Tread® vs DirtOS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tread®
Track friends, sync navigation data, and plan routes with this powersport navigator companion app. It allows for seamless data transfer and provides smart notifications and live weather updates.
- Track up to 20 friends on map
- Sync waypoints, tracks, and routes
- Plan routes with custom preferences
- Import and export GPX files
- Smart notifications
- Live weather updates
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Roam the unknown with the Tread® app. It lets you track up to 20 friends on the map of your smartphone and Tread® powersport navigator by using the Group Ride Mobile feature and syncs waypoints, tracks, routes and collections across devices. Easily plan routes on your smartphone with the same maps, vehicle profiles and route preferences you have on your Tread device. Users can import and export GPX files and get access to smart notifications and live weather. • Track up to 20 friends on the map of your smartphone and Tread® device by using the Group Ride Mobile1 feature • Wirelessly sync waypoints, tracks, routes and collections across your compatible smartphone and Tread® powersport navigator • Easily calculate faster time or adventurous routes on your smartphone with the same maps, vehicle profiles and route preferences you have on your Tread device • Import and export GPX files to try out new routes or revisit favorite rides • Keep your phone safely stowed away, and still get important messages and alerts via smart notifications2 on your Tread® device display when it’s paired with the Tread® app • Use the app to access live weather updates, viewable on your Tread® navigator’s display
DirtOS
Navigate off-road and backcountry with specialized GPS tools. Import routes, receive audio cues, and track groups live, even offline. Designed for use in challenging conditions with customizable quick keys.
- Import GPX routes
- Turn-by-turn audio navigation
- Next 3 waypoints display
- Quick Keys for on-the-fly waypoint marking
- Live and offline group tracking
- Works offline with downloaded maps
- 3D flyover route preview
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DirtOS is GPS built specifically for off-road — racers, chasers, rally teams, overlanders, UTV crews etc. Not a generic outdoor app with a "trail mode" tacked on. Built by people who actually drive in the dirt. RALLY + RACING - Pacenote Mode with 1-6 severity + tightens/opens turn classification. - Auto-Detect Turns from any GPX with severity-tagged waypoints. - Countdown Callouts: "500, 400, 300, 200, 100, here." - 4-Zone Speed-Based Zoom camera + Loop Mode with lap detection. - 28-Language Turn Audio, on-device, fully offline. QUICK KEYS 53 customizable one-tap buttons for dropping waypoints at speed. Bluetooth keyboard support for gloved race conditions — mount a keyboard on the dash and hit one key to mark a hazard at 80 mph. Import your own PNG icons. GROUP RIDE, CHAT + PUSH-TO-TALK - Live crew tracking with names and speeds. - In-app chat with presets, voice-to-text, optional TTS announcement. - NEW: Push-to-Talk voice messages. Pair a BLE PTT button (Herda, Zello-compatible) and hold to broadcast to every racer in the group. - Offline tracking via Meshtastic LoRa — share location with zero cell service. T1000-E, Wio Tracker, Heltec supported. - Public + private + persistent multi-day groups. RACE ORGANIZER PORTAL NEW: dirtos.io/org — web console for race directors. Import a master route, broadcast text or voice to every registered racer. All updates land instantly in the app. TRAIL FINDER + CUSTOM ROUTING - Trail Finder — drop pins on satellite imagery, DirtOS traces unmapped desert roads between them. - Custom GraphHopper routing, 116M edges, 9 vehicle profiles from dirt bike to full-size 4x4. - Universal Go To — tap any address, POI, coordinate, or group member. - Automatic gas stop insertion based on fuel range you set. Section Delete + Connect for field edits. OFFLINE MAPS - Route Corridor Download follows your actual track shape — 5-10x fewer tiles than a bounding box. - Silent Zoom Clamp so the map never goes white when cell drops. - Zombie-Cell Detection falls back to your downloaded zoom automatically when tiles start failing. - Region Download with polygon selection. Storage Manager with per-region size + zoom range. TOUR MODE + WEATHER - Tour Mode — Wikipedia landmarks narrated as you drive. - NEXRAD radar overlay + NWS forecast + severe alerts + precipitation warnings 20 miles ahead. ROUTE MANAGEMENT - Merge Items combines routes, tracks, or runs. - Record Mode, 3D Flyover Preview, Photo Waypoints Overlay, Cloud Sync. - USFS + BLM Trail Overlay filtered by vehicle type. RACING ESSENTIALS Next 3 Waypoints Display, Compass Pointer, Off-Course Warnings, Speed Zones with over-speed alerts, Chase Cam (double-tap Find Me for heading-up view) WHY THIS EXISTS Built by people who actually go offroad. Interface works with gloves, in sunlight, at speed. Turn detection knows the difference between a note at a gate and a critical Y-junction. Every feature exists because someone needed it in the dirt. PRICING Free to try. DirtOS Pro $49.99/year with 14-day trial — unlocks Follow Mode, audio, Quick Keys, group ride + chat + PTT, cloud sync, weather, tour mode, offline maps, and exports. Who could use? Off-road racers pre-running Baja, BITD, SCORE, NORRA. Rally teams. Overlanders. UTV crews on BLM + USFS land. Trail scouts. Search-and-rescue. DISCLAIMER: Off-road and recreational use only. GPS can be inaccurate; routes may contain errors. Always verify and drive according to conditions. Full terms at dirtos.io/terms.html. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DirtOS at 5.0 against Tread®'s 4.5. DirtOS also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and chart position (#190 vs unranked). Tread®'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (406 vs 3). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. DirtOS sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $49.99 per year. Tread® asks for nothing beyond the download.
DirtOS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tread® has 406 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Tread®'s written reviews are positive against 100% of DirtOS's.
Tread® ships an update every 3 weeks, DirtOS fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tread® | DirtOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (406 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 406 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | #190 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.5 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 288 MB | 151 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Garmin | Sean Jeffrey Connell |
Customer experience
Tread®
DirtOS
Bugs and requests
Tread®
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to save/load routes on mobile app
- Inconsistent behavior when importing routes
- Frequent disconnections between app and device
- Lack of metric units and other regional support
Requested features
5 requests- Web/desktop app for route planning
- Improved offline map coverage
- Collaborative route planning features
- Better organization and folder structure
- Larger text/UI options for accessibility
DirtOS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Tread®
No in-app purchases
DirtOS
- PreRun Pro$49.991 Year









