Comparison

luftline vs KM44

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

Head to head
About

luftline

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Save a place while you're on wifi. Find it again on foot, with no signal. luftline is a quiet compass for travelers. Search for the museum, the bakery, the hotel before you leave home — with one swipe each becomes a saved place that works without a network. Later, when you're on a foreign street corner with a single bar of signal and roaming charges you'd rather avoid, you tap a place and a single ink needle points the way. That's the whole app. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT – Saved places work entirely offline. No tiles to download, no maps that expire, no account to make. – A real compass, not turn-by-turn. The needle shows distance, bearing, how far you've walked. You choose the route. – Calm, minimal interface inspired by Japanese ink and washi paper. Nothing shouts. – Nothing leaves your device. No tracking, no ads, no analytics. HOW IT WORKS 1. While you're online — at home, in a café, in the hotel lobby — search for any place: a restaurant, a viewpoint, a station, a bookshop. 2. Swipe right to keep it. The location, address, and coordinates are saved to your phone. 3. When you're walking, tap the saved place. The compass turns and points. Walk toward it. WHAT IT ISN'T luftline isn't a turn-by-turn router. It won't say "in 200 meters, turn left." It assumes you can read a city — that you'd rather find your own way than be talked at. If you want voice navigation, this isn't it. If you've ever walked the wrong way out of a metro stop in a foreign city and felt the small panic of not knowing which direction is which — luftline is for that. Available in English and German.

About

KM44

This app helps determine your position on federal waterways using GPS. It's useful when waterway markers are obscured, out of sight, or missing, allowing you to identify your location on the river.

Highlights
  • GPS-based position determination
  • Identifies waterway kilometer markers
  • Useful when markers are obscured
  • Works on federal waterways
  • Assists in navigation
Features
Read full description

Bundeswasserstraßen sind dem allgemeinen Verkehr dienende Wasserstraßen des Bundes. Sie verfügen in der Regel über eine sogenannte Kilometrierung (Beschilderung), anhand derer sich die eigene Position auf einer Wasserstraße bestimmen lässt. Befindet man sich auf oder in der unmittelbaren Nähe einer Wasserstraße, kann die Kilometrierung mit dieser App aus einem GPS-Signal abgeleitet werden. Dies ist beispielsweise hilfreich, wenn das Schild mit der Flusskilometerangabe zwar in der Nähe, aber nicht sichtbar ist, oder es aufgrund der Entfernung nicht erkennbar ist oder komplett fehlt.

Screenshots

luftline4 screens
KM442 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: KM44 at every 3 months against luftline's every 105 months. luftline's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

luftline ships an update every 105 months, KM44 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
luftline versus KM44: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterluftlineKM44
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 105 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRachid El KhayariJan Fiegert

In-app purchases

None

luftline

No in-app purchases

None

KM44

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is luftline free?
luftline is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is KM44 free?
KM44 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do luftline or KM44 have ads?
Neither luftline nor KM44 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, luftline or KM44?
luftline ships an update every 105 months, and KM44 every 3 months. Most recently, luftline was updated on October 27, 2026 and KM44 on November 3, 2026.

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