NESW vs Compass
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NESW
A simple, easy-to-read compass app showing heading, cardinal direction, and magnetic north. It also features a flashlight toggle for convenience during outdoor activities.
- Heading and cardinal direction indicator
- Magnetic North pointer
- Large font degree heading
- Rotating compass rose
- Background color change for North
- Integrated flashlight toggle
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NESW is a clean, fast compass app built for hikers, campers, travelers, and anyone who needs reliable direction at a glance. Get a live compass with large heading readouts, cardinal direction, and a smooth rotating dial designed for quick outdoor use. Switch between true north and magnetic north, monitor heading accuracy, and stay oriented with a minimal interface that keeps the essentials front and center. NESW goes beyond a simple compass: - Save objectives and lock onto a destination bearing - Share your current location quickly - View altitude, speed, and magnetic declination - Track direction with clear turn guidance Whether you're hiking, camping, backpacking, overlanding, boating, traveling, or navigating unfamiliar places, NESW helps you keep your bearings with less clutter and more confidence. Key features: - Large degree heading and clear cardinal direction - True north and magnetic north support - Smooth rotating compass dial - Objective pinning and bearing lock - Live location sharing - Altitude, speed, and declination readouts - Calibration and heading status guidance - Minimal design built for fast readability Great for: - Hiking and trail navigation - Camping and backpacking - Road trips and travel - Orienteering and outdoor exploration - Marine and land navigation Notes: - For best accuracy, avoid strong magnetic interference, metallic objects, and magnetic phone cases - True north accuracy may improve after location access and GPS lock are available If you have questions, feedback, or ideas for future updates, we'd love to hear from you.
Compass
This navigation app provides a digital compass and map to help you find your way. It displays your current GPS location, address, and direction, with features like a torchlight and traffic information.
- Digital compass with map integration
- Displays current GPS location and address
- Shows true and magnetic north
- Torchlight function
- Traffic information
- Distance measurement
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Digital Compass Map app for your device! Incredibly simple and very useful compass & map app, Your GPS information like address, latitude, longitude, altitude, speed will be shown on the map. Best Compass with Map, is a smartphone tool available for identify the direction. Easy to use in combination with maps, explore at hand. => How to Use Compass for Maps : - Keep your phone parallel to the ground and turned toward the arrow that you want to define - Combined with maps, navigating the path has never been easier - Compass Map will display on-screen directions and degrees Features: - Display your current position via GPS - Identify your current location accurately on the map - Equivalent measuring system when determining the level of flatness => Features : - Explore places like restaurant, hospital, bar, bank, ATM, coffee shop, gas station etc. - Turn on the Torch Light in dark with one tap - Find traffic around you before you plan to travel out - Get compass directions - Current address will show on the Map - if there are network, the address will auto update periodically - shows direction of north, south, east and west - shows the true north, magnetic north - Large numbers and large rotating bezel - Find area by Lat-Long or Co-ordinates - Distance results will be output in meters, kilometers, nautical mile, feet & miles, yards. - Support coordinate at your position - Display your current position via GPS - Identify your current location accurately on the map
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NESW at 5.0 against Compass's 4.0. NESW also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (25% vs 0%). Compass's advantage is update cadence (every 8 months vs every 57 months) and ratings volume (35 vs 1). On price, 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. Compass sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NESW asks for nothing beyond the download.
NESW holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Compass has 35 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of NESW's written reviews are positive against 0% of Compass's.
NESW ships an update every 57 months, Compass every 8 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | NESW | Compass |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.0 (35 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 35 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 57 months | Every 8 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Solaz Dazen srl | Nalin Savaliya |
Customer experience
NESW
Compass
In-app purchases
NESW
No in-app purchases
Compass
- Compass with Maps$4.99








