Phalasarna vs Polis Inventory
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Phalasarna
Explore the ancient city of Phalasarna with this augmented reality app. Compare current ruins with 3D reconstructions and learn about its history, from its fortified harbor to its pirate port days. Test your knowledge with a built-in quiz.
- Augmented reality 3D reconstructions
- Location-based exploration
- Historical narrative
- Built-in knowledge quiz
- Snapshot photo feature
- MapView for navigation
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Ancient Phalasarna is located on the west coast of Crete. The Phalasarna situated simulation tells the dramatic story of this fascinating city based on the archaeological findings and written sources. If you are traveling in this area you should download the app and visit Ancient Phalasarna (50 km west of Chania). Move around on the archaeological site with your iPhone or iPad and explore the current ruins and remains and compare with their realtime 3D reconstructions. You will experience Ancient Phalasarna as it may have looked in 330 BC when the fortified harbour was built with Persian funding to prevent Alexander the Great’s empire from further expansion. You can also witness the Roman attack on Phalasarna in 69 BC when Phalasarna had become a port for pirates. In the app you can use Snapshot to take parallel photos of both the real and the virtual environment and then share online. You can also test your knowledge about the site with the built–in quiz, as well as consult the MapView for easy navigation. NB! The Phalasarna app is location–based and works only when you are physically at Ancient Phalasarna. Download the app for free before you leave home or at your local hotel, to avoid roaming charges and limited cellular bandwidth.
Polis Inventory
Explore ancient Greek settlements from the Archaic and Classical periods. This interactive map visualizes and filters historical data based on physical and historical parameters, offering a digital companion to a seminal scholarly work.
- Interactive map of ancient Greek poleis
- Search and filter by physical/historical parameters
- Data based on scholarly inventory
- View parameter definitions in-app
- Export data in GeoJSON format
- No user data tracking
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Polis-Inventory maps the ancient Greek settlements from the Archaic and Classical periods (c. 650–325 BCE) as identified in the pioneering work published by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis by M. H. Hansen and T. Nielsen (Oxford, 2005; here referred to as the “HN Inventory”). The digital dataset in Polis-Inventory, based on the HN Inventory, comes primarily from the website polis.stanford.edu, managed by Stanford University’s Department of Classics. The dataset reflects ongoing digitization and enhancement of the original print work by the Stanford team and subsequent classical scholars. We continue to advance the data, improving locations and correcting errors as they are encountered. Polis-Inventory is an informative, interactive companion to the HN Inventory, allowing visualization, search, and filtering of the poleis using a set of physical and historical parameters. Parameter definitions are available in context as you browse. Further detail and attribution can be found at odysseymaps.io, polis.stanford.edu, and in the HN Inventory itself. If you would like a copy of the data in this app, you can copy it to your clipboard in GeoJSON format from the About page. Privacy: No user data is tracked or stored by Polis-Inventory. Support: An optional Tip Jar is available to support ongoing development (tips are voluntary and don’t unlock features). Independence: Polis-Inventory is an independent companion and is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Stanford University or Oxford University Press.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Polis Inventory at 4.9 against Phalasarna's 4.0. Polis Inventory also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 14 months). Phalasarna's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.1 vs 16.6). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Polis Inventory sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Phalasarna asks for nothing beyond the download.
Polis Inventory holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Phalasarna's written reviews are positive against 100% of Polis Inventory's.
Phalasarna ships an update every 14 months, Polis Inventory every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Phalasarna | Polis Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 9.1 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 356 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CodeGrind AB | Jess Taylor |
Customer experience
Phalasarna
Polis Inventory
In-app purchases
Phalasarna
No in-app purchases
Polis Inventory
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
Questions
Is Phalasarna free?
Is Polis Inventory free?
Which has better reviews, Phalasarna or Polis Inventory?
Do Phalasarna or Polis Inventory have ads?
Which is updated more often, Phalasarna or Polis Inventory?
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