Garmin Explore™ vs Waymark
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 compatible devices for trip planning, mapping, and location sharing. Download maps for offline use and sync your data to the cloud. Track your adventures and share your location in real-time with loved ones.
- Off-grid navigation
- Trip planning and course creation
- Streaming and downloadable maps
- Pairing with Garmin devices
- Activity library and saved collections
- Cloud storage for data
- LiveTrack real-time 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.
Waymark
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Waymark is a map-first outdoor navigation app for hiking, trail running and cycling. No account is required: your trails stay on your phone. FREE - The Outdoor map with contour lines and your GPS position - Record GPS trails with elevation and time; review moving time, pace, splits, ascent and elevation and speed profiles; replay a walk on the map - Apple Watch app: follow your recording from the wrist and save walks as workouts in Apple Health (optional, uses HealthKit) - Plan routes that snap to real trails for hiking, paved paths, bike, road bike or gravel, with distance, climb, walking time and surface - Waypoints, groups and areas; import and export GPX, KML, KMZ, GeoJSON and more - Weather forecast for any place on the map WAYMARK PLUS - Satellite imagery - Turn-by-turn navigation with spoken turns, off-route and wrong-way alerts, also on Apple Watch - Offline maps: save map areas and terrain for places without signal - 3D terrain and flyover of your route - Weather map: rain, wind and gusts, temperature, visibility and cloud base over the map, played through the next two days - Every map and terrain layer: topo, street, cycle and online maps, hillshade, slope angles and altitude colours Waymark Plus is an auto-renewing subscription: US$9.99 per month or US$29.99 per year (local prices may vary). New subscribers can start with a free trial: 7 days on the yearly plan or 3 days on the monthly plan. Unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the trial ends, the subscription starts and is charged at the end of the trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase or at the end of the trial. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Restore purchases on another device with the same Apple Account. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gist.github.com/egitimtakipuygulamasi/16ad44290520f15a1ae2becea87fe8f9 Map coverage and detail vary by region. Download areas before travel and carry a backup navigation method. Weather is model forecast data (DWD ICON, NOAA GFS, MET Norway), not live radar.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Garmin Explore™ at none against Waymark's 2. Garmin Explore™ also leads on chart position (#109 vs unranked). Waymark's advantage is update cadence (daily vs monthly) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and ads 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. Waymark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Garmin Explore™ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Garmin Explore™ ships an update monthly, Waymark daily. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Garmin Explore™ | Waymark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (1.1K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 45.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #109 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 457 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Gizem Celik |
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
Waymark
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Garmin Explore™
No in-app purchases
Waymark
- Waymark Plus Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Waymark Plus Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Garmin Explore™ free?
Is Waymark free?
Do Garmin Explore™ or Waymark have ads?
Which is updated more often, Garmin Explore™ or Waymark?
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