German boating licence apps compared
Seven learning apps for the German Sportbootführerschein and the radio certificates – with real prices, ratings and licence coverage. Including an honest note on where our own app is not the best choice.
Seven learning apps matter for the German boating licence: Bootspruefung.de covers the most licences at seven, the Wimmer apps for SBF See and Binnen are completely free, SBF Binnen by Ralf Goritz has the most carefully built learning mechanic, SBF-Fragen comes from publisher Delius Klasing, Sailbyte runs on a subscription, and Boatpass bundles five catalogues in one app without a subscription.
The apps compared
| App | Rating | Price | Licences | Offline | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boatpass our app Boatpass | 5.0 ★ 10 reviews 10+ | €0 / €7.99–16.98 one-off | SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), UBI, SRC, LRC | Yes | Android |
| Bootspruefung.de Bootspruefung.de | 4.9 ★ 8,880 reviews 100.000+ | Questions free, Pro paid | SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), Lake Constance licence, UBI, SRC, LRC, FKN (pyrotechnics) | Partly | Android · iOS |
| Sailbyte Sailbyte | n/a 3.000+ | €4.79 / month per app | SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), SKS a separate app per licence | Partly | Android |
| SBF Binnen Ralf Goritz | 4.8 ★ 567 reviews 10.000+ | Free version + full version via in-app purchase | SBF Binnen (inland) a separate app per licence | Yes | Android · iOS |
| SBF-Fragen Delius Klasing Verlag | 4.7 ★ 647 reviews | Limited free + in-app purchase per licence | SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), SKS, Lake Constance licence, UBI, SRC, LRC, FKN (pyrotechnics) | Yes | Android · iOS |
| Sportbootführerschein Binnen Matthias Wimmer | 4.9 ★ 772 reviews 100.000+ | Free | SBF Binnen (inland) a separate app per licence | Yes | Android |
| Sportbootführerschein See 2023 Matthias Wimmer | 4.8 ★ 703 reviews 100.000+ | Free | SBF See (coastal) a separate app per licence | Yes | Android |
All figures taken from the public Play Store listings and vendor websites, sorted alphabetically.
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ · 10 reviews · 10+
- Price
- €0 / €7.99–16.98 one-off
- Licences
- SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), UBI, SRC, LRC
- Offline
- Yes
- Platforms
- Android
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ · 8,880 reviews · 100.000+
- Price
- Questions free, Pro paid
- Licences
- SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), Lake Constance licence, UBI, SRC, LRC, FKN (pyrotechnics)
- Offline
- Partly
- Platforms
- Android · iOS
- Rating
- n/a · 3.000+
- Price
- €4.79 / month per app
- Licences
- SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), SKS · a separate app per licence
- Offline
- Partly
- Platforms
- Android
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ · 567 reviews · 10.000+
- Price
- Free version + full version via in-app purchase
- Licences
- SBF Binnen (inland) · a separate app per licence
- Offline
- Yes
- Platforms
- Android · iOS
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ · 647 reviews
- Price
- Limited free + in-app purchase per licence
- Licences
- SBF See (coastal), SBF Binnen (inland), SKS, Lake Constance licence, UBI, SRC, LRC, FKN (pyrotechnics)
- Offline
- Yes
- Platforms
- Android · iOS
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ · 772 reviews · 100.000+
- Price
- Free
- Licences
- SBF Binnen (inland) · a separate app per licence
- Offline
- Yes
- Platforms
- Android
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ · 703 reviews · 100.000+
- Price
- Free
- Licences
- SBF See (coastal) · a separate app per licence
- Offline
- Yes
- Platforms
- Android
Data as of 21 July 2026. Sources: Play Store listings and vendor websites.
The apps in detail
Boatpass
Covers five licences – SBF See, SBF Binnen, UBI, SRC and LRC – in a single app. Each catalogue unlocks via one-off purchase, no subscription. Includes exam simulation, mistake training and per-category progress. New to the market and accordingly few ratings.
Best suited for: Anyone taking several licences who does not want a subscription.
Bootspruefung.de
The market leader: on sale since 2013, over 900,000 customers by its own account, and the broadest licence coverage here. All official exam questions are free to use; theory texts, full offline use and PDF downloads sit behind Pro. Progress syncs with the website course.
Best suited for: Anyone wanting the widest licence coverage plus a companion online course.
Sailbyte
Three separate apps for SBF See, SBF Binnen and SKS with an adaptive study plan, flashcards and AI feedback. Premium is a monthly subscription – one per licence. SBF See and Binnen work offline, SKS needs a connection. Answer explanations are announced as coming.
Best suited for: Anyone taking exactly one licence who accepts a subscription.
SBF Binnen
The most carefully built learning mechanic in this field: classic Leitner boxes either automatic or manual, plus a dedicated mode for questions you are unsure about. Includes a textbook explaining every question, multiple-choice tips, all exam knots and a progress statistic. Runs entirely without an internet connection.
Best suited for: Anyone who wants to understand SBF Binnen rather than memorise it.
SBF-Fragen
From publisher Delius Klasing, with a spaced-repetition box, exam simulation on original papers, offline learning and cloud sync across devices. Neat touch: if you already hold a licence, you only get the questions you still need. The free version shows only a subset of the catalogue.
Best suited for: Anyone who already holds a licence and only needs the remaining questions.
Sportbootführerschein Binnen
Completely free, no ads, no user tracking, no extra permissions. The full official catalogue – base, inland and sailing supplement questions – on a spaced-repetition principle: every question must be answered correctly five times. No explanations, no frills.
Best suited for: Anyone who only needs SBF Binnen and wants to spend nothing.
Sportbootführerschein See 2023
The coastal counterpart to the same developer’s inland app: entirely free, ad-free, no in-app purchases. Contains the official SBF See question catalogue on the same repetition principle. It does not cover navigation tasks or chartwork.
Best suited for: Anyone who only needs SBF See and does not want to pay.
Boating licence apps for Android
Android has the widest choice – all seven apps compared here are on Google Play. If you only need one licence and do not want to pay, the two apps by Matthias Wimmer are the obvious pick: Sportbootführerschein Binnen (4.9 ★ from 772 ratings) and Sportbootführerschein See 2023 (4.8 ★ from 703 ratings), both entirely free, ad-free and without tracking.
If you need several licences it gets messy: with Wimmer and Sailbyte you install a separate app per licence, each with its own progress. Bootspruefung.de, SBF-Fragen and Boatpass keep everything in one install.
Check the catalogue version before you download. The official catalogues are updated periodically, and an app with outdated questions prepares you badly.
Boating licence apps for iPhone and iPad
On iOS the field is much narrower. Available are Bootspruefung.de and SBF-Fragen from publisher Delius Klasing – both with the same feature set as on Android.
The free Wimmer apps and Sailbyte are Android only. Boatpass is also Android only so far; we are working on the iOS version. If you use an iPhone and want to start today, the two apps above are the realistic options.
Note: the App Store also lists an unrelated app called “BoatPass” from a US boat rental service in Florida. That is not us.
What Boatpass does – and what it does not
Transparency note: Boatpass is our own app. That is precisely why we list the prices, features and ratings of the alternatives in full – including where they beat us. The figures come from the public Play Store listings and the vendors’ own websites.
Try Boatpass
Start for free, sample every catalogue, then unlock each licence with a single payment – no subscription.
▶ Boatpass on Google Play