Open Canal Map UK vs Brit Stops
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Open Canal Map UK
Navigate the UK's waterways with a comprehensive map of canals and rivers. Discover points of interest like locks, services, and commercial amenities. Contribute to the community by adding new locations and keeping the map up-to-date.
- UK canal and river mapping
- Points of interest (locks, bridges, services)
- User contributions and updates
- Boater services (water, pumpouts)
- Commercial services for cruisers
- Automatic map updates
Read full descriptionHide full description
UK canal and river map created using both public data and user contributions. Points of interest are overlaid on maps of the UK's navigable canals and rivers, and include entries for navigation (locks, bridges, junctions, turning points), boater services (water points, toilet pumpouts, etc.), and commercial services especially relevant to continuous or long-term cruising (e.g. laundry services) The map is generated with help fellow boaters and we welcome your adding missing items to the map. Over 700 items have been added based on user submissions so far, including convenience stores, laundry services, as well as a list of high quality mooring spots, and some hidden gems like private marinas or mooring locations where public access is allowed to waste disposal other boater services. New user contributions are added periodically, and the map will auto update automatically when new points of interest are added Happy boating...
Brit Stops
Discover over 1500 free overnight stopover locations at independent farms, vineyards, and pubs for motorhomers. Filter by type, view photos and reviews, and find spots along your route. Your vehicle must meet self-contained motorhome requirements.
- 1500+ free stopover locations
- Filter by location type and vehicle length
- View member photos and reviews
- Find stopovers along your route
- Contact hosts for approval
- Supports local businesses
Read full descriptionHide full description
Discover the unique motorhome adventures that await with Brit Stops. With a Brit Stops membership, gain access to over 1500+ stopover locations at independent farms, vineyards, pubs, aires, and more that invite motorhomers to visit and stay overnight for free. Discover better camping with ease: - Filter host locations by type, vehicle length, and more - Check out photos and reviews provided by members, for members - Find your next stopover location with ease and easily contact hosts for approval - On the road? Find the best stopovers along your route Whether you want to discover your new favourite ale or learn about sustainable farming, Brit Stops provides a gateway to adventures off the beaten path. Your vehicle must meet the self-contained motorhome requirements to join Brit Stops. Terms of Use: https://harvesthosts.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://harvesthosts.com/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Open Canal Map UK at weekly against Brit Stops's every 2 months. Open Canal Map UK also leads on review sentiment (59% vs 32%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Brit Stops's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Open Canal Map UK sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Brit Stops sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $45.00 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Brit Stops holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 14 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of Open Canal Map UK's written reviews are positive against 32% of Brit Stops's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Open Canal Map UK ships an update weekly, Brit Stops every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Open Canal Map UK | Brit Stops |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (11 ratings) | 4.7 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.3% of reviews — better | 32.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 127 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Tom Sapey | Harvest Hosts |
Customer experience
Open Canal Map UK
Brit Stops
User reviews
Open Canal Map UK
From 11 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Very useful for canal navigation
- 🗺️ Great interactive maps
- 💡 Rich with information
- 🆓 Free to use
- 🚀 Works well with GPS
Room to improve
- 😠 Ads are intrusive and polluting
- 🐛 Location not found after update
- ⚠️ Static info is outdated
- ❓ No mechanism to report errors
- ⏳ Lacks ETA feature
Brit Stops
From 14 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great idea/concept
- 👍 Supports local businesses
- 👍 Good for meeting people
- 👍 Cheaper than campsites
- 👍 Useful for planning trips
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 App is laggy and unresponsive
- 🐛 Pins don't open or are hard to open
- 🐛 Locations shown incorrectly on map
- 🐛 Auto-renewal without notice
Bugs and requests
Open Canal Map UK
Reported bugs
11 issues- Location not found after update
- Tow path closure location incorrect
- Locks have disappeared from the Thames map
- App icon changed, graphics horrid
- Stopped working on iPad
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- New update no longer works on phone
- Maps do not load
- Report option greyed out
- Text unreadably small on iPhone
- Blurry Google map overlay
- Mapping difficult and unusable after update
Requested features
18 requests- Add ETA feature
- Include widths, depths, and air height of canals
- Option to change text size
- Option to switch off blurry Google map overlay
- Add map legends
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Facility to add personal notes
- Incorporate a route planner
- Add pubs and eateries as POI
- Allow users to contribute pubs, shops etc.
- Add a donation button
- Show distance from point to point
- Add photos for points of interest
- Ability to report errors
- Update Droitwich canals
- Add mile markers instead of km
- Include historical map year
- Search function for locations
- Allow users to comment on premises
Brit Stops
Reported bugs
14 issues- App crashes on opening
- App crashes on map view
- App buffers and shows 'unauthenticated'
- App won't load on iPhone
- Pins don't open or are difficult to open
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Map locations are incorrect
- App is slow and unresponsive
- Bottom details of listings are obscured by footbar
- App glitches and cannot log in
- App stops working after update
- Cannot open reviews from mobile
- Unlock code only works for one device
- Invalid key after transferring to another device
- Under-developed features (e.g., missing host contact info)
Requested features
25 requests- Option to search 'near me'
- Filter options (dog friendly, amenities, waste, water)
- Clearer indication of electrical hookups
- Ability to filter by utilities
- Bring back the book
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- iPad landscape format
- Option to search by major towns on route
- Improve app usability for route planning
- Add vehicle sizes in meters (or both)
- Ability to report incorrect listings
- More stops in Scotland
- Show current location on map
- Allow users to pay for the app directly
- Improve pin sensitivity/size
- Allow Google Maps as default
- Add spellcheck for reviews
- Allow full review reading
- Filter out pubs to see other types of stops
- Add photo upload option
- Provide grey waste and toilet points info
- Make subscription cheaper
- Allow app-only option at a reasonable price
- Improve app for full-time van lifers
- Add a 'peek' feature without full unlock
- Improve app for iPad/larger screens
In-app purchases
Open Canal Map UK
- Remove Adverts Permently$4.99
Brit Stops
- Brit Stops$45.001 Year
Questions
Is Open Canal Map UK free?
Is Brit Stops free?
Which has better reviews, Open Canal Map UK or Brit Stops?
Do Open Canal Map UK or Brit Stops have ads?
Which is updated more often, Open Canal Map UK or Brit Stops?
Other comparisons
