Meshtastic vs Trace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Meshtastic
This app enables off-grid, decentralized communication via a low-power mesh network. Send text messages in areas lacking cellular or WiFi service.
- Off-grid communication
- Decentralized mesh network
- Low-power LoRa radio support
- Text messaging
- No cellular/WiFi required
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Meshtastic® is an open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on low-power Lora radios letting you send text messages in areas without reliable cellular or WiFi service.
Trace
Easily build and share immersive 3D holographic tours and augmented reality experiences. Add interactive elements, spatial videos, images, and 3D models to bring your creations to life. Publish instantly to any device, from phones to XR headsets.
- Create 3D holographic tours
- Design spatial content
- Add interactive elements
- Publish to any device
- Capture 3D scenes
- Add spatial videos and images
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Create and share 3D holographic tours in seconds. Bring your ideas to life with Trace — the fastest way to build and publish immersive AR experiences directly from your device. With the Trace Creator app, you can design world-class spatial content, add interactive elements, and instantly publish to any device. Capture and create 3D tours, product demos, and training scenes. Add spatial videos, images, 3D models, and interactive guides. Share insights and stories from curators, educators, and experts — as if they were there in person. Seamlessly viewable on phones, tablets, and next-generation XR headsets. --- Terms of service: https://www.trace3d.app/traceuser-termsofservice Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Trace at 100% against Meshtastic's 44%. Trace also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). Meshtastic's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (824 vs 13). 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. Trace sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $20.00 per month. Meshtastic asks for nothing beyond the download.
Trace holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meshtastic has 824 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Meshtastic's written reviews are positive against 100% of Trace's.
Meshtastic ships an update every 10 days, Trace every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Meshtastic | Trace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (824 ratings) | 5.0 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 44.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 824 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 95 MB | 200 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Meshtastic LLC | Trace3d Inc |
Customer experience
Meshtastic
Trace
Bugs and requests
Meshtastic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Canned messages configuration issues
- Location sharing and traceroute functions not working
- Settings screen bugs and crashes
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
Requested features
5 requests- Offline maps support
- Ability to customize notifications
- More sorting and filtering options for nodes
- Apple Watch and Shortcuts integration
- Improved documentation and user guidance
Trace
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Meshtastic
No in-app purchases
Trace
- Trace Creator - Monthly$20.001 Month
- Trace Creator - Yearly$191.991 Year
