Comparison

Theodolite vs Grid Square Life

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

Head to head
About

Theodolite

This app combines a compass, inclinometer, rangefinder, GPS, and map with augmented reality features. Capture photos and videos with overlaid geographical data, and navigate using detailed offline maps. Share locations and collaborate with others for various outdoor and professional uses.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality viewfinder
  • Compass and inclinometer
  • GPS and map navigation
  • Data-overlay photo/video camera
  • Offline map support
  • Rangefinder and nav calculator
  • Coordinate system support
Currently charting
Read full description

Theodolite is a multi-function viewfinder that combines a compass, two-axis inclinometer, rangefinder, GPS, map, nav calculator, and geo-overlay photo/movie camera into one indispensable app. Theodolite was one of the very first augmented reality (AR) apps when it was released in 2009, and it’s been downloaded and used by millions of customers since then. Uses are endless, and the app is great for land measurements, outdoor sports, sightseeing, navigation, and finding your way around. Theodolite is a pro grade app and is used extensively by surveyors, geologists, architects, engineers, competitive sportsmen, first responders, military personnel, and search and rescue workers around the world. Theodolite lets you take data-overlay photos and movies with 2X-8X zoom. Overlay geographical data, angle markings, date/time, author/company info, and project notes directly on photos and movies for later reference. The same data is written into the metadata record of images, making image files self-contained data records. Third-party apps can tap into Theodolite's advanced camera functions with a camera sharing feature. View current position on the built-in map with optional offline Outdoors maps that include topo contours, roads, trails, landmarks, campgrounds, ski lifts, and more. Live map markers continually update distance/heading relative to the current location and also show wayfinding info in the main viewfinder. Draw polygons on the map to mark things like property boundaries and trails, and import/export polygon data via KML. Share map markers and nav calculator points with other users of Theodolite via text messages or e-mail. This powerful capability opens up a wide range of collaborative uses including team land surveying, accident investigations, spotting wild fires, triangulation of landmarks, and advanced tactical observation and targeting. With an optional in-app purchase to enable team tracking, you can share location with up to 20 people on Theodolite's map. Theodolite includes features for serious users like a reference angle mode, nav calculator, map marker import/export, manual and automatic data logging with CSV and KML export, clipboard integration, %grade display, mil compass readout, optical rangefinders (including a mil-based reticle, sniper-style stadiametric graphs, and a variable 4X-24X scope), and night filters to improve use in dark conditions. Theodolite can provide location in military grid reference system (MGRS) coordinates, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates, British/Irish National Grids, US National Grid, Maidenhead locator system, Map Grid of Australia, and six latitude/longitude formats. Optional US State Plane coordinates include SPCS27 and SPCS83 zones covering all US States. The optional Datum Pack adds over 230 geodetic datums to the app to improve position computation from GPS data, covering regions and countries on all continents around the world. AR Layers include navigational aids like the sun, moon, planets, and Polaris (North star), and the optional US Mountain Summits layer that shows over 70,000 US mountain summits in the viewfinder. Theodolite has been shown in Apple Keynotes, featured on the App Store, and has been a #1 selling Navigation app in App Stores around the world. Since its introduction in 2009, Theodolite has defined augmented reality navigation. The app continually introduces new technologies, pushing the limits of iOS app development and taking advantage of new hardware capabilities. Find out why Apple named Theodolite one of the most amazing apps available and showed it being used to explore the Great Wall of China. Where will you take it on your next adventure? Note: Theodolite is an iPhone app -- see “Theodolite HD” for use on an iPad. And be sure to check out the all-new "Theodolite for Watch" and put Theodolite on your wrist!

About

Grid Square Life

This app calculates your Maidenhead Locator (Grid Square Locator) using GPS coordinates. It also displays nearby points of interest like radio beacons, lighthouses, and national parks, along with your geographic coordinates, altitude, and a compass. You can track your distance from home and visualize your position within grid squares.

Highlights
  • Grid Square Locator calculation
  • Nearby points of interest
  • Geographic coordinates and altitude
  • Compass for orientation
  • Distance to home location
  • Graphical grid square visualization
Features
Read full description

Grid Square Life app displays an 8-symbol Grid Square Locator (a.k.a. Maidenhead Locator, QTH Locator) value calculated based on the geographical coordinates obtained from GPS satellites and mobile network. Along with your current position, the app will show information about places of interest nearby - radio beacons, lighthouses, national parks and some random callsigns of the amateurs radio clubs and individual radio amateurs in the area. In addition, geographic coordinates and altitude information are displayed, as well as a compass for orientation on the terrain. The distance to your home location will be available after you set (remember) your home location, or any other location you wish use as a starting point for distance mesurements. To do this, you need to use the application Settings tab. You can change it anytime, anywhere. The relative position of your current square among neighboring squares and the distance to the borders of the square are displayed in an easy-to-understand graphical form - you can see the location of neighboring squares and sub-squares. To see more detailed information about the relative position of neighboring squares and your location within the square, you can use: - Map tab (Internet connection required) - Grid View tab The database is loaded during application installation and contains the following topics: - beacons - lighthouses - national parks and reserves - call signs and displayed in 3 boxes: - In this square - Nearby - In Grid Square You can use scrolling to view. To speak the QTH Locator value in voice or Morse code, tap the corresponding icon on the device screen. Notice! The "Time" application field shows the time of the last location update (not the current time) Please be sure to give permission to the app for Location Services to determine your location. No internet or mobile network connection required except if working with map data.

Screenshots

Theodolite4 screens
Grid Square Life4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grid Square Life at none against Theodolite's 8. Grid Square Life also leads on price ($3.99 vs $8.99). Theodolite's advantage is ratings volume (906 vs 5) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Theodolite costs $8.99 and Grid Square Life $3.99 up front. Theodolite sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Grid Square Life asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Theodolite holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Theodolite has 906 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Theodolite's written reviews are positive against 67% of Grid Square Life's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Theodolite ships an update every 4 months, Grid Square Life every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Theodolite versus Grid Square Life: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTheodoliteGrid Square Life
Price$8.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.7 (906 ratings) — better4.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews87.8% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings906 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.615.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCraig HunterBorys Buslovskyi

Customer experience

Theodolite

All ratings902 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.9%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive87.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative7.4%

Grid Square Life

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Theodolite

One-time8
  • 1,000 Outdoors Map Tiles$0.99
  • Team Tracking$1.99
  • World Datum Pack$2.99
Show 5 more
  • US Mountain Summits AR Layer$2.99
  • 5,000 Outdoors Map Tiles$4.99
  • 10,000 Outdoors Map Tiles$8.99
  • 20,000 Outdoors Map Tiles$17.99
  • US State Plane Coordinates$24.99
None

Grid Square Life

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Theodolite free?
Theodolite costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Grid Square Life free?
Grid Square Life costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Theodolite or Grid Square Life?
Theodolite is rated higher. Theodolite averages 4.7 out of 5 from 906 ratings, while Grid Square Life averages 4.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Theodolite or Grid Square Life have ads?
Neither Theodolite nor Grid Square Life shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Theodolite or Grid Square Life?
Theodolite ships an update every 4 months, and Grid Square Life every 6 months. Most recently, Theodolite was updated on November 1, 2026 and Grid Square Life on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons