Genesis Live vs AutoChart Live: Recording Your Own Contours

Genesis Live (Humminbird) and AutoChart Live (Humminbird/Minn Kota) are Humminbird's two approaches to recording your own depth contour data while you fish — turning your fish finder into a mapping tool that creates custom lake maps as you drive. Here's how they differ and when to use each.

AutoChart Live

AutoChart Live is Humminbird's standard DIY contour recording system. It requires a Humminbird unit (HELIX, SOLIX, or Apex) with an active mapping subscription or a compatible map card, and it records depth data from your sonar while you're moving. The recorded data appears as depth contour lines on your chartplotter in real time — as you drive, the lake map fills in behind you.

The recorded data is stored locally on your Humminbird unit or on an inserted SD card. It's private, non-shared, and stays on your device. You can build highly accurate maps of private ponds, back-country lakes, or overlooked river sections that commercial mapping services don't cover in detail.

Genesis Live

Genesis Live is Humminbird's cloud-connected mapping approach. Rather than storing map data locally, Genesis Live uploads your recorded sonar tracks to Humminbird's online platform, where they're processed and merged with data from other Genesis users to produce community-verified, higher-accuracy maps. The resulting maps are available for download to other Genesis users — your data contributes to the shared map, and you receive others' data in return.

Genesis Live requires: a compatible Humminbird unit (HELIX 10 or larger, or SOLIX/Apex), a Genesis Live subscription, and internet access to upload tracks. The resulting community maps often have far more coverage than any individual's recorded tracks would produce.

Key Differences