TripIt vs Polarsteps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TripIt
Organize all your travel plans in one place. Automatically create a comprehensive itinerary from booking confirmations and access reservation details, maps, and directions even offline. Upgrade for real-time flight alerts, fare refund notifications, and loyalty program tracking.
- Automatic itinerary creation from bookings
- Offline access to reservation details
- Flight status alerts
- Fare refund notifications
- Loyalty program tracking
- Maps and driving directions
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Join nearly 20 million travelers on the world's highest-rated travel planner app for trip and itinerary organization! TRAVEL ITINERARY As soon as you book a flight, hotel, rental car or other travel plan, simply forward it to plans@tripit.com and we’ll automatically add it to your comprehensive itinerary. Seamlessly sync travel plans to your calendar or share them with anyone you choose. RESERVATION DETAILS No more frantically searching through your inbox for important details about your travel plans, like when your flight gets in or the confirmation number for your hotel. Find them in a flash with TripIt — even when you’re offline. Access this information hands-free with Siri shortcuts! Upload PDFs, photos, boarding passes, digital passport QR codes and more to your travel itinerary, so you can track everything in one place. MAPS AND DIRECTIONS The TripIt app includes all the map-related tools you’ll need on-the-go (it’s great for road trips). - Plot out your entire trip on Google Maps or Apple Maps - Quickly pull up transportation options and driving directions between two points - Easily locate the closest restaurants, parking, ATMs and more TRIPIT PRO For roughly the price of checking your bags, upgrade to TripIt Pro to access exclusive travel perks all year long. When you upgrade, TripIt Pro will do all this for you (and more!): • Share real-time flight status alerts and check in reminders • Notify you if you're eligible for a refund if your fare price drops after booking • Track your reward programs and alert you if points are expiring • Navigate you through the airport with interactive maps • Keep you informed when a potential disruption may impact your trip Your iTunes account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Your TripIt Pro subscription will be good for 1 year, and automatically renew each year at $48.99 unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before your term ends. To manage your subscription, including auto-renew, visit iTunes Account Settings. FREE TRIPIT PRO FOR SAP CONCUR USERS If your company uses SAP Concur, you may receive complimentary TripIt Pro benefits that most travelers have to pay for. Make sure you’re connected to TripIt to get itineraries created for you as soon as you book, and receive a complimentary subscription to TripIt Pro, if you’re eligible. For more information, see the TripIt User Agreement (https://www.tripit.com/uhp/userAgreement) and Privacy Policy (https://www.tripit.com/uhp/privacyPolicy).
Polarsteps
Plan, track, and relive your adventures with this app. It helps you create personalized itineraries, automatically logs your routes, and allows you to share your journey with friends and family. Capture memories with photos and videos, and even create shareable video reels or printed travel books.
- AI itinerary planner
- Automatic route tracking
- Photo and video capture
- Trip sharing with updates
- Trip Reels video creation
- Printable Travel Books
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Join 23M+ travelers using Polarsteps as their all-in-one travel app. Build unique itineraries with the travel planner, let the travel tracker record your route, share the journey with friends and family, and turn it into a photo book to relive later. Whether it's a six-month trip or a weekend canoeing close to home, Polarsteps is here to capture and share your journey as it unfolds. Awards ■ Top 26 Apps — Apple App Store (2026) ■ Top 3 Travel Apps — Apple App Store (2026) ■ App of the Day — Apple App Store (2025) PLAN ■ AI itinerary planner: Create a personalized adventure based on past trips or current goals. ■ Destination snapshots: Get a quick overview of each place, why it fits your travel style, and which friends have already been there. ■ Trip details: Add notes, accommodation details, and must-see spots and activities. ■ Transport planner: Choose how you'll get from A to B for every leg of the trip. ■ Inspiration: Follow other explorers, see where they went, and get ideas for your own trips. TRACK ■ Automatic route tracking: Accurately track the route you took on a beautiful digital world map. ■ Travel Buddies: Invite friends to track trips together. ■ Capture the adventure: Add photos, videos, and stories to each step to bring your journey to life. ■ Travel stats: See how much of the world you’ve traveled, with your total of countries visited, distances covered, and more. ■ Top spots: Add your favorite places and activities so they’re part of your story. ■ Transport mode: Select how you got from place to place, whether by plane, train, or even tuk tuk. SHARE ■ Trip updates: Share your journey so friends and family can follow along from anywhere, seeing where you are and what you’ve been up to. ■ Traveler tips: Leave suggestions for other travelers on what to see and do. ■ Privacy controls: Decide who sees your adventures: everyone, followers only, or you only. RELIVE ■ Digital memories: Scroll through the places, photos, stories, and stats you’ve captured across all your trips. ■ Trip Reels: With the press of a button, transform your trip into a memorable video (also perfect to share on socials). ■ Travel Books: Turn your trip into a beautifully printed Travel Book that showcases your route and memories. WHAT OUR USERS SAY: “Love this app! It tracks me on my vacation and provides real-time notifications to friends and family of my trip. At the end, I ordered a Travel Book of my photos which is very high quality.” “The Polarsteps app is great. I am totally addicted. It is so nice to keep up with all your travels. And friends and family can follow you wherever you go. The Travel Book, which you can order afterwards, is of very good quality.” “I’ve been using this app for years now. It’s always been good and it keeps getting better.” WHAT THE PRESS ARE SAYING ABOUT POLARSTEPS “The Polarsteps app replaces your travel journal, making it easier and more beautiful.” - National Geographic “Polarsteps helps you track and share your journeys in an easy and visually appealing way” - The Next Web “Polarsteps’ resulting travel log is impressive, and is the source of a severe case of itchy feet in your correspondent.” - TechCrunch
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Polarsteps at every 4 days against TripIt's every 6 weeks. Polarsteps also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 72%). TripIt's advantage is ratings volume (313K vs 10K) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. TripIt sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $48.99 per year and Polarsteps sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for TripIt against 4.9 for Polarsteps. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TripIt has 313K ratings behind it against 10K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of TripIt's written reviews are positive against 90% of Polarsteps's.
TripIt ships an update every 6 weeks, Polarsteps every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | TripIt | Polarsteps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (313K ratings) | 4.9 (10K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.9% of reviews | 89.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 313K — better | 10K |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #16 — better | #52 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.3 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 215 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | TripIt | Polarsteps B.V. |
Customer experience
TripIt
Polarsteps
User reviews
TripIt
From 313K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Keeps all travel info in one place
- 🚀 Automatically imports booking details
- 🚀 Provides flight change/delay notifications
- 👍 Helpful for organizing complex trips
- 👍 Useful for sharing itineraries with others
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy when making changes to trips
- 🐛 Difficulty removing canceled items
- 🔒 Requires access to email account
- 🔒 Collects personal data
- 💰 Expensive pro subscription
Polarsteps
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Excellent app for travel blogging
- 👍 Easy to use and share with family/friends
- 🗺️ Great GPS tracking and map features
- 📷 Seamless photo/video integration
- 📚 Ability to create high-quality travel books
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🔄 Difficulty editing/rearranging photos and steps
- 🔋 Can be battery-intensive
- 🗺️ Inaccurate GPS tracking in some cases
- 🤖 Struggles with importing past trips and photos
Bugs and requests
TripIt
Reported bugs
3 issues- Incorrect flight time/date information
- Trouble logging in and syncing accounts
- Unreliable calendar integration
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to duplicate/copy trip events
- Calendar view of trip itinerary
- Integrated expense tracking
- More customization options
- Improved sharing functionality
Polarsteps
Reported bugs
4 issues- Trouble uploading videos
- Incorrect time zone and location tracking
- Steps and photos randomly disappearing
- Crashes and freezes during usage
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to collaborate on trips with others
- Option to customize page layouts for travel books
- Improved video support and integration
- More flexible map and route editing tools
- Synchronization across multiple devices
In-app purchases
TripIt
- TripIt Pro (1 Year)$48.991 Year
Polarsteps
- Plus Monthly$9.991 Month
- Plus Yearly$34.991 Year
- Plus Yearly$44.991 Year









