Rivian vs Known Ground
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rivian
Control and manage your electric vehicle with your smartphone. Use your phone as a key, monitor charging, plan trips with charging stops, and access vehicle support and service. Keep your vehicle updated and ready for your next adventure.
- Phone as vehicle key
- Remote lock/unlock
- Remote climate control
- Trip planning with charging stops
- Charger and point of interest map
- Vehicle status monitoring
- Service and roadside assistance
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The Rivian app works with your R1T and R1S to make driving and owning your Rivian simple. Use your phone as a key, manage charging sessions, tap into support and so much more: • Accept delivery of your Rivian • Make your phone a key to your R1T or R1S • Lock and unlock your vehicle remotely • Warm up or cool down your vehicle before you get in • Plan trips in the app to see recommended routes and charging stops based on your preferences • Search the map for points of interest and nearby chargers—and send any destination to your vehicle • Check your Rivian's range and current charging status • Connect with our support team to ask questions and troubleshoot • Request and track vehicle service and roadside assistance • Start available vehicle software updates from the app • Connect with your home Rivian Wall Charger Keep the World Adventurous Forever.
Known Ground
This app helps you privately document your travels by connecting photos, notes, and routes to specific locations. Create a personal map of places you've visited and want to return to, and easily recall memories.
- Private travel journal
- Photo map of trips
- Connect photos to places
- Record routes and notes
- Save places for future visits
- Search memories by location
- Private sharing options
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Remember the places that made the trip. Known Ground is a private travel journal and photo map for your trips, walks and memories. Keep the street you stumbled on, the view you came for, and the details you want to remember, together with the places they belong. KEEP THE TRIP TOGETHER Bring your photos, visits, routes and notes into one trip. Return to a day through the places you explored and the memories you kept. REMEMBER MORE THAN THE VIEW Keep trip photos connected to their places. Add a few words about what you noticed, why you stopped, or what you would do next time. SAVE THE PLACES YOU WOULD GO BACK TO Save places for later, record visits when you go, and keep notes and photos with a particular visit. Build a map of the places you know. KEEP THE WAY YOU WENT Record your explorations with Trip Coverage or a focused Apple Watch walk. Import walking, running, hiking and cycling routes from Apple Health. Health imports and their trip assignments stay on the device where you import them. FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO A MEMORY Search by place, trip, note or photo context. Find Known Ground memories in Spotlight, too. PRIVATE, WITH ROOM FOR YOUR PEOPLE Your library is private unless you choose to share. Invite people to a trip through iCloud, choose which memories to share, and use owner, editor or view-only access. No public profile, social feed, ads or cross-app tracking. For iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. No app-specific account is required. iCloud sync and private trip invitations use your Apple Account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Rivian at Free against Known Ground's $9.99. Rivian also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 2). Known Ground's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Rivian is free to download; Known Ground costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Known Ground holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rivian has 1.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Rivian ships an update every 3 weeks, Known Ground daily. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rivian | Known Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (1.4K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 419 MB | 144 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rivian | Oliver Kawwass |
Customer experience
Rivian
Known Ground
Bugs and requests
Rivian
Reported bugs
3 issues- Widgets disappearing after app updates
- Inconsistent phone-as-a-key performance
- Charging status not updating correctly
Requested features
4 requests- Remote access to cameras and Gear Guard videos
- Ability to control more vehicle functions like windows, frunk, and charge port
- Integration with Apple Watch and other smart devices
- Customizable charge scheduling and energy cost tracking
Known Ground
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rivian
No in-app purchases
Known Ground
No in-app purchases






