Comparison

Compass vs Grid Square Life

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

Head to head
About

Compass

This app helps you navigate by displaying your direction on a compass, overlayed on a satellite or map view. It provides your street address, GPS coordinates, and altitude, along with What3Words coordinates for precise location identification.

Highlights
  • Compass direction display
  • Satellite and map view overlay
  • Street address and GPS coordinates
  • Altitude display
  • What3Words coordinates
  • Zoom functionality
  • Accuracy indicator
Features
Read full description

With “Compass Pro” you can orientate yourself optimally at your location. You can see the direction of the compass and match it with the satellite image or the map on the compass. That you know exactly where you are you get the street address, the exact GPS coordinates and the current height above sea level displayed. In addition, the position is displayed in What3Words (w3w) coordinates. To switch between satellite image and map view just tap the compass. You can zoom with the pinch-/spread Gesture or with the slider beneath the Address so that you can orient yourself at certain prominent points. The blue highlighted area indicates the current accuracy. Terms of Use : https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Grid Square Life

This app calculates your Maidenhead Locator (Grid Square Locator) using GPS coordinates. It also displays nearby points of interest like radio beacons, lighthouses, and national parks, along with your geographic coordinates, altitude, and a compass. You can track your distance from home and visualize your position within grid squares.

Highlights
  • Grid Square Locator calculation
  • Nearby points of interest
  • Geographic coordinates and altitude
  • Compass for orientation
  • Distance to home location
  • Graphical grid square visualization
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Grid Square Life app displays an 8-symbol Grid Square Locator (a.k.a. Maidenhead Locator, QTH Locator) value calculated based on the geographical coordinates obtained from GPS satellites and mobile network. Along with your current position, the app will show information about places of interest nearby - radio beacons, lighthouses, national parks and some random callsigns of the amateurs radio clubs and individual radio amateurs in the area. In addition, geographic coordinates and altitude information are displayed, as well as a compass for orientation on the terrain. The distance to your home location will be available after you set (remember) your home location, or any other location you wish use as a starting point for distance mesurements. To do this, you need to use the application Settings tab. You can change it anytime, anywhere. The relative position of your current square among neighboring squares and the distance to the borders of the square are displayed in an easy-to-understand graphical form - you can see the location of neighboring squares and sub-squares. To see more detailed information about the relative position of neighboring squares and your location within the square, you can use: - Map tab (Internet connection required) - Grid View tab The database is loaded during application installation and contains the following topics: - beacons - lighthouses - national parks and reserves - call signs and displayed in 3 boxes: - In this square - Nearby - In Grid Square You can use scrolling to view. To speak the QTH Locator value in voice or Morse code, tap the corresponding icon on the device screen. Notice! The "Time" application field shows the time of the last location update (not the current time) Please be sure to give permission to the app for Location Services to determine your location. No internet or mobile network connection required except if working with map data.

Screenshots

Compass4 screens
Grid Square Life4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Compass at Free against Grid Square Life's $3.99. Compass also leads on ratings volume (2.4K vs 5) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). Grid Square Life's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and chart position (#129 vs unranked). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

Compass is free to download; Grid Square Life costs $3.99 up front. Compass sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Grid Square Life asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Compass holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Compass has 2.4K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 67% and 67% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compass ships an update every 7 months, Grid Square Life every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Compass versus Grid Square Life: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompassGrid Square Life
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (2.4K ratings) — better4.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2.4K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 6 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#129 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeter BohlBorys Buslovskyi

Customer experience

Compass

All ratings2,349 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral5.7%
Negative27.7%

Grid Square Life

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Compass

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Compass direction completely off
  • App crashes on launch
  • Barometric pressure widget not working
  • Location tracking issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to remove ads
  • Customizable compass display
  • Improved calibration controls
  • Support for imperial units

Grid Square Life

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Compass

Subscriptions3
  • AdFree and Widgets for 1 month$0.991 Month
  • 3 months ad-free + Widgets$1.993 Months
  • 1 year Ad Free + Widgets$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Ad Free without limits$10.99
None

Grid Square Life

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Compass free?
Compass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grid Square Life free?
Grid Square Life costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Compass or Grid Square Life?
Compass is rated higher. Compass averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Grid Square Life averages 4.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Compass or Grid Square Life have ads?
Neither Compass nor Grid Square Life shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compass or Grid Square Life?
Compass ships an update every 7 months, and Grid Square Life every 6 months. Most recently, Compass was updated on October 29, 2026 and Grid Square Life on October 27, 2026.

Other comparisons