Comparison

Geocaching® vs Geo Bucket

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

Head to head
About

Geocaching®

Discover millions of hidden containers worldwide with this app. It guides you through finding your first geocache with tips and instructions. Navigate using maps, compass, or driving directions, and connect with a global community of treasure hunters.

Highlights
  • View geocache details, activity, and hints
  • Navigate via map, compass, or directions
  • Live Search for nearby geocaches
  • Find traditional geocaches and events
  • Message other players
  • Trackable item management
  • Log geocaches with photos
Features
Read full description

Join the world’s largest treasure-hunting community with the official app for geocaching. Whether you are off to find your first geocache or your ten-thousandth, this app is your ultimate geocaching toolbox. There are millions of clever containers called geocaches hidden in almost every country on Earth, just waiting to be found—there are probably even some near you right now.

 Just getting started? This app walks you through the adventure of finding your first few geocaches. There are tips, hints, and instructions for geocaching as well as using the app.
 Core Features: ● See details with description, recent activity, attributes, and hints for each geocache ● Navigate to the cache using map, compass, or driving directions ● Live Search continuously updates nearby geocaches as you move ● Find all easy Traditional geocaches and geocaching events ● Message other players for tips, hints, and more ● Learn about trackables: geocaching game pieces that travel from geocache to geocache ● Adjust your navigation and distance settings to your personal preference ● Access to GeoTour caches of all cache types and D/T ratings
 Search and Sorting: ● Search for GC codes, locations, landmarks, and neighborhoods ● Search for GeoTours by GT code or see a directory of all GeoTours worldwide ● Sort by distance Trackables: ● Search for trackables ● Log trackables - grab, retrieve, drop, dip, or discover ● View your trackable inventory Logging: ● Log a geocache now or save as a draft for later ● Add photos to share your adventure ● Improve cache quality by reporting geocaches that need maintenance Map Options: ● Street ● Satellite ● Hybrid Unlock even more adventure with Geocaching Premium: ● Find any geocache in the world, including Premium Member Only caches ● Filter geocaches by size, type, difficulty, terrain, and found/owned ● Sort lists of geocaches by distance, Favorite points, or geocache name ● Geocache anywhere, anytime with offline maps ● Take the road less traveled with Trails map ● Plan, add, or edit your next adventure with Lists ● Award Favorite points to geocaches you enjoy most ● Auto-sync Lists and Pocket Queries created on the Geocaching website ● Gain access to all Premium features on the Geocaching website We are committed to building the best tools for geocachers to create, share, and play this game. By joining and maintaining your Premium membership, you are helping to shape the future of Geocaching. In addition to your support of the game, Premium members also get access to more features, more geocaches, and more adventure. You can buy a Premium membership subscription through your iTunes account. Premium membership is available with a monthly or annual subscription. You can subscribe and pay through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Terms of use: https://www.geocaching.com/about/termsofuse.aspx

About

Geo Bucket

This app allows you to store geocaches and maps offline, eliminating roaming charges. Easily populate your map with caches and access detailed descriptions, hints, and logging options. Supports multiple download methods for convenience.

Highlights
  • Offline cache storage
  • Live map population
  • Pocket query downloads
  • Individual cache downloads
  • Detailed cache descriptions
  • No internet required for caching
Features
Read full description

Using application is simple, just install the application, login, and press the Live button in top right corner of My Map to populate map with caches and you are ready to go geocaching. With Geo Bucket you can store geocaches and maps to your iDevice and you dont have to worry about roaming charges. The application has a My Map view where the downloaded caches are shown. Click a cache and there will be two actions available in the description. The i button on the left shows details of the cache and the > arrow on the right give you menu for different options. There are multiple ways to get cache descriptions to the application. -Easy and fast way is press the Live button in top right corner of My Map view. - You can also download geocache descriptions via pocket queries using PQ button in the top left corner of My Map view or drag and drop Pocket query files from iTunes. - You can download individual cache descriptions directly from Groundspeak Geocache web site with the Safari web browser or the embedded web browser. - You can click the pocket query zip file in the mail application and open the zip directly to the application. Geo Bucket can be used with a free Groundspeak Geocache account or a premium account. - With Free account you can download 3 full cache descriptions and 10 000 lite descriptions in 24 hours. -With free account Live button can download only Traditional caches. - With premium account you can download 6000 full cache descriptions in a day and 10 000 Lite cache descriptions of any cache type. From the web download the free account you can use only LOC files, which contain only the cache location information. The Pocket queries and the single cache GXP file contains much more information about the cache, e.g. difficulty, terrain, last logged comments, hint for the cache. The cache descriptions are stored in the iPad/iPhone flash memory and you can go caching without internet connection. You can freely use Pocket Queries and Live data to same location without any worries about duplicates. Detailed instructions are available on the support page at http://www.facebook.com/GeoBucket (Just press the support link) The Groundspeak Geocache icons and Powered by Live are copyrighted by Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Screenshots

Geocaching®4 screens
Geo Bucket4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Geocaching® at 4.8 against Geo Bucket's 3.9. Geocaching® also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (66K vs 85). Geo Bucket's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Geocaching® sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Geo Bucket sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Geocaching® holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Geocaching® has 66K ratings behind it against 85, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Geocaching®'s written reviews are positive against 48% of Geo Bucket's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Geocaching® ships an update fortnightly, Geo Bucket every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Geocaching® versus Geo Bucket: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGeocaching®Geo Bucket
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (66K ratings) — better3.9 (85 ratings)
Positive reviews70.3% of reviews — better47.7% of reviews
Number of ratings66K — better85
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size143 MB38 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperGroundspeak Inc.Matti Mustonen

Customer experience

Geocaching®

All ratings66,229 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews788 reviews
Positive70.3%
Neutral7.4%
Negative22.3%

Geo Bucket

All ratings70 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral5.7%
Negative22.9%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive47.7%
Neutral12.1%
Negative40.3%

User reviews

Geocaching®

From 66K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun outdoor activity
  • 🌳 Explores new places
  • 👍 Great family activity
  • 🗺️ Useful navigation features
  • 📸 Ability to log finds and photos

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription
  • 🔒 Locking higher difficulty caches behind paywall
  • 🐛 Occasional app crashes and bugs
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate or limited map features
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Geo Bucket

From 85 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for planning geocaching trips
  • 👍 Useful for paperless geocaching
  • 🗺️ Detailed maps and cache information
  • 💡 Ability to preload caches for offline use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🗺️ Slow map loading and unresponsive navigation
  • 💰 Restrictive free version, need to pay for full features
  • 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive interface for beginners

Bugs and requests

Geocaching®

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to log trackables from the app
  • Inconsistent performance when zooming and panning maps
  • Unreliable GPS and compass functionality
  • Difficulty canceling premium subscription

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to edit cache descriptions and add images
  • Option to filter by cache placement year
  • Trackable journey tracking on the app
  • Seamless integration with other navigation apps
  • Offline caching data and navigation

Geo Bucket

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Map filters not working correctly
  • Unable to log caches due to duplicate IDs
  • Caches not showing as archived on the map
  • Geocaching links opening in the app by default

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to log finds directly in the app
  • Folder system to organize cached locations
  • Improved compass and distance tracking features
  • Option to customize cache details and log templates

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Geocaching®

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly Premium Membership$5.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium membership$6.991 Month
  • 2 Shareables Yearly Subscription$9.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • 5 Shareables Yearly Subscription$11.991 Year
  • 2 Shareables Yearly Subscription$11.991 Year
  • 10 Shareables Yearly Subscription$14.991 Year
  • 5 Shareables Yearly Subscription$14.991 Year
  • 10 Shareables Yearly Subscription$17.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Membership$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium membership$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • 3-month membership$9.99
  • 1-year membership$29.99
1 purchases

Geo Bucket

One-time1
  • remove advertisements from Geo Bucket$3.99

Questions

Is Geocaching® free?
Geocaching® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Geo Bucket free?
Geo Bucket is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Geocaching® or Geo Bucket?
Geocaching® is rated higher. Geocaching® averages 4.8 out of 5 from 66K ratings, while Geo Bucket averages 3.9 from 85 ratings.
Do Geocaching® or Geo Bucket have ads?
Geo Bucket shows ads; Geocaching® does not.
Which is updated more often, Geocaching® or Geo Bucket?
Geocaching® ships an update fortnightly, and Geo Bucket every 2 months. Most recently, Geocaching® was updated on October 29, 2026 and Geo Bucket on October 29, 2026.

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