Garmin Explore™ vs Outway
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Garmin Explore™
Navigate off-grid with this app, which pairs with a compatible Garmin device for trip planning, mapping, and navigation even without Wi-Fi or cellular service. Plan routes, download maps for offline use, and sync data to the cloud.
- Off-grid navigation
- Trip planning
- Offline map downloads
- Pair and sync with Garmin device
- Activity library
- Cloud storage
- LiveTrack location sharing
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OFF-GRID NAVIGATION When paired with your compatible Garmin device(1), the Garmin Explore app lets you use your mobile device for outdoor navigation, trip planning, mapping and more — with or without Wi-Fi® connectivity or cellular service. SEARCH TOOL Easily locate geographic points — such as trailheads or mountain summits — associated with your adventure. STREAMING MAPS For pre-trip planning, you can use the Garmin Explore app to stream maps when you’re within cellular or Wi-Fi range — saving valuable time as well as storage space on your mobile device. Download maps for offline use when venturing outside cellular range. PAIR, SYNC AND SHARE With Garmin Explore, you can pair your smartphone or tablet with your compatible Garmin device to sync and share data for off-grid adventures. Use downloadable maps for navigation anywhere. EASY TRIP PLANNING Plan your next trip by downloading maps and creating courses. Specify your start and finish points, and automatically create a course you can sync with your compatible Garmin device. ACTIVITY LIBRARY Under the Saved tab, review and edit your organized data, including your saved waypoints, tracks, courses and activities. See map thumbnails to easily recognize your trips. SAVED COLLECTIONS The collections list allows you to quickly find all data related to any trip — making it easy to sort and locate the course or location you’re looking for. CLOUD STORAGE The waypoints, courses and activities you’ve created will automatically sync to your Garmin Explore web account when you’re within cellular or Wi-Fi range, preserving your activity data with cloud storage. A Garmin account is required for storing your data in the cloud. LIVETRACK™ With the use of the LiveTrack™ feature, loved ones can follow your location in real time(2) and see data such as distance, time and elevation. What You Get with Garmin Explore • Unlimited map downloads; access topographic maps, USGS quad sheets and more • Aerial imagery • Waypoints, tracking and route navigation • High-detail GPS trip logging and location sharing • Unlimited cloud storage of routes, waypoints, tracks, and activities • Online trip planning 1. https://explore.garmin.com/appcompatibility 2. When used with your compatible smartphone, the Garmin Explore® app and your compatible inReach® technology-enabled Garmin device. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Garmin is under license.
Outway
Manage land care and outdoor projects with real-time reporting, asset tracking, and event planning. Features a collaborative map with offline support for fieldwork, conservation, and community engagement.
- Streamlined fieldwork reporting
- Real-time asset management
- Project creation and tracking
- Event planning and coordination
- Collaborative map with offline support
- Information visibility controls
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Caring for the land is your mission, making it easier is ours. Supporting what it takes to take care of our shared natural areas. Outway is for the outdoors, for everyone forever. This looks like: - Fluid field work management: streamline workflows with real-time reporting, observations and events like: - Fieldwork: Streamline reporting and observations allowing teams to operate in sync i.e. wildlife sightings, incidents, erosion, visitor education, etc. - Assets: Communicate and manage assets in real-time i.e. trail status, wildlife cameras, signage, closures, etc. - Projects: Create, assign, and track projects i.e. invasive species management, trail maintenance, habitat rehabilitation, etc. - Events: Planning and tracking events for your team, volunteers, partners, or the public. i.e. education, community collaboration, etc. - A central map of all assets and partner areas with offline support - Detailed control of information about assets and events on the map including visibility, is it visible to… - My organizations - My community of partners - The Public - Team collaboration tools including a central log of contributions and team members - Broad flexibility that makes it maneuverable to fit any in-field use case, including but not limited to: - Conservation - Biodiversity - Ecology - Rangering - Wildfire Management - Maintenance - Education - Communication
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Outway at 100% against Garmin Explore™'s 46%. Outway also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). Garmin Explore™'s advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 6) and chart position (#95 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Outway holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garmin Explore™ has 1K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Garmin Explore™'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Outway's.
Garmin Explore™ ships an update monthly, Outway fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Explore™ | Outway |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (1K ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #95 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 452 MB | 85 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Outway Inc |
Customer experience
Garmin Explore™
Outway
Bugs and requests
Garmin Explore™
Reported bugs
4 issues- Sync failures between app and Garmin devices
- Disappearing or corrupted user data
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS/Android versions
- Unreliable offline map downloads
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to edit waypoint coordinates
- More customization options for map layers and displays
- Improved route planning and navigation features
- Better syncing and data management between app and devices
- Support for more Garmin device models
Outway
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Explore™
No in-app purchases
Outway
No in-app purchases







