Comparison

NP Maps vs GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NP Maps

Access official National Park Service and USGS topographic maps for offline GPS navigation on iOS devices. Download maps for all US national parks, monuments, and preserves, along with extensive topographic coverage across the USA. Ideal for wilderness travel where internet service is unavailable.

Highlights
  • Download NPS and USGS maps
  • Offline GPS and location tracking
  • Geospatial integration with Apple Maps
  • Waypoint and route creation
  • GPX file import and export
  • High-resolution map rendering
  • GPS location and elevation display
Features
Read full description

Download official National Park Service maps and USGS topos on your IOS devices for GPS** and offline use! NP Maps app offers 150 NPS park, recreation area, monument and preserve maps for download and 60,000+ official U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps covering all of the USA and Island Territories.* Have maps anytime, anywhere, for your travels to all parks in the USA. Because many of these wilderness regions have no data service, download maps while online so you can enjoy using this app as it was intended: no internet connection. Logical and intuitive to use. Maps are geospatially integrated with Apple Maps for a familiar interface. An visual catalog of map footprints indexes an extensive library covering all the USA for you to select maps to install all with a simple touch along your planned route of travel. Purchase a subscription for unlimited map downloading. A subscription stops ads and doesn't auto-renew. The first few map download are complementary. Features: • Downloads from a library of over 67,000 maps from NPS, USGS, US Forest service. • Full rendering high resolution maps • Shows your current GPS location & elevation** • Powerful geocode search of worldwide geographic features (online) • Waypoints with AR finder • Route path creation • Track path GPS location recording** • Ruler with line + path measuring • Full app use while maps download • Footprint index with quadrangle names • Multi-datum coordinates • Automatic map download for location • Statute, Nautical, Feet, Meter and km • MGRS, UTM and geodetic Latitude and Longitude coordinates. • Import and GPX files (and KML place marks) • Integrated help manual • Email and SMS text waypoints, tracks and routes as GPX, with subscription purchase. Some park maps available for download, National Parks: Acadia Arches Badlands Big Bend Biscayne Black Canyon of the Gunnison Bryce Canyon Canyonlands Capitol Reef Carlsbad Caverns Channel Islands Crater Lake Cuyahoga Valley Death Valley Denali Everglades Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Glacier Grand Canyon Grand Teton Great Basin Great Sand Dunes Great Smoky Mountains Guadalupe Mountains Haleakala Hot Springs Isle Royale Joshua Tree Katmai Kenai Fjords Kobuk Valley Lassen Volcanic Mammoth Cave Mesa Verde Mount Rainier North Cascades Olympic Petrified Forest Pinnacles Point Reyes National Seashore Redwood Rocky Mountain Saguaro Sequoia and Kings Canyons Shenandoah Theodore Roosevelt Virgin Islands Voyageurs Wind Cave Yellowstone Yosemite Zion National Recreation Areas: Amistad Big South Fork Nat. River Boston Harbor Islands Chickasaw Golden Gate Lake Mead Lake Meredith Lake Roosevelt Santa Monica Mountains Whiskeytown Shasta-Trinity National Monuments: Aniakchak Bandelier Canyon De Chelly Capulin Volcano Craters of the Moon Dinosaur Devils Tower Fort Pulaski Grand Canyon - Parashant Lava Beds Mount Saint Helens Natural Bridges Organ Pipe Cactus National Preserves & Reserves: Big Cypress Big Thicket Catoctin Mountain Park City of Rocks Greenbelt Park Mojave National Historical Parks: Antietam Brown v. Board of Education Cumberland Gap Ebey's Landing Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania French Quarter Gettysburg Harpers Ferry Herbert Hoover Horseshoe Bend Kennesaw Mountain Kings Mnt Lowell Manassas Minute Man Monocacy Morristown Richmond San Antonio Missions Saratoga Valley Forge Vicksburg National Seashores, Lakeshores and Scenic Rivers: Apostle Islands Assateague Is. Canaveral Cape Hatteras Cumberland Is. Indiana Dunes Missouri New River Gorge Niobrara Ozark Padre Is. Sleeping Bear Dunes St. Croix Nat. Parkways & Trails: Blue Ridge Parkway George Wash. Mem. Parkway Potomac Heritage Nat. Scenic Tr. * Not preloaded with maps. WiFi recommended. Downloading queue does cap at around 25 maps. ** Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Location feature may not function on iPod and wifi-only iPad devices without GPS hardware.

About

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

Enhance your travels with location-based audio tours that provide hands-free guidance. Explore over 100 destinations, including national parks and scenic drives, with engaging stories about history, wildlife, and culture. All tours work offline with pre-downloaded maps, allowing you to explore at your own pace.

Highlights
  • Location-based auto-play audio
  • Offline functionality with GPS
  • Hands-free guidance
  • Pre-downloaded maps
  • Background music support
  • Map previews and sample audio
Currently charting
Read full description

Upgrade your road trip adventures with our location-based audio tours. It’s just like having a tour guide in your car™. Still Your Favorite Audio Tour Guides! HOW IT WORKS Explore over 100+ destinations, including national parks, scenic drives, Hawaii, and hidden gems, with a self-guided GPS audio tour. The app automatically plays engaging stories about history, wildlife, culture, hikes, and more as you move along, providing hands-free guidance. Whether you're on a road trip or exploring a city on foot, all tours work offline with pre-downloaded maps - no cell service or Wi-Fi required. Enjoy the freedom to explore at your own pace, with walking tours and scenic drives at your fingertips. KEY FEATURES - Auto-play audio based on your location and direction during road trips, walking tours, & national park visits - Works offline with GPS, no cellular service, Wi-Fi signal or data required while touring - Play your own music in background - Easy map previews and sample audio before you start your journey ‣ Trip Planning - Suggested Itineraries - Highlights - Essentials TOURS ‣ USA 17-Mile Drive Acadia National Park & Bar Harbor Arizona's Route 66 Arches and Canyonlands Beartooth Highway Big Bend National Park Big Sky Drive Big Sur Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Black Hills, Custer, Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park Blue Ridge Parkway Creole Nature Trail Cuyahoga Valley Capitol Reef Catskills Scenic Byway Colorado National Monument Crater Lake National Park Death Valley Delicate Arch Everglades National Park Freedom Trail Gettysburg Battlefield Glacier National Park Grand Canyon South Rim Grand Prismatic Great Smoky Mountains National Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park Joshua Tree National Park Kancamagus Scenic Byway Keweenaw - Copper Country Kings Canyon National Park Lake Tahoe Lake Superior North Shore Lassen Volcanic National Park Las Vegas - Grand Canyon West, Hoover Dam & Red Rock Canyon Mesa Verde Mount Lemmon Mount Hood Mount Rainier Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park Million Dollar Highway Miami, Key West & The Florida Keys Michigan Lakeshore M22 & Sleeping Bear Dunes Natchez Trace Parkway New River Gorge National Park North Cascades National Park Old Faithful Olympic National Park Oregon Coast Outer Banks Palm Springs Petrified Forest National Park Pikes Peak Highway Point Reyes National Seashore Redwood National and State Parks Rocky Mountain National Park Savannah to Charleston Saguaro National Park San Juan Salem Witch Trials Santa Fe Sedona Sequoia & Kings Canyon Shenandoah National Park Sonoma and Napa Valley St. Louis Theodore Roosevelt National Park Vermont Scenic Byway 100 West Thumb Geyser Washington D.C. White Sands National Park Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Yosemite National Park Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks ‣ HAWAII Road to Hana Maui including Road to Hana (8 Routes) Oahu Bundle Kauai Bundle Big Island Bundle Haleakalā National Park Waikiki Downtown Honolulu ‣ ALASKA Seward Highway Sterling Highway Parks Highway Skagway ‣ CANADA Canadian Rockies Banff, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake & Yoho National Park Icefields Parkway Jasper National Park Drumheller Waterton National Park and Alberta Southwest Vancouver Whistler Niagara Falls Canadian Side ‣ ICELAND Golden Circle Snæfellsnes Peninsula Reykjanes Peninsula (Blue Lagoon) Reykjavik ‣ MEXICO Chichen Itza Tulum Puerto Vallarta ‣ AUSTRALIA Great Ocean Road PRICING Each tour is a one time purchase. No time limits. Use as many times as you like. No monthly subscription. Enjoy lifetime access to your tours. REVIEWS “PERFECT! We would have missed or skipped SO much! DON’T HESITATE and make the purchase ASAP!!” “This app was amazing for us. We saw so much more than we would have without it” NOTES Using location service GPS increases battery usage - we highly recommend taking DC car charger versus simply plugging into the vehicle’s USB port.

Screenshots

NP Maps4 screens
GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: NP Maps at none against GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours's shown. GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours's advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 196) and review sentiment (96% vs 75%). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. NP Maps sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours has 16K ratings behind it against 196, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of NP Maps's written reviews are positive against 96% of GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NP Maps ships an update every 3 months, GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
NP Maps versus GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNP MapsGuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (196 ratings)4.9 (16K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews96.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19616K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#86 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB195 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperDelcartes LLCGyPSy Guide LLC

Customer experience

NP Maps

All ratings196 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

All ratings16,318 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,416 reviews
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.4%

Bugs and requests

NP Maps

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes during updates
  • Inconsistent GPS tracking and commentary triggers

Requested features

3 requests
  • More destination coverage, especially in Europe
  • Improved map functionality with labeled landmarks
  • Option to skip or repeat commentary

In-app purchases

3 purchases

NP Maps

One-time3
  • 90 Day$1.99
  • 1 Year$5.99
  • Lifetime$23.99
10 purchases

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

One-time10
  • Calgary to BanffFree
  • Big Island - Hawaii$14.99
  • Kauai - Hawaii$14.99
Show 7 more
  • Road to Hana - Maui$14.99
  • Zion & Bryce Canyon$17.99
  • Maui - including Road to Hana$19.99
  • Yellowstone National Park$19.99
  • Going-to-the-Sun Road$19.99
  • Yellowstone and Grand Teton$24.99
  • Black Hills Rushmore Badlands$29.99

Questions

Is NP Maps free?
NP Maps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours free?
GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NP Maps or GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours?
GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours is rated higher. NP Maps averages 4.6 out of 5 from 196 ratings, while GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours averages 4.9 from 16K ratings.
Do NP Maps or GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours have ads?
GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours shows ads; NP Maps does not.
Which is updated more often, NP Maps or GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours?
NP Maps ships an update every 3 months, and GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours monthly. Most recently, NP Maps was updated on November 1, 2026 and GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours on November 8, 2026.

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