# Climbing Pins vs Retro Flash

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Climbing Pins at none against Retro Flash's 8. Climbing Pins also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Retro Flash's advantage is ratings volume (226 vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Retro Flash sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Climbing Pins asks for nothing beyond the download.

Climbing Pins holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Retro Flash has 226 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Climbing Pins ships an update every 6 weeks, Retro Flash every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Climbing Pins | Retro Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/climbing-pins/id1360866980/reviews)** | [4.7 (226 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retro-flash-climbing/id1519582483/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **226** |
| Positive reviews | — | 82.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 32 MB | 162 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.4** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ben Spannuth](https://appshunter.io/developer/1144270683) | [Arcade Bouldering UG (haftungsbeschrnkt)](https://appshunter.io/developer/1519582485) |

## What reviewers say

### Climbing Pins

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/climbing-pins/id1360866980)

This app allows climbers to upload photos and automatically tag them with location, climb, and area names. Discover nearby climbs on a map, track approaches, and get directions. Search for climbs, areas, or users and filter results by quality and difficulty.

**Highlights:** Automatic location tagging for climbing photos, Tag photos with climb and area names, Discover nearby climbs and areas on a map, Track approaches and drop parking pins, Get driving directions, Search climbs, areas, and users, Filter search results by quality and difficulty

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Retro Flash

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/retro-flash-climbing/id1519582483)

This app helps climbers maximize their spray wall training with unique tools for setting various problems and supports multiple grading systems. It fosters a community for climbers to share and improve their training.

**Highlights:** Spray wall problem setting, Supports symmetrical, partly symmetrical, adjustable, and private walls, Circuit and competition boulder creation, Fontainebleau, Dankyu, and Hueco grading systems, Customizable grading systems, Wall upgrades for new possibilities

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Rules for Circles | $4.99 | one-time |
| Home Wall Year Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| 1 Month Upgrade Pass | $8.99 | one-time |
| Additional Wall | $9.99 | one-time |
| Gym Year Pass Tier 1 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Add Gym | $14.99 | one-time |
| Gym Year Pass Tier 2 | $29.99 | one-time |
| 6 Months Upgrade Pass | $44.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 💰 Free to use, affordable one-time fees
- 🏠 Perfect for home walls
- 👥 Great community feature
- 🚀 Fast and functional

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 Horrid UI
- 🐛 Massive bugs and data loss
- 🛠️ App is useless when buggy
- ❓ Unclear target audience
- 🧭 Navigation can be challenging

**Reported bugs**

- Cannot see sends anymore
- All boulders set to unclimbed for all users
- Statistics are gone
- Won't let me reset wall
- Won't let me delete walls

**Requested features**

- Add a tick list of all climbs done
- Show number and distribution of grades
- Copy route feature for minor adjustments
- Ability to edit names or grades of existing boulders


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Climbing Pins free?

Climbing Pins is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Retro Flash free?

Retro Flash is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Climbing Pins or Retro Flash?

Climbing Pins is rated higher. Climbing Pins averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Retro Flash averages 4.7 from 226 ratings.

### Do Climbing Pins or Retro Flash have ads?

Neither Climbing Pins nor Retro Flash shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Climbing Pins or Retro Flash?

Climbing Pins ships an update every 6 weeks, and Retro Flash every 3 weeks. Most recently, Climbing Pins was updated on November 2, 2026 and Retro Flash on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*