Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. vs AR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.
This navigation app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for land, air, and marine use. It includes a detailed map, compass, GPS coordinates, altitude, distance, speed tracking, and route planning. Advanced features like offline maps, GPS track recording, and sensor integration are available through an upgrade.
- GPS coordinates in 6 formats
- Advanced waypoint editor
- Speedometer with speed tracking
- Offline map downloads
- GPS track recording and sharing
- Magnetic declination calculation
- Sunset and sunrise times
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Compass 55 is an offline-capable GPS map and navigation toolkit for hiking, off-road travel, fieldwork, aviation, and marine use—with a compass, waypoints, routes, coordinate tools, and video recording. + Advanced target/waypoint editor. Can be also used as a coordinates converter. You can use map to check or set waypoint location and add photo or audio note. + Share your location via email, text message, Facebook or Twitter. This includes UTM, MGRS and Latitude/Longitude (MENU>Share my location). + You can use UTM, MGRS or Lat/Long, just pick your preference in settings (Coordinate Format). + Speedometer. Shows you the speed and pace. Speedometer also gives you options to control average and max speed and pace counters (MENU > RESET and PAUSE/RESUME counters). + Compass. Instant reaction compass, no delays. Automatically pickups the direction based on magnetic or GPS course. If you mostly walk or drive, you can change this automatic mode in app settings > Compass or GPS course. NATO mils? Same place in settings to set. + Magnetic declination δ for the current location and any location on the map (via World Magnetic Model, WMM, no need for data/internet). + Sunset and sunrise. So you can plan your travel better. + Arrow pointing to your target waypoint. Distance and bearing to it. + Create/measure routes and areas. + Barometric Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI, IVSI) in both scale and graph forms. + Integration of bluetooth sensors: Cycling cadence, Heart rate, Cycling speed. + Video recording for action and fieldwork. Add real-time G-Cross, map, QR code, and pitch & roll overlays as needed, then replay your recordings. The basic version stores one video and exports a branded 15-second clip. All above belong to a basic version. PRO Pack upgrade will add following capabilities: + Recording and sharing GPS tracks. + Moving waypoints between folders. + Showing ETA to a target as this requires GPS tracking. + Native Google map with fantastic terrain map, amazing 3D and real night mode. + Adding own/custom tile map servers. + Downloading offline maps. Offline maps import in .sqlitedb, rmaps, mbtiles formats. Support for overzoom and underzoom - offline map is shown even for zoom levels that are not downloaded. + GPX import and export for waypoints, tracks and routes. + Google Earth KML support for waypoints and tracks import/export. KMZ support for waypoints and tracks export, waypoints import. + Ground overlays. Import KMZ ground overlay or draw your own on the map in the app and share as kmz files! + CSV import/export for waypoints. + Voice coach to tell you active track distance and duration, current speed and altitude without need to open the app. + Support for Siri shortcuts in IOS 12 for starting and stopping GPS tracks. + From version 4.2 - support for OSGB (including grid shifts) and SK 42 in the coordinates converter. + Unlimited saved videos and full-length exports of stamped or original video. + BACKGROUND MODE. App will work in background automatically when tracking. You can use other apps while Compass 55 does its job in the background! + PRIVACY. Compass 55 never shares your location data with 3rd parties or ad agencies. Location data is used solely for telling you direction to a target and recording GPS tracks and never leave the app unless you decide to share by means of a track export. It always lets you know when background mode is on and never runs in background unless the track is being recorded. ! You can use this app on your iPhone as well as on any cellular iPad. **App will not work properly on iPods and wifi only iPads as they don't have GPS (external GPS module is required). As quite a lot of us are using external GPS modules, app is available for wifi only iPads and iPods. ! Please note that as with all GPS apps, continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
AR
Navigate to destinations using augmented reality. This app overlays walking paths and directional arrows onto your device's camera view, guiding you to your chosen location. Simply select a point on the map or enter an address to begin.
- Augmented reality path visualization
- MapKit, CoreLocation, and ARKit integration
- Walking route guidance
- Destination search by map selection or address input
- AR view for real-time navigation
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This app joins the power of the device's location and its Augmented Reality capabilities to provide you with the best AR-Maps experience. The app uses MapKit, CoreLocation and ARKit to place a path and arrows guiding the user to the desired destination. All the user needs to do is press on a location on the map or type an address within a 10 mile radius from the users location, then the shortest walking path to the location will be displayed, press on the button label AR on the right bottom corner of the map and it'll take you to the AR View, the path will then automatically be render for you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. at 4.7 against AR's 3.7. Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). AR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. AR asks for nothing beyond the download.
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.'s written reviews are positive against 80% of AR's.
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. ships an update monthly, AR every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.7% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kalimex-Consulting s.r.o. @Blocoware & Stanislav Dvoychenko | Johan Gonzalez |
Customer experience
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.
AR
Bugs and requests
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.
Reported bugs
3 issues- Issues with GPX file import and tracking
- Occasional crashes or freezes
- Inaccurate GPS positioning in some cases
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to download and cache more map types
- Option to show map grid coordinates
- Elevation profile for planned routes
- Apple Watch app support
- Faster map updates
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- More coordinate system options (e.g., PZ-90)
AR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.
- Pro pack.$1.991 Month
- Pro pack.$9.991 Year
- Pro pack$14.99
AR
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. free?
Is AR free?
Which has better reviews, Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. or AR?
Do Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. or AR have ads?
Which is updated more often, Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. or AR?
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