Comparison

StraboField vs RTAB

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

Head to head
About

StraboField

This mobile application helps geologists record field observations, capture data like photos and sketches, and create geologic maps. It supports various geological subdisciplines and allows for offline use with data syncing capabilities.

Highlights
  • Record field data with photos, sketches, and notes
  • Collect georeferenced orientation and spatial data
  • Use custom or built-in basemaps offline
  • Create multi-scale observations with nested Spots
  • Organize and back up data locally or to StraboSpot.org
  • Fully functional offline for remote fieldwork
Features
Read full description

StraboField is a powerful, all-in-one mobile app designed to streamline your geological fieldwork. Record observations, capture photos and sketches, collect orientation data, create geologic maps and stratigraphic sections — all from a single, map-centered platform. Easily collect spatially referenced data using point, line, or polygon-based Spots. Work across multiple scales using nested Spots and high-resolution image basemaps. Designed by geologists, for geologists, StraboField supports workflows across subdisciplines including structural geology, sedimentology, petrology, volcanology, and geomorphology. ** Key Features: ** * Capture field data with photos, sketches, and notes * Collect georeferenced orientation and spatial data * Use custom or built-in basemaps offline * Create multi-scale observations with nested Spots * Organize and back up data locally or to StraboSpot.org * StraboField is fully functional offline, making it ideal for remote fieldwork. Once online, your data can be synced to the StraboSpot digital data system at StraboSpot.org — an open- source platform supported by the National Science Foundation.

About

RTAB

This utility app enables real-time 3D scanning and mapping of environments using LiDAR or RGB-D sensors. It features online loop closure detection and map optimization for immediate feedback, with export options for various 3D formats.

Highlights
  • Online 3D scanning and mapping
  • Loop closure detection and map correction
  • Save maps in DB format
  • Export in PLY, LAS, or OBJ
  • Multi-session mapping
  • AR/VR visualization mode
Read full description

RTAB-Map (Real-Time Appearance-Based Mapping) is an Open Source LiDAR / RGB-D / Stereo Graph-Based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) approach based on an online incremental appearance-based loop closure detector. The loop closure detector uses a bag-of-words approach to determinate how likely a new image comes from a previous location or a new location. When a loop closure hypothesis is accepted, a new constraint is added to the map's graph, then a graph optimizer minimizes the errors in the map in real-time. An optional memory management approach can be used to limit the number of locations used for loop closure detection and graph optimization, so that real-time constraints on large-scale environnements are always respected. ARKit's visual inertial odometry (VIO) is used as the SLAM front-end for RTAB-Map (the SLAM back-end). * Note that unlike other scanning apps that optimize the map only after mapping, with RTAB-Map you get loop closure detection and map optimization online so you can have a live feedback to know when you have enough constraints in the map for good global optimization before stopping the scan. *** 3D reconstruction available only with LiDAR sensor. Features: * Online 3D scanning/mapping of the environment. * Online loop closure detection and map correction. * Save in DB format (RTAB-Map desktop and rtabmap_ros format). * Export in PLY, LAS or OBJ. * Multi-session mapping (save and continue later). * Use Apriltags to help finding loop closures in textureless environments. * Mixed AR/VR First-Person in visualization mode. * Raw ARKit data recording (up to 60 Hz!), useful to record long sessions without comprising battery life.

Screenshots

StraboField4 screens
RTAB3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: RTAB at 100% against StraboField's 50%. RTAB also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (14.3 vs 17.0). StraboField's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RTAB holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 39 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of StraboField's written reviews are positive against 100% of RTAB's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StraboField ships an update every 9 days, RTAB every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
StraboField versus RTAB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStraboFieldRTAB
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (19 ratings)4.8 (39 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1939 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.014.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe University of KansasMathieu Labbe

Customer experience

StraboField

All ratings19 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

RTAB

All ratings39 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

StraboField

No in-app purchases

None

RTAB

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StraboField free?
StraboField is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RTAB free?
RTAB is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StraboField or RTAB?
RTAB is rated higher. StraboField averages 4.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while RTAB averages 4.8 from 39 ratings.
Do StraboField or RTAB have ads?
Neither StraboField nor RTAB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StraboField or RTAB?
StraboField ships an update every 9 days, and RTAB every 4 months. Most recently, StraboField was updated on October 6, 2026 and RTAB on October 9, 2026.

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