Where am I vs Direction explorer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Where am I
Discover your current location, nearby points of interest, and their details. Access Wikipedia information, including images and links, sorted by relevance or distance. Navigate directly to locations on a map.
- Identify current location, area, and country
- Lookup location details on Wikipedia
- View thumbnail images of nearby Wikipedia articles
- Sort articles by rank or distance
- Open map with current or selected location
- Switch Wikipedia language
- Metric and imperial units
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Did you ever wonder where you are while you travel and what might be interesting nearby? With this app long distance travels don't have to be boring anymore. Features: - get name of the nearest place, its area and country - look up the location, area and country name on Wikipedia - links to nearby Wikipedia articles - thumbnail images of nearby Wikipedia articles - sort Wikipedia articles by rank or distance - open the map with your current location or the location of the selected Wikipedia article - switch the Wikipedia language - metric and imperial units Ad supported freeware version
Direction explorer
This app overlays a compass heading line onto Apple Maps, showing your current direction and distance to identified targets like villages or mountains. It allows for detailed map study, manual origin point entry, and the placement of pins with detailed information about selected locations.
- Compass overlay on Apple Maps
- GPS-based direction line with distance marks
- Freeze origin point and direction line
- Manual origin point entry
- Colored pins for target identification
- Detailed information boxes for targets
- Offline mountain database
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DirectionExplorer combines a compass tool with Apple Maps by Apple to help you identify targets (villages, buildings, mountains, and more) appearing in your view. DirectionExplorer uses GPS to determine the observer's location and, using compass information, draws a line on the map in the same direction the iPhone is pointing. The heading line includes distance marks, allowing you to better estimate distances directly on the map. You can freeze the origin point and direction line to study the map in detail later. You can also determine the length of the heading line (in miles or km) to better estimate your field of view. The horizon distance can be automatically calculated based on the site's altitude. The point of origin can be entered manually by tapping the map. To help you find desired targets more easily, you can insert colored pins above the map. Pins can be set by tapping on the map or by entering place names. Tapping on a pin or on a mountain displays an information box with detailed data about the selected target and these data can be easily shared. From an offline list of mountains, you can choose which peaks to display on the map. The information box also suggests possible obstacles (based on the offline mountain database) that may lie between you and the selected target. For best results, hold the iPhone horizontally and aim accurately. It is also important to periodically check the compass calibration and follow the on-screen calibration instructions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Where am I at Free against Direction explorer's $1.99. Where am I also leads on iOS requirement (7.0 vs 17.6). On review sentiment, 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
Where am I is free to download; Direction explorer costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Where am I | Direction explorer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 19 months | Every 19 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Piet Jonas | Stefano Rampazzo |
Customer experience
Where am I
Direction explorer
In-app purchases
Where am I
No in-app purchases
Direction explorer
No in-app purchases








