What is Waterspeed?
Waterspeed is a GPS tracker for water sports: sailing, wing foil, windsurf, stand up paddle, kayak and more than 30 others, including kitesurf, rowing, canoe, eFoil, pumpfoil and power boat. You record a session on your phone or your watch, and it shows your speed, distance and track, plus the numbers each sport cares about, such as tacks and gybes, foiling time, strokes and VMG. It also adds safety and race tools (live location sharing and a start countdown) and a community of challenges and groups by spot.
The app comes from Waterspeed Technologies Limited, which its About page says was founded in 2017 and has its registered office in Dubai. It's the Official Technology Supplier of the NorthStar SailGP Team. It's updated often: version 8.30 reached the App Store on November 4, 2026, and the Google Play listing was last updated on October 30, 2026. The newest additions are automatic land detection, which lets you cut the parts of a session that weren't on the water, and wind alerts timed to when you want to head out.
How it works with Strava
Waterspeed sends your sessions to Strava; it doesn't read activities from Strava. In the app you open Profile, then Settings, sign in to Strava and choose automatic upload, and from then on each session is posted to your Strava feed. You can also send a single session by hand with Send to Strava on its page. Waterspeed's own guide says that if an automatic upload fails because the activity is large or your connection is unstable, you can use the Send to Strava button instead, or upload the GPX file on the Strava website.
The Strava upload, automatic or by hand, is listed as a Pro feature (Ultra includes everything in Pro). Waterspeed doesn't say which Strava permissions it asks for.
Key Features
Record on your phone or your watch
You don't need to take your phone on the water. Waterspeed has its own app for Apple Watch (with extra support for Apple Watch Ultra) and for Wear OS watches running Wear OS 3.0 or later, and a Connect IQ app for Garmin. You can also record with Garmin's own activity app using a water sport profile, or link a COROS or Suunto account, and new activities arrive in Waterspeed automatically. Sailors can bring in Vakaros Atlas data. Linking Garmin, Suunto or COROS is free.
Analysis for each sport
Waterspeed's plans table lists these for every plan: speed, distance and duration, your track on a map with session replay, heart rate from your watch, splits by kilometre, and stroke count for SUP, kayak and paddling (in beta). Pro adds best speeds over set times and distances, tacks and gybes analysis, foiling efficiency, and comparing or merging sessions. Ultra adds race-level sailing analysis: upwind and downwind legs, port and starboard runs, VMG, true wind angle, polar charts, and distance and angle gained or lost on each leg.
Safety and race starts
With Pro you can share your live position with friends, family or coaches while you're out, so they know where you are and when you're back. The race countdown sounds and vibrates on your wrist and phone; on Apple Watch Ultra, the Action Button starts it.
Wind, community and files
Pro adds wind and weather forecasts for your spots and alerts when the wind is right. Free features include monthly challenges, groups, spots, gear logging for boards, sails, wings and foils, and importing GPX and FIT files, including ones exported from Garmin Connect. Pro exports GPX, CSV and Excel, and sends sessions to GPS-Speedsurfing.
Who It's For
- Sailors and racers who want tacks, gybes, VMG and polar charts from each session
- Wing foilers, windsurfers and kitesurfers chasing best speeds and foiling time
- Paddlers on SUP, kayak or outrigger who want stroke counts alongside speed
- Anyone who wants water sessions on Strava next to their runs and rides, without a phone in a pouch
What it doesn't do
Waterspeed only sends to Strava. It won't import your past Strava activities on its own; its guide says to export the file from Strava and import it instead. The Strava upload needs a paid plan. On the free plan you get every number for your first 5 sessions, and after that unlimited recording with basic stats on each session, as the plans page describes it. The Strava connection is listed for iOS and Android; the web app is for viewing sessions and importing files.
Is Waterspeed free?
You can download it and record as much as you like for free, with full data on your first 5 sessions and basic stats after that. Pro and Ultra are subscriptions (the App Store lists monthly, quarterly and yearly options), and Waterspeed shows the price in your currency in the App Store, Google Play or the web app. You can start a trial from the app, and the store shows its length and price before you confirm.
What's the difference between Pro and Ultra?
Pro adds full data on every session, best speeds, foiling efficiency, tacks and gybes, the race countdown, live location sharing, forecasts and wind alerts, Strava and GPS-Speedsurfing uploads, merging and comparing sessions, and file export. Ultra includes all of Pro and adds the race analysis: legs and runs, upwind and downwind, port and starboard, polar charts, VMG and true wind angle.
Which watches does Waterspeed work with?
Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later) and Wear OS watches (Wear OS 3.0 or later) run the Waterspeed app itself. Garmin watches can run its Connect IQ app or record with Garmin's own water sport profiles and sync through Garmin Connect. COROS watches record with their usual sport profile, no extra app needed, and COROS and Suunto activities sync once you link the account. Vakaros Atlas sailing instruments can be imported too.
