Comparison

Tracker vs MapStride

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

Head to head
About

Tracker

Features
Read full description

Record every run, ride, hike and ski tour with precise GPS — on iPhone and Apple Watch. No account, no subscription. Tracker is built for athletes who want to decide for themselves where their data lives. Your tracks are kept as files on your own device. There is no Tracker account and no server storing your activities. Want to send a workout to Strava, or keep it in Apple Health? That happens only after you tap. WHY TRACKER • No subscription — Pro is a single purchase • No account, nothing to sign in to • Your tracks stay on your own device • Works on iPhone and Apple Watch • Available in English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish RECORD EVERY WORKOUT Capture distance, pace, time, elevation and your full route. Pick your sport on the redesigned start screen — running, walking, cycling, skiing, swimming, rowing or something else — and head outside. While recording you can zoom in, explore the map and return to your own location with one tap. Your music keeps playing while Tracker keeps recording in the background. PHOTOS ALONG YOUR ROUTE Take photos from inside the app while you are out. Each one is pinned to the spot where you stood and shows up as a marker on your map afterwards. So you see not only how fast you went, but where you were. TRAIN SMARTER WITH PRO • Build interval workouts and get spoken cues along the way • See how long you spent in each of the five heart-rate zones, and set your maximum heart rate • Compare activities and discover your best efforts with Personal Records • Transfer recordings from your Apple Watch to your iPhone • Back up to your own iCloud and restore onto a new device YOUR PROGRESS, BEYOND THE APP Follow your iPhone recording on the Lock Screen and in Dynamic Island. Put your latest activity on your Home Screen as a widget, start a recording with Siri and Shortcuts, or find a saved track with Spotlight. Pro adds widgets for weekly progress and personal records, and lets you start saved workout plans with your voice. MADE FOR APPLE WATCH Start, pause and stop straight from your wrist. Your Apple Watch records on its own, even with no iPhone nearby. The controls are large and clear, and a confirmation always appears before a recording stops — so you never end one by accident. WORKS WITH APPLE HEALTH Your sessions are written to Apple Health as workouts, with distance, active energy and your route. Your rings and your activity history stay accurate without you doing anything twice. A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT Choose a weekly summary, a reminder when you have not recorded for a while, or a nudge while your streak is alive. With Pro you also hear about every new personal record. All notifications are off by default — you switch on what you want. SHARE WHEN YOU CHOOSE Upload an activity to Strava with Pro, from the app or through Shortcuts. You decide which ride or run you share, and when. PRO IS A ONE-TIME PURCHASE No subscription, no monthly fee. Already own Pro? Every new Pro feature in this version is included, with nothing more to pay. Simple. Private. Made for the outdoors. Pick your sport and record your next session with Tracker. Requires iOS 26 or later. The Apple Watch app requires watchOS 26 or later.

About

MapStride

Track your runs, walks, and cycling routes with live GPS mapping. Monitor distance, speed, pace, steps, and calories burned. Review your progress and workout history with a clean, ad-free interface.

Highlights
  • Live GPS route tracking
  • Real-time workout statistics
  • Distance, speed, and pace measurement
  • Calorie burn calculation
  • Weekly progress dashboard
  • Workout history log
Features
Read full description

MapStride is a free GPS run, walk and cycle tracker that maps your route, measures your stats and tracks your fitness progress in one clean app. Need a run tracker, walking tracker or cycle tracker? MapStride handles all three without a subscription or paywall, and without the clutter of Strava, MapMyRun or MapMyWalk. No account required to start. GPS ROUTE TRACKING ON A LIVE MAP Every workout is tracked live on a GPS map. Your route appears as you move. Choose from multiple map styles. When you finish, your complete route is saved to review, share or compare. Run it, walk it, cycle it on your workout map. FREE RUNNING TRACKER, WALKING TRACKER AND CYCLING TRACKER IN ONE APP Built for runners, walkers, cyclists, hikers and anyone who moves outdoors. A free running app and run tracker with GPS pace and distance. A walking tracker, step counter and step tracker with calories burned. A cycling tracker and cycle tracker with speed and distance. A hike tracker or hiking tracker for trails and trekking. All in one app. REAL-TIME GPS STATS FOR EVERY WORKOUT • Distance in kilometres or miles • Time, duration and moving time • Current speed and average speed • Pace per kilometre or mile • Steps during walking and running • Elevation gain • Calorie tracker estimates from your profile (height, weight, age and activity) Stats update live. Track running distance, track walking distance and use MapStride as a cardio tracker, distance tracker and outdoor fitness tracker. Plan walking routes on the map as you go. RELIABLE BACKGROUND TRACKING Background GPS keeps recording with the screen off or in other apps. Pause and resume mid-workout. Recover a session if the app closes. Data saves locally even offline. Switch metric or imperial units anytime. GOALS, STREAKS AND PROGRESS RINGS Set goals for distance, steps, calories, duration or workout count: daily, weekly or monthly. Mark a primary goal on home-screen rings. Build a daily streak, celebrate milestones and personal bests, with evening reminders, weekly recap alerts and re-engagement messages. PROGRESS CHARTS, CALENDAR AND WEEKLY INSIGHTS Interactive charts for week, month and year, plus a calendar view. See weekly distance, calories, steps and active time by running, walking and cycling. A fitness tracker and workout tracker focused on improvement, not a social feed. WORKOUT HISTORY, SHARING AND ROUTE REVIEW Every workout saves its GPS route map, time, distance, pace, speed, steps, elevation and calories. Filter by activity. Export shareable workout cards in multiple styles after each outing. GUEST MODE, CLOUD SYNC AND APPLE HEALTH Start as a guest with no sign-up. Local history from session one. Sign in with Apple, Google or email for cloud backup, synced goals and a profile across devices. Optionally connect Apple Health to import or export steps, workouts, distance and calories. PERSONALISATION Light, dark or system theme. Metric or imperial units. Multiple languages. Profile photo and health profile for accurate calorie estimates. OUTDOOR FITNESS WITHOUT THE COMPLEXITY Clean GPS tracking for outdoor run, walk, cycle or hike. No social feed. No premium paywall on core tracking. No subscription required for everyday logging. Looking for a free running app, walking app, walking tracker, cycling tracker, step counter app or Strava alternative? MapStride covers walk, run and cycle in one focused package. FREE TO DOWNLOAD GPS maps, live stats, step counter, steps tracker, calorie tracking, elevation, history, goals, streaks, charts, shareable cards and route review are free to use. Download MapStride free on the App Store. Start your run, walk or cycle. Track it on the map. TERMS OF USE (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Tracker4 screens
MapStride4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MapStride at every 5 days against Tracker's every 3 weeks. MapStride also leads on iOS requirement (16.2 vs 26.0). Tracker's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, 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. Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and MapStride sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tracker ships an update every 3 weeks, MapStride every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Tracker versus MapStride: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrackerMapStride
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—28 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB102 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAurelius Technology B.V.ARTEVUS TECHNOLOGIES (PRIVATE) LIMITED

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Tracker

One-time1
  • Full Access$1.99
3 purchases

MapStride

One-time3
  • Support MapStride $1.99$2.00
  • Support MapStride $4.99$5.00
  • Support MapStride $7.99$8.00

Questions

Is Tracker free?
Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MapStride free?
MapStride is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tracker or MapStride have ads?
Neither Tracker nor MapStride shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tracker or MapStride?
Tracker ships an update every 3 weeks, and MapStride every 5 days. Most recently, Tracker was updated on November 2, 2026 and MapStride on October 31, 2026.

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