Comparison

NESW vs Compass Guide

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Heading and cardinal direction indicator
  • Magnetic North pointer
  • Large font degree heading
  • Rotating compass rose
  • Background color change for North
  • Integrated flashlight toggle
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Compass Guide

This app provides a reliable digital compass for outdoor navigation and everyday direction-finding. It offers live heading, coordinate display, and the ability to navigate to saved destinations. Premium features like sun/moon positions and custom styles are available.

Highlights
  • Live compass heading
  • Coordinate and altitude display
  • Navigate to destinations
  • Sun and moon position markers
  • Multiple compass styles
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Compass Guide is a simple, reliable digital compass for hiking, navigation, and everyday direction-finding — no account required. FIND YOUR WAY • Live compass heading in true north or magnetic north • Calibration guidance and an accuracy indicator you can trust • Your coordinates, altitude, and speed at a glance NAVIGATE TO A DESTINATION • Set a destination by map, clipboard coordinates, or manual entry • See live bearing and distance to where you're headed • Save multiple destinations with Premium SEE THE SKY • Sun and moon position markers on the dial (Premium) • Night mode with a red-tinted display to protect your night vision MAKE IT YOURS • Six compass styles: Classic, Field, Nautical, Military, Surveyor, and Minimal • Choose degrees or mils, metric or imperial units • Keep the screen on, add a haptic tick at true north, and use the built-in flashlight SHARE YOUR HEADING • Export a shareable image card with your heading and location details GO PREMIUM YOUR WAY • Unlock every feature with a one-time purchase — no subscription • Or watch a short ad anytime to unlock Premium free for 24 hours Compass Guide works fully offline for core compass features and never asks you to create an account.

Screenshots

NESW3 screens
Compass Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NESW at 5.0 against Compass Guide's 4.5. NESW also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Compass Guide's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 57 months) and ratings volume (126 vs 1). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Compass Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. NESW asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NESW holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Compass Guide has 126 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of NESW's written reviews are positive against 40% of Compass Guide's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NESW ships an update every 57 months, Compass Guide fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NESW versus Compass Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNESWCompass Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.5 (126 ratings)
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews40.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1126 — better
Update frequencyEvery 57 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSolaz Dazen srlAPPS BAY LIMITED

Customer experience

NESW

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Compass Guide

All ratings126 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

NESW

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Compass Guide

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99

Questions

Is NESW free?
NESW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Compass Guide free?
Compass Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NESW or Compass Guide?
NESW is rated higher. NESW averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Compass Guide averages 4.5 from 126 ratings.
Do NESW or Compass Guide have ads?
Both NESW and Compass Guide show ads.
Which is updated more often, NESW or Compass Guide?
NESW ships an update every 57 months, and Compass Guide fortnightly. Most recently, NESW was updated on November 2, 2026 and Compass Guide on November 3, 2026.

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