InspectX is report writing software for marine surveyors. It runs on a Windows touchscreen tablet, and you build the report on board by tapping through categories, headings and item choices, with quick-insert phrases and AI that turns shorthand notes into sentences. It's a free download, and you pay $42 for each report you publish.
If you're searching for InspectX, you probably survey yachts and want the report done faster. This guide covers what InspectX does and costs, and where Axsail does the same job differently: you talk through the boat on your phone and the findings write themselves.
What InspectX does
InspectX launched in 2016 and is built specifically for marine survey reports. From its own website and FAQ:
- Platform: Windows 10 or Windows 11, preferably a touchscreen device. Computers with arm64 processors aren't supported.
- How you enter a survey: categories, topics, headings and item choices you tap, plus custom quick-insert options for your standard wording.
- AI: generates full sentences in standard report structure from shorthand notes.
- Publishing: an internet connection is needed when you publish and email the final report.
- Price: free to download with every feature. You pay per published report.
InspectX pricing in 2026
| InspectX | |
|---|---|
| Download | Free |
| Price per published report | $42 (from 1 June 2026; $39 before) |
| Subscription | None |
| Preview before paying | Yes, watermarked |
InspectX announced the change from $39 to $42 as its first price rise since launch. Many surveyors pass the fee on to the client as a line on the invoice.
How Axsail works
Axsail is built around the way surveyors already work on board: looking at the boat and saying what they find.
- Start a survey on your phone (iPhone or Android) and put it in your pocket or hold it.
- Talk through the boat in your own order. "Engine room. Raw water seacock on the port engine is seized, replace before the vessel goes back in the water." Take photos as you go.
- Findings appear as you speak, each with its system, component, location, reading, recommendation and a suggested A, B or C grade.
- Axsail asks for what's missing while you're still there: a battery voltage you didn't say, or which hose you meant.
- Review and finalise in a browser. Confirm or edit each finding, and the draft report is ready, with your logo, particulars, photos and signature.
Axsail and InspectX compared
| InspectX | Axsail | |
|---|---|---|
| Device on board | Windows touchscreen tablet | Your phone: iPhone or Android, hands free |
| How findings are entered | Tap headings and item choices, type or quick-insert text | Say it; Axsail writes the finding |
| Questions about missing readings during the survey | Not among its listed features | Asked on the phone while you're on board |
| Photos | Added to the report | Placed on the finding they show, from what you said |
| Particulars | Entered | Picked up from dictation: HIN, year, length, engines, client |
| Sea trial readings | Entered | Dictated, printed as a table per engine |
| Reviewing the report | On the Windows device | In a browser on any computer, Mac included |
| Price per report | $42 | 1 credit (€9.97 to €14.75) for insurance, condition and valuation or damage up to 40 ft; 2 credits for pre-purchase |
Your hands stay free
A tablet needs a hand and a dry place to put it down. In a bilge, an engine room or up the mast, that's often neither. With Axsail the phone records in your pocket, and photos are the only time you need to take it out.
The finding is written for you
Most of the time spent on a report goes into turning observations into findings: what it is, where it is, what you measured, what should be done and how urgent it is. Axsail does that part from what you said. Usually you correct a word or two and confirm.
Gaps are caught before you leave
The hard part of a report is often the reading you forgot to take. Axsail checks each finding for what the checklist item needs, such as a voltage, hours or a service date, and asks on your phone while you're still standing at it.
Photos land on the right finding
Take a photo while you talk about the stern gland, and it goes on the stern gland finding. You can move it if you meant something else. No sorting a few hundred photos at the desk.
What a report costs on Axsail
Credits are bought for a year: Starter is €590 for 40 credits, Professional €1,490 for 120, Practice €2,990 for 300. Finalising a report uses credits by survey type and boat length, the way you price your own work:
| Survey, boat up to 40 ft | Credits | Cost on Axsail |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance | 1 | €9.97 to €14.75 |
| Condition and valuation | 1 | €9.97 to €14.75 |
| Damage | 1 | €9.97 to €14.75 |
| Pre-purchase | 2 | €19.94 to €29.50 |
Recording, drafts, edits and amendments use no credits. See pricing for the full table.
Trying Axsail next to InspectX
You don't need to switch everything at once. Take your next survey, record it on Axsail as you go, and compare the draft with the report you'd normally write. New accounts get 4 free credits for 6 months, no card needed, so the first reports are free.
To see the full flow first, read how it works or what it does for surveyors. Our guide to the marine survey report covers the sections a report needs, whichever tool writes it.
Start free and run your next survey with your phone in your pocket.