Comparison

PathogenAR vs Polis Inventory

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

Head to head
About

PathogenAR

Explore interactive stories about infectious diseases in augmented reality. This educational app uses touch gestures or a Merge Cube to bring pathogens to life, offering an engaging way to learn about disease.

Highlights
  • Augmented Reality exploration
  • Interactive pathogen stories
  • Touch gesture controls
  • Merge Cube device compatibility
  • Educational disease content
Features
Read full description

PathogenAR is an Augmented Reality application from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Explore interactive stories about pathogens and pathogenic disease using touch gestures or a Merge Cube Device.

About

Polis Inventory

Explore ancient Greek settlements from the Archaic and Classical periods. This interactive map visualizes and filters historical data based on physical and historical parameters, offering a digital companion to a seminal scholarly work.

Highlights
  • Interactive map of ancient Greek poleis
  • Search and filter by physical/historical parameters
  • Data based on scholarly inventory
  • View parameter definitions in-app
  • Export data in GeoJSON format
  • No user data tracking
Features
Read full description

Polis-Inventory maps the ancient Greek settlements from the Archaic and Classical periods (c. 650–325 BCE) as identified in the pioneering work published by the Copenhagen Polis Centre, An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis by M. H. Hansen and T. Nielsen (Oxford, 2005; here referred to as the “HN Inventory”). The digital dataset in Polis-Inventory, based on the HN Inventory, comes primarily from the website polis.stanford.edu, managed by Stanford University’s Department of Classics. The dataset reflects ongoing digitization and enhancement of the original print work by the Stanford team and subsequent classical scholars. We continue to advance the data, improving locations and correcting errors as they are encountered. Polis-Inventory is an informative, interactive companion to the HN Inventory, allowing visualization, search, and filtering of the poleis using a set of physical and historical parameters. Parameter definitions are available in context as you browse. Further detail and attribution can be found at odysseymaps.io, polis.stanford.edu, and in the HN Inventory itself. If you would like a copy of the data in this app, you can copy it to your clipboard in GeoJSON format from the About page. Privacy: No user data is tracked or stored by Polis-Inventory. Support: An optional Tip Jar is available to support ongoing development (tips are voluntary and don’t unlock features). Independence: Polis-Inventory is an independent companion and is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Stanford University or Oxford University Press.

Screenshots

PathogenAR4 screens
Polis Inventory4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PathogenAR at none against Polis Inventory's 3. PathogenAR also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Polis Inventory sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. PathogenAR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PathogenAR against 4.9 for Polis Inventory. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 8 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PathogenAR ships an update every 2 months, Polis Inventory every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PathogenAR versus Polis Inventory: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPathogenARPolis Inventory
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (15 ratings) — better4.9 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size137 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesJess Taylor

Customer experience

PathogenAR

All ratings15 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Polis Inventory

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PathogenAR

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Polis Inventory

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99

Questions

Is PathogenAR free?
PathogenAR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Polis Inventory free?
Polis Inventory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PathogenAR or Polis Inventory?
PathogenAR is rated higher. PathogenAR averages 5.0 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Polis Inventory averages 4.9 from 8 ratings.
Do PathogenAR or Polis Inventory have ads?
Neither PathogenAR nor Polis Inventory shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PathogenAR or Polis Inventory?
PathogenAR ships an update every 2 months, and Polis Inventory every 3 months. Most recently, PathogenAR was updated on June 4, 2026 and Polis Inventory on September 19, 2026.

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