Comparison

Compass vs Road Aware

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

Road Aware

Read full description

Road Aware shows you what is happening on the roads around you, all on a single map. WHAT YOU SEE - Congestion, with the level shown by colour and line width - Road closures, lane restrictions and roadworks - Incidents and accidents - Temperature and conditions where you are THE VIEW FOLLOWS YOUR SPEED At a standstill or in slow traffic the map stays close in. As your speed rises the map widens, so you see further ahead. You can set the speed range at which this happens. BUILT SO YOU DO NOT TOUCH IT WHILE DRIVING - The map follows your position automatically - Switch between north-up and heading-up - The scale stays the same when you rotate the screen - Optional keep-screen-on MAKE IT YOURS - Four styles for how congestion lines are drawn - A threshold for how heavy congestion has to be before it appears - Refresh every 15, 30 or 60 seconds - Weather overlay on or off PRICING - Free: up to 5 hours of regular traffic and weather updates per month. Beyond that, updates slow down, and at 10 hours they pause until next month. The map and your location keep working - Standard (auto-renewing, price shown in the app): up to 30 hours of regular updates per month, with a free 7-day trial the first time - Payment is charged to your Apple Account. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings - Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ - Privacy Policy: https://policy.arunikaworks.dev/roadpulse/en PRIVACY - No account needed - No ads - We do not store your location on our servers. It is relayed only to fetch what is around you - We do not collect your name, email address, contacts or advertising identifiers LANGUAGES AND UNITS Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French and Simplified Chinese. Distance, speed and temperature follow your device region, in km or miles and °C or °F. GOOD TO KNOW - Traffic data comes from HERE Technologies and weather from OpenWeather. Coverage varies by region and may be limited or unavailable in some areas - This app does not provide turn-by-turn navigation - Please pull over safely before changing settings - Location permission is required. The app does not collect location in the background

Screenshots

Compass4 screens
Road Aware4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Road Aware at none against Compass's 4. Road Aware also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 7 months). Compass's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12 vs 17.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Compass sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Road Aware asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compass ships an update every 7 months, Road Aware every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Compass versus Road Aware: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompassRoad Aware
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.4K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPeter BohlTakumi Komatsu

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

Road Aware

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

Road Aware

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Compass free?
Compass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Road Aware free?
Road Aware is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Compass or Road Aware have ads?
Neither Compass nor Road Aware shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compass or Road Aware?
Compass ships an update every 7 months, and Road Aware every 3 days. Most recently, Compass was updated on October 29, 2026 and Road Aware on October 24, 2026.

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