Comparison

Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. vs Gecko Maps

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Gecko Maps

This navigation app offers online and offline maps with various layers like topography and satellite imagery. It provides geolocation features, waypoint creation, and altitude display. Advanced tools include military coordinate systems and magnetic declination computation.

Highlights
  • Online and offline map access
  • Multiple map layers (topography, satellite, OSM)
  • Geolocation and GPS trace recording
  • Waypoint creation and customization
  • Altitude and elevation profile display
  • Military coordinate systems (MGRS, UTM)
  • Map sharing in MBTiles and GPX formats
Features
Read full description

Online and Offline maps Multiple maps and layers : topography, satellite, OpenStreetMap©, Google© Maps, IGN© - France... Download maps in order to display them when you are offline or share them with other users (MBTiles format). Geolocation Visualize your position and record traces using the GPS signal. Share your location with other users. Waypoints, traces and measures Creation and customization of markers and traces. Sharing data in gpx format. Measure distances and angles in ° or mil. Altitude Display altitude. Compute elevation profile of traces. Military use Coordinates MGRS, UTM, lat/long (deg), lat/long (deg, min), lat/long (deg, min, sec). Grid MGRS or latitude/longitude. Compute magnetic declination. Terms of use : https://gecko-map.com/terms Privacy policy : https://gecko-map.com/privacy

Screenshots

Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.4 screens
Gecko Maps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Gecko Maps at 100% against Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.'s 91%. Gecko Maps also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). 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. Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Gecko Maps sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. ships an update monthly, Gecko Maps every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. versus Gecko Maps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompass 55. Map & GPS kit.Gecko Maps
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKalimex-Consulting s.r.o. @Blocoware & Stanislav DvoychenkoMaP

Customer experience

Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.

All ratings1,545 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews396 reviews
Positive90.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative4.0%

Gecko Maps

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
Show 1 more
  • More coordinate system options (e.g., PZ-90)

Gecko Maps

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Compass 55. Map & GPS kit.

Subscriptions2
  • Pro pack.$1.991 Month
  • Pro pack.$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro pack$14.99
2 purchases

Gecko Maps

Subscriptions2
  • Maps Download$0.991 Month
  • IGN© maps$10.991 Year

Questions

Is Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. free?
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gecko Maps free?
Gecko Maps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. or Gecko Maps have ads?
Neither Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. nor Gecko Maps shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. or Gecko Maps?
Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. ships an update monthly, and Gecko Maps every 2 months. Most recently, Compass 55. Map & GPS kit. was updated on September 26, 2026 and Gecko Maps on September 15, 2026.

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