Compass Free vs Speedometer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Compass Free
This app functions as a sundial to determine cardinal directions using sunlight. Align the shadow of your finger with the app's shading to find north, south, east, and west.
- Measures cardinal points
- Uses sunlight
- Aligns finger shadow
- Indicates directions
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You can find directions without a magnetic compass, as long as there is sunlight. Hold your finger upright at the center of the screen and turn your device. Just line up the white line with your finger's shadow, and the correct directions are shown. It needs neither GPS nor a network connection and works completely standalone. Just make sure your device's clock is set correctly.
Speedometer
Track your speed and location with a GPS-powered dashboard. Features include weather updates, a compass, and speed limit alerts based on real-time road data. Customize the display and utilize HUD mode for enhanced visibility.
- GPS speed tracking
- Map location display
- Current weather and temperature
- Analog compass
- Speed limit alerts
- HUD mode
- Apple Watch support
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Measure your speed with this beautiful designed speed dashboard with many other functionality. It can track your speed, location on map by using GPS. Features: * Graphical presentation of speed * Analog and numeric speed * Current location weather and temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit * Kilometer and Mile unit system selection * Change dashboard different color * Analog Compass * Map location * Maximum, average speed and odometer * Speed limit of current road getting online info from open street.org * Over speed limit warn * Current road name * Portrait and landscape mode * HUD (Head up Display Mode) * Today widget presentation * Apple watch support and syncronisation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Speedometer at 4.6 against Compass Free's 2.1. Speedometer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (69% vs 34%). Compass Free's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Speedometer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Speedometer has 1.8K ratings behind it against 49, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Compass Free's written reviews are positive against 69% of Speedometer's.
Compass Free ships an update every 10 months, Speedometer every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Compass Free | Speedometer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (49 ratings) | 4.6 (1.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.4% of reviews | 69.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 49 | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Masayuki Akamatsu | UniCom Technology |
Customer experience
Compass Free
Speedometer
User reviews
Compass Free
From 49 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple to use
- 🌞 Works with sun position
- 🆓 Free app
- 💡 Clever concept
- 🧭 Useful for basic navigation
Room to improve
- 🌤️ Requires sunlight to function
- 🌍 Not suitable for southern hemisphere
- 📍 Lacks GPS integration
- 🕰️ Doesn't adjust for daylight savings
- 🤷♂️ Unclear instructions
Speedometer
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Accurate speedometer
- 👍 Great design and layout
- 🔍 Useful features (compass, weather, time)
- 💡 Customizable colors
- 👍 Easy to use interface
Room to improve
- 🔍 Small GPS map
- 🐛 Inaccurate odometer
- 🔋 Music volume drops when app is active
- 🔍 Needs larger settings buttons
Bugs and requests
Compass Free
Reported bugs
2 issues- Causes device freezes or crashes
- Inaccurate compass readings
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for southern hemisphere
- Integrate with GPS for more accurate direction
- Provide night mode or moonlight option
- Improve instructions and user guidance
Speedometer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Speedometer not accurate at high speeds
- GPS signal slow to update
- Speed limit not always correct
Requested features
2 requests- Option to remove ads
- Thicker/bolder font for better readability
In-app purchases
Compass Free
No in-app purchases
Speedometer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Compass Free free?
Is Speedometer free?
Which has better reviews, Compass Free or Speedometer?
Do Compass Free or Speedometer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Compass Free or Speedometer?
Other comparisons
