Comparison

Emlid Flow vs Bad Elf Flex

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

Head to head
About

Emlid Flow

Manage Emlid Reach receivers and perform positioning tasks like data collection and mapping. Offers free and pro plans for various survey workflows, with cloud sync and team collaboration features.

Highlights
  • Receiver management (base/rover setup)
  • RTK/PPK configuration
  • Point collection and stakeout
  • Import/export various file formats
  • Coordinate system library
  • Cloud sync with Emlid Flow 360
  • Team collaboration
Features
Read full description

Emlid Flow is a companion app for Emlid Reach receivers, designed to manage devices and handle all your positioning tasks in one place. The app has Free and Pro plans for a wide range of applications, from ground control point collection to topographic mapping and earthworks. What you get with the free version: - Full control of your receivers: set up base and rover, update, configure RTK and PPK. - Point collection and stakeout. - Import/Export CSV, DXF, KML, or Shapefile files. - Built-in coordinate system library with over 1000 systems. - Ability to create custom coordinate systems. - Base shift. - Cloud sync with Emlid Flow 360. - Team collaboration with up to 10 members. Emlid Flow 360 is the web platform where you can access all data from the app and vice versa! Sync works instantly, allowing you to prepare, manage, and export projects in the office without manual file transfers and even with the receiver at hand. For more advanced survey workflows, Emlid Flow offers Pro Plan: - Collect and stakeout lines and polygons. - Stakeout reports and collect rules for accuracy control. - Survey codes to better differentiate data. - DTM support. - Auto collection tool to free your hands. - Inverse & Traverse for geometry calculations. - Team collaboration with an unlimited number of members. And much more with continuous updates! Try Pro Plan with a 30-day trial available on all platforms. Terms of use: https://emlid.com/legal/#apps-terms Privacy Policy: https://emlid.com/legal/#privacy

About

Bad Elf Flex

This utility app enhances the functionality of Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. It allows users to monitor hardware health, adjust settings, and update firmware. For the Flex model, it also enables the purchase and application of tokens for advanced features and correction sources like SBAS and RTK.

Highlights
  • Monitor GNSS receiver health
  • Change hardware settings
  • Perform firmware updates
  • Purchase and load Flex Tokens
  • Enable hardware-based features
  • Access correction sources
Features
Read full description

This is the free companion utility app for the flexible, intuitive, and affordable Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. Designed for GIS and survey professionals, the Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini connect to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and provide high-accuracy location data to ANY and ALL field data collection apps in your workflow. This app allows you to view the health of the Flex and Flex Mini hardware, change settings, and perform firmware updates. For the Bad Elf Flex, the app also supports purchasing and loading Flex Tokens into the hardware for enabling hardware-based features and correction sources. Several correction sources are supported including SBAS, RTK via NTRIP, and Atlas (L-band) satellite corrections. Visit https://bad-elf.com/ to learn more about the Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. NOTES: * This app requires a Bad Elf Flex or Flex Mini to operate. * Our "Bad Elf GPS" companion app supports our legacy mapping-grade receivers: Bad Elf GPS Pro, GPS Pro+, Surveyor, and GPS for Lightning dongle. * Continued use of the GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Screenshots

Emlid Flow4 screens
Bad Elf Flex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bad Elf Flex at none against Emlid Flow's 1. Emlid Flow's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and rating (3.9 vs 3.6). On price, ratings volume, 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. Emlid Flow sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $24.99 per month. Bad Elf Flex asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Emlid Flow holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Emlid Flow's written reviews are positive against 40% of Bad Elf Flex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emlid Flow ships an update every 10 days, Bad Elf Flex every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Emlid Flow versus Bad Elf Flex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmlid FlowBad Elf Flex
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (36 ratings) — better3.6 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews55.0% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings36 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size205 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmlid Tech Kft.Bad Elf, LLC.

Customer experience

Emlid Flow

All ratings36 ratings
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive55.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative30.0%

Bad Elf Flex

All ratings14 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Emlid Flow

Subscriptions1
  • Pro Plan Individual Monthly1 Month trial$24.991 Month
None

Bad Elf Flex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emlid Flow free?
Emlid Flow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bad Elf Flex free?
Bad Elf Flex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Emlid Flow or Bad Elf Flex?
Emlid Flow is rated higher. Emlid Flow averages 3.9 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while Bad Elf Flex averages 3.6 from 14 ratings.
Do Emlid Flow or Bad Elf Flex have ads?
Neither Emlid Flow nor Bad Elf Flex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emlid Flow or Bad Elf Flex?
Emlid Flow ships an update every 10 days, and Bad Elf Flex every 2 months. Most recently, Emlid Flow was updated on October 25, 2026 and Bad Elf Flex on October 24, 2026.

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