Comparison

Scratch My Map vs Balloon Been

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

Head to head
About

Scratch My Map

This app allows users to virtually "scratch" visited countries on a map, share travel experiences with friends, and discover information about destinations. It acts as a social network for travelers to connect, plan trips, and exchange advice.

Highlights
  • Scratch visited countries
  • Create trip history with media
  • View friends' travel maps
  • Rate and comment on countries
  • Get country information
  • Connect with other travelers
Features
Read full description

How often and where my friends traveling? What are the most popular countries in the world? What are their impressions and estimations? How and where they exchange currency, find a route, understand language, behave in each country? Have a lot of questions during travel planning? Now you don't have to waste hours in google, travel forums/conferences or asking friends to know more about a country and current situation there. Open ScratchMyMap to: “scratch" countries to show friends where have you been, plan to be and rate countries; create your trip history with impressions, images, audio and video description; see trip history of your friends and left them comments; help friends know more about your “scratched” countries; see friends and countries list ranking; get all actual structured information and know what world think about each country in one click. We seek to solve people's problems in difficult travel (planning) situations: anticipate unexpected situations in different countries, learn the nuances and most importantly - allow the user to ask for advice from friends/users (who may already have "scratch" the country) or in countries' chat function. The main purpose of our project is to create a social network to connect all travelers around the world to help them connect each other and share experience: find right route, estimate duration and budget, help with basic language/cultural/history questions.

About

Balloon Been

Track your visited countries and states on a customizable map. Discover new travel destinations with AI-powered suggestions and access essential country information. Share your adventures with friends and personalize your travel diary.

Highlights
  • Customizable travel map
  • AI-powered destination suggestions
  • Track visited countries and states
  • Country information (currency, anthem, UNESCO)
  • Social sharing of travels
  • Travel diary customization
  • iPhone Widgets support
Features
Read full description

Travel together with other adventurers, keep track of the places visited and the countries where you have been. Mark the list of countries visited on the travel map. Update your travel diary and discover useful and essential information for your next destinations (such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Don't stop, let yourself be inspired discover new places with always updated advice. Challenge your friends on the leaderboard and share your latest travels on Instagram or Facebook. CUSTOM TRAVEL MAP With the integrated travel map you can find out which countries have you already been and which you missed. Find out how many countries in South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa or Oceania you have already visited. View how much of the United States you have visited or which part of Asia you miss to visit on your next trip. EXPLORE NEW GOALS Balloon thanks to artificial intelligence will suggest new nations to discover that you have not yet visited based on the percentage of compatibility and your feedback provided. Get inspired by Balloon and discover new countries to visit. UPDATE YOUR TRAVEL LIST Always keep your travel list of countries visited up to date. Get ready to discover all 196 nations of the world and find out how much of the world you have visited. Enter the last trip you took in your profile and don't forget to enter the travel category. SHARE YOUR VISITED NATIONS Share your list of visited countries with friends and family via Facebook and find out who is the strongest traveler in your group of friends. Find out your friends' travel stats and which countries they have visited. You will be able to see on the map which countries your acquaintances have visited. CUSTOMIZE YOUR TRAVEL DIARY Balloon also supports dark mode on the map and is fully customizable. You will be able to use the new Widgets of your iPhone to personalize the home of your phone and see statistics, memories or travel suggestions. During registration you will be asked to enter travel information that will better personalize Balloon with new and fantastic countries to discover on the map. INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR COUNTRIES: - Currency converter exchange - National anthem - Spoken languages - Emergency numbers - UNESCO heritage - Starred restaurants - Level of risk - National holiday - Driving direction - Currency of the nation and many other travel features. Do you love to travel? join Balloon now, download the app and get inspired. ================== PLEASE NOTE: In order to access all features, you need to make an in-app purchase at Balloon. • Upon confirmation of the purchase, the amount will be charged to your iTunes account. • The subscription renewal amount will be charged to your account within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. • The free trial period, when provided, will automatically expire upon purchase of the subscription, even if it has not yet ended. ================== Privacy Policy: https://media.balloon.travel/privacy-policy.pdf Terms of use: https://media.balloon.travel/terms-of-service.pdf ================== If you have any suggestions or advice, do not hesitate to contact us by writing to: balloon@loudsrl.com

Screenshots

Scratch My Map4 screens
Balloon Been4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Scratch My Map at 5.0 against Balloon Been's 4.1. Scratch My Map also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). Balloon Been's advantage is review sentiment (82% vs 50%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Balloon Been sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Scratch My Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scratch My Map holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balloon Been has 13 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Scratch My Map's written reviews are positive against 82% of Balloon Been's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scratch My Map ships an update every 2 months, Balloon Been monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Scratch My Map versus Balloon Been: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScratch My MapBalloon Been
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.1 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews81.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings213 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB75 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIgor StebliiLOUD S.r.l.

Customer experience

Scratch My Map

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Balloon Been

All ratings13 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral7.7%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral15.2%
Negative3.0%

In-app purchases

None

Scratch My Map

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Balloon Been

One-time1
  • Balloon Plus - Where I've Been$2.99

Questions

Is Scratch My Map free?
Scratch My Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Balloon Been free?
Balloon Been is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scratch My Map or Balloon Been?
Scratch My Map is rated higher. Scratch My Map averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Balloon Been averages 4.1 from 13 ratings.
Do Scratch My Map or Balloon Been have ads?
Neither Scratch My Map nor Balloon Been shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scratch My Map or Balloon Been?
Scratch My Map ships an update every 2 months, and Balloon Been monthly. Most recently, Scratch My Map was updated on October 14, 2026 and Balloon Been on October 16, 2026.

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