns the closest archived capture to a URL/time; CDX Server API lists/filters captures; Memento TimeGate/TimeMap endpoints enable time‑based content negotiation., and Operational endpoints: user status (remaining/active SPN sessions) and system status (overload/OK) for SPN2..

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