Comparison

OutDoors GB vs GPS OS Grid Reference

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

Head to head
About

OutDoors GB

Navigate the British countryside with confidence using detailed offline maps. Plan, record, and share routes, discover points of interest, and track your journey with powerful GPS features. Ideal for hikers, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Offline Ordnance Survey maps
  • Route planning and recording
  • GPS tracking with statistics
  • Discover points of interest
  • Compass and direction view
  • Create and share 'My Places'
Features
Read full description

Includes a free download of all 15 GB National Parks, normally £9.99 (Ordnance Survey 1:50k). *** Extremely easy to use and looks great. [Trek & Mountain Magazine] *** The best way to access Ordnance Survey Maps in digital form. [Stuff Magazine] *** The perfect tool for navigating off-road. Great Fun! [Outdoors Magazine] OutDoors GB makes it easy to enjoy the great British countryside with confidence. • Trusted by hikers, cyclists, ramblers, and outdoor instructors. • At a fraction of the cost of a dedicated GPS device, spend less time staring at maps and more time stretching your legs. • The only outdoors navigation app that combines all your favorite OS Maps, with the features you need in a simple interface. • There is now no reason to ever get lost again. • Simply create a route on Ordnance Survey maps..…and go! OutDoors GB takes outdoors navigation to new heights: • HIKERS: Find or plan a route by choosing from over 200,000 free routes. Then navigate using the built in compass & simple direction view. Track your journey by hitting the record button and finally save and share favorite spots by creating a ‘My Places” list • RUNNERS: Add variety to your running routes by searching our database of local routes based on distance and elevation. Track your stats and save your favorite places on the routes for great views, stretching, resting and water fountains by creating your personal point of interests list • CYCLISTS: Find a route that matches your level of intensity by searching entries by distance and elevation. Or craft your own perfect biking path with the route builder. Use the hands free mode while biking and track your route statistics • PHOTOGRAPHERS: Find beautiful landscapes by searching through over 250,000 points of interests. Find or plan your route to get there by using distance markers and confidently explore offline with Satellite, Terrain, Hybrid, and Road maps EXPLORE CONFIDENTLY • Dependable anywhere - Break free of phone signals and download maps to use and explore anywhere • Find, plan, share, and record routes with statistics & elevation profiles • 200,000+ Free routes available for route planning • Unlimited access to online & offline OS Maps (PRO) ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS • Download any Landranger 1:50k, Explorer 1:25k Ordnance Survey maps • Quick access to download OS Map regions: Regions (1:50k), Counties (1:25k) or National Parks (1:25k) POWERFUL GPS FUNCTIONS • Fully functioning GPS at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated GPS device • Finds your location in seconds- accurate to within 10 metres • Create a route, with distance markers, by tapping on the screen • Follow a planned route using the in-built compass • Create & Share 'My Places' list (picnic area, views etc) • 250,000 points of interest included WEBSITE & ONLINE COMMUNITY (150,000+ MEMBERS) • Do all your planning (or post trip analysis) with OS Maps • Plan, edit and share your routes via Email, Text, Social, etc. You can subscribe to OutDoors PRO for unlimited OS Maps & Premium Routes. Your subscription will be £30 for 1 year from the date of subscription, charged to your iTunes Account, and will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renew can be turned off anytime by going to your Account Settings in iTunes after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of Use: http://outdoorsgps.com/terms Privacy Policy: http://outdoorsgps.com/privacy

About

GPS OS Grid Reference

This app accurately pinpoints your location on Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain and Ireland, even without a phone signal. It offers precise grid references, waypoint creation, and navigation features. The display is designed for clarity in all lighting conditions, and it optimizes battery usage.

Highlights
  • Offline map location
  • Accurate grid references
  • Waypoint creation and management
  • High-contrast display
  • Battery optimization
  • Share waypoints
Features
Read full description

GPS OS provides a fast and accurate way to locate your position on an Ordnance Survey map, both in Great Britain and Ireland. • No phone signal required - works in the most remote locations. • OSTN15 transform data for high conversion accuracy (better than 1m). • 6, 8 and 10 figure grid references. • A large, clear, high contrast display ensures you can easily read your position in any light conditions. • Optimises the frequency of position updates depending on battery charge and speed of travel to make sure you can always make calls at the end of the day. • Create waypoints from a map, your current location or manually enter Ordnance Survey coordinates. • Explore waypoints and get directions in Apple Maps. • Share waypoints with other apps or users. • No adverts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Includes OSTN15 transform data licensed with permission. Copyright and database rights Ordnance Survey Limited 2016, ©Crown copyright and database rights Land and Property Services 2016 and/or ©Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2016. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

OutDoors GB4 screens
GPS OS Grid Reference4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: GPS OS Grid Reference at Free against OutDoors GB's $1.99. GPS OS Grid Reference also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 55%). OutDoors GB's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

GPS OS Grid Reference is free to download; OutDoors GB costs $1.99 up front. OutDoors GB sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per year and GPS OS Grid Reference sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OutDoors GB holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 17 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of OutDoors GB's written reviews are positive against 90% of GPS OS Grid Reference's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OutDoors GB ships an update fortnightly, GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
OutDoors GB versus GPS OS Grid Reference: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutDoors GBGPS OS Grid Reference
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (14 ratings) — better4.4 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews54.7% of reviews89.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1417 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoadTour LLCTomstrails.com

Customer experience

OutDoors GB

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive54.7%
Neutral5.8%
Negative39.5%

GPS OS Grid Reference

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive89.9%
Neutral1.0%
Negative9.1%

Bugs and requests

OutDoors GB

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

GPS OS Grid Reference

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Waypoint finder satellite view is blurry
  • Compass is not accurate
  • Accuracy has dropped recently
  • Location services permanently dimmed off (iOS)
  • App does not work for users not in England

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add map data and search functionality
  • Improve satellite map clarity
  • Add ability to view location on a map
  • Enable navigation from point to point
  • Add Apple Watch equivalent app
Show 5 more
  • Display latitude and longitude
  • Add a dynamic display for accuracy improvement
  • Implement time averaging for accuracy
  • Allow copying grid reference to clipboard
  • Add facility to store and recall reference information

In-app purchases

10 purchases

OutDoors GB

Subscriptions3
  • OS Maps PRO$12.991 Year
  • OS Maps PRO$19.991 Year
  • OS Maps PRO$26.991 Year
One-time7
  • Central and Western Scotland OS Maps 1:50k$12.99
  • South East England OS Maps 1:50k$12.99
  • South West England OS Maps 1:50k$12.99
Show 4 more
  • Yorkshire OS Maps 1:50k$12.99
  • Wales OS Maps 1:50k$12.99
  • Subscription to OS Online Unlimited Maps$12.99
  • Lake District OS Maps in 1:25k OS Explorer Map series$32.99
2 purchases

GPS OS Grid Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Features7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Feature Pack - Compass & sharing features.Free

Questions

Is OutDoors GB free?
OutDoors GB costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is GPS OS Grid Reference free?
GPS OS Grid Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OutDoors GB or GPS OS Grid Reference?
OutDoors GB is rated higher. OutDoors GB averages 5.0 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while GPS OS Grid Reference averages 4.4 from 17 ratings.
Do OutDoors GB or GPS OS Grid Reference have ads?
Neither OutDoors GB nor GPS OS Grid Reference shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OutDoors GB or GPS OS Grid Reference?
OutDoors GB ships an update fortnightly, and GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. Most recently, OutDoors GB was updated on October 29, 2026 and GPS OS Grid Reference on October 29, 2026.

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