Navionics and Garmin Navionics+ are essentially the same underlying product — Garmin purchased Navionics in 2017 and the subscription is now branded as Navionics+ under the Garmin umbrella. But chart tiers and what's included vary by subscription level. Here's the current state of chart subscriptions.
Navionics+ (Standard Annual Subscription)
Navionics+ gives you: access to all Navionics marine and freshwater charts (US coastal and inland), SonarChart Live (crowd-sourced depth data), Daily Updates (charts updated daily via the internet or SD card), and Dock-to-dock AutoRouting for coastal navigation. Available via a physical SD card or as a downloadable chart for compatible units. Works across brands — Garmin, Humminbird, Lowrance, Simrad, and others accept Navionics+ on a microSD card.
Annual Navionics+ chart subscription covering all US waters on a microSD card — freshwater and coastal, SonarChart Live, daily updates. Cross-brand compatible.
Garmin Navionics+ (in Garmin Units)
When accessing Navionics charts on a Garmin unit specifically, Garmin Navionics+ is the bundled option — same Navionics chart content but integrated into Garmin's chart management. On Garmin units, you can also use Garmin's own LakeVü g3 or BlueChart g3 charts as an alternative to Navionics content.
Key Differences: Navionics vs LakeMaster vs Garmin LakeVü
| Chart | Best Hardware | Freshwater Detail | Update Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navionics+ | Any brand | Good (crowd-sourced) | Annual subscription |
| Garmin LakeVü g3 | Garmin only | Excellent (1-ft contours) | One-time purchase |
| Humminbird LakeMaster | Humminbird only | Excellent | One-time purchase |
| C-MAP Discover | Any brand | Good-Excellent | One-time or subscription |