Now Altimeter vs Altimeter Elevation Watch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Now Altimeter
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Your outdoor altitude computer. Offline, no ads, no tracking. Now Altimeter shows your altitude large and instantly — and does more: record tours, read air pressure and weather trend, calibrate your altitude to within a few metres. On your iPhone and on your wrist. This app collects no data about you. No account, no sign-up, no advertising. TRY PRO FREE FOR 7 DAYS For seven days after installing, every Pro feature is unlocked — no purchase, no payment details, no account. After that the free features remain. FREE FEATURES • Live GPS altitude in meters or feet • Coordinates in DMS, Decimal Degrees or UTM format • 6 stunning background photos — mountain, waterfall, forest & more • Home screen widget (small, medium & large) • Record your first 3 tours — with map, elevation profile, distance, elevation gain and GPX export • Accuracy readout: you can see how reliable the altitude currently is NOW ALTIMETER PRO Take your outdoor adventures further with Pro: Barometer & Weather Trend Live air pressure in hPa with a 1-hour history chart. Know whether the weather is improving or deteriorating before you feel it. Trend indicators and a detail view with min/max/delta statistics. Altitude Calibration Tap the altitude and enter a value you know — a summit marker, a trail sign, your own address — or the QNH from a weather report. The app then works barometrically and shows altitude to within a few metres instead of the 10 to 30 of plain GPS. Climb and Descent Rate Vertical speed in m/min or ft/min, right next to the air pressure. The number ski touring, mountaineering and paragliding actually think in. Compass Real-time heading display with a rotating arrow. Always know which direction you're facing. Unlimited Tour Recording Beyond the 3 free tours: record as many hikes, ski runs and bike rides as you like, with full GPS tracking: • Interactive route map showing your recorded path • Altitude profile chart • Distance, moving time and average pace for every tour • Statistics across all your tours, with personal bests and a yearly breakdown • Share a tour as an image — elevation profile and numbers on one card • Time, elevation gain and distance on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Search tours and sort by date, elevation gain, distance or duration • Import GPX and view someone else's tour • Pause automatically when nothing moves (optional) • Ascent, descent, peak altitude & duration at a glance • GPX export — compatible with Strava, Komoot & Garmin Connect • Rename, manage and delete saved tours Summit Photo Attach a photo from the top to your tour – elevation gain, distance and time go right onto it. Three designs: Logbook, Profile, Stamp. Share it as an image, without the location in the photo data. Apple Watch App The full Pro experience on your wrist: • Live altitude, barometer and compass • Start/stop tour recording directly from your Watch • Matching background image synced automatically from your iPhone • Watch face complications (circular & rectangular) Pro Widgets Barometer reading and compass heading right on your home screen — in small, medium and large sizes. DESIGN EDITOR Create your own signature look with custom colors and personal background photos. Save and switch between multiple designs whenever you like. SUBSCRIPTION INFO Now Altimeter Pro is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewable subscription. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.now-altimeter.com/en/datenschutz
Altimeter Elevation Watch
Track your elevation and altitude gain in real-time with this app. Designed for outdoor enthusiasts, it provides a precise altimeter directly on your Apple Watch face or iPhone home screen widget, allowing you to focus on your activity.
- Real-time altitude and elevation gain
- Apple Watch complication
- iPhone home screen widget
- Live Activity on iPhone
- Graphical daily profile
- Monthly and yearly analysis
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Check your current altitude and see how much you have climbed. Altimeter shows your altitude, daily peak and elevation gain on hikes, bike rides and mountain drives. Use it on iPhone and Apple Watch, or view your altitude in CarPlay. ALTITUDE IN YOUR CAR The native CarPlay app has its own view for altitude, climb or descent per minute, grade, direction, peak and gain. It is an altitude display, not a navigation app. Set it up before driving. ALTITUDE WITHOUT SWITCHING APPS Start a Live Activity on iPhone to see altitude, peak and gain on the Lock Screen. Compatible iPhones also show these values in the Dynamic Island. Live Activity and the native CarPlay app are separate features. Widgets and Watch complications show your latest available altitude data. LOOK BACK AT YOUR ROUTE Record a track and open it on the map later. The line is colored by elevation; the color scale shows lower and higher sections. Daily history shows your altitude profile, peak and ascent. Monthly and yearly views help you compare your altitude history. FIT IT TO YOUR DAY • Display altitude in meters or feet • Check altitude on Apple Watch • Use Siri or Shortcuts to start a Live Activity or ask for your altitude • Optionally use existing Flights Climbed data from Apple Health in your analysis BEFORE YOU START Readings depend on GPS reception, sensors and location permissions. Background features require appropriate permissions. iOS and watchOS limit widget and complication refreshes; these are not continuously live displays. The app does not replace professional measurement equipment, navigation or safety equipment. ACCESS New users can try the app for two days. Continued access then requires a monthly subscription, annual subscription or one-time lifetime purchase. Existing purchases can be restored in the app. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Altimeter Elevation Watch at every 10 days against Now Altimeter's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Now Altimeter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Altimeter Elevation Watch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Now Altimeter ships an update monthly, Altimeter Elevation Watch every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Now Altimeter | Altimeter Elevation Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.4 (71 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 32.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 71 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gerhard Kanzler | Bernhard Hering |
Bugs and requests
Now Altimeter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Altimeter Elevation Watch
Reported bugs
29 issues- CarPlay screen is black
- Elevation incorrect (50K feet off)
- Cannot get past 'Location Access for Altimeter' page
- App display language is a mix of German and English
- App takes over iPhone operation, requires deletion
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- Watch complications do not update automatically
- Watch complications crash
- Watch complications only display meters regardless of setting
- App does not download to watch
- Altitude does not change
- App does not work
- Not compatible with watch series 3 cellular
- Watch app does not work
- Cannot get it to read in feet on iPhone or Apple Watch
- Wrong altitude displayed
- Accuracy issues (changes while stationary)
- Settings reset, must be set again
- Watch app crashes
- Complication does not update
- Complication shows "Altimeter" instead of altitude
- Watch app crashes on opening
- App does not work on Series 3 watch
- App does not work on Series 4 watch
- Complication limited to 999 meters
- Units not changeable to feet on watch
- Complication does not work with certain watch faces
- Complication does not update as advertised
- Units change to meters when phone is not present
- App does not work while flying
Requested features
10 requests- French translation for options
- Basic widget for CarPlay
- Watch complication with large number for elevation
- Ability to set watch complications to feet
- Larger complication size for watch face
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- Elevation gain/loss on watch complication
- Use watch's barometer
- Graph of elevation changes on iPhone
- Option to select complication size
- Direction of travel indicator
In-app purchases
Now Altimeter
- Now Altimeter Pro – Monthly$2.991 Month
- Now Altimeter Pro – Yearly$19.991 Year
- Custom Design Editor$2.99
Altimeter Elevation Watch
- Support Development$12.991 Year
- Lifetime$34.99
Questions
Is Now Altimeter free?
Is Altimeter Elevation Watch free?
Do Now Altimeter or Altimeter Elevation Watch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Now Altimeter or Altimeter Elevation Watch?
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