Comparison

Explore Black Hills vs Explore Montana

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

Head to head
About

Explore Black Hills

Discover dining, shopping, and activities in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This location-driven guide helps you find attractions, deals, and local information based on your current position. Explore historical sites and outdoor adventures with trusted local insights.

Highlights
  • Location-driven recommendations
  • Dining and shopping guides
  • Special deals and offers
  • Information on attractions
  • Local event listings
  • Historical site details
Features
Read full description

Your insider’s guide to exploring the beautiful Black Hills of Western South Dakota. Our FREE location-driven app helps visitors and locals alike, explore all the Black Hills has to offer for dining, shopping, playing, staying, special deals and more. Surrounded by the incredible natural beauty of the Black Hills National Forest, and steeped in history, you can walk in the footsteps of the likes of Wild Bill Hickok, Gen. George A. Custer and Sitting Bull. Our welcoming towns of Spearfish, Lead, Deadwood, Belle Fourche and Sturgis are all located just northwest of the major hub of Rapid City. Mt. Rushmore, Devil’s Tower National Monument, Badlands National Park and Spearfish Canyon scenic byway are just a few of the world-class attractions in our area along with outdoor mountain adventures and plenty of indoor fun as well. Hiking, biking, world-class rock climbing, caving, fishing, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, driving tours, casino gaming, pro rodeo action, museums, historic opera houses and so much more are just waiting for you to explore. Based on your location, each page in our app contains search buttons to help you find what you’re looking for by town. We’ll help you locate where to eat, where to stay, special deals and what’s happening while you’re here. Compiled by the folks at the locally owned Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, you know you can trust the info we provide. After all, we’ve been pioneering news and information in the territory since 1876.

About

Explore Montana

Discover over 150 under-appreciated heritage sites across Montana. This app helps users explore nearby cultural locations, plan road trips, and follow guided tours, bringing rural and hidden history to life.

Highlights
  • Discover 150+ heritage sites
  • Explore nearby locations on map
  • Plan road trip stops
  • Follow organized tours
  • Learn about rural history
Features
Read full description

Specially designed by Preserve Montana to promote cultural sites across the state, the Explore Montana mobile app brings users closer to rural and hidden history than ever before. Featuring more than 150 of Montana’s most under-appreciated heritage sites, this app has something for everyone from longtime residents to casual day-trippers. Users can explore the sites nearest to them using the map function, plan out summer road-trip stops, or follow organized tours. To learn more about this virtual guide, visit https://preservemontana.org/explore-montana/. You should not use this app while operating a moving vehicle or heavy equipment as it may impact attentiveness.

Screenshots

Explore Black Hills3 screens
Explore Montana4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Explore Montana at 5.0 against Explore Black Hills's 2.3. Explore Black Hills's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.4). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Explore Montana holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explore Black Hills ships an update every 6 months, Explore Montana every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Explore Black Hills versus Explore Montana: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplore Black HillsExplore Montana
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (6 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSeaton Publishing Company IncMontana Preservation Alliance

Customer experience

Explore Black Hills

All ratings6 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Explore Montana

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Explore Black Hills

No in-app purchases

None

Explore Montana

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explore Black Hills free?
Explore Black Hills is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Explore Montana free?
Explore Montana is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Explore Black Hills or Explore Montana?
Explore Montana is rated higher. Explore Black Hills averages 2.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Explore Montana averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Explore Black Hills or Explore Montana have ads?
Neither Explore Black Hills nor Explore Montana shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explore Black Hills or Explore Montana?
Explore Black Hills ships an update every 6 months, and Explore Montana every 12 months. Most recently, Explore Black Hills was updated on June 11, 2026 and Explore Montana on September 17, 2026.

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