Roadside America vs ExploreHere
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roadside America
Discover quirky and unusual attractions across the U.S. and Canada with expert-curated stories, photos, and tips. Plan your next road trip or find hidden gems just off the highway.
- Discover oddity-rich U.S./Canada regions
- Expert stories, photos, and tipster reports
- Search attractions by name, address, or city
- Explore 70+ themes
- Map nearby oddities
- Save and track visited attractions
- Submit tips and photos
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App includes 1 region you choose from 7 oddity-rich U.S./Canada regions. Purchase more individually or remaining regions (All Access). The roadside attraction gurus at Roadside America spent decades exploring weird, amusing wonders on America’s highways. The app puts their expertise at your fingertips for your own adventures. Roadside America's stories, unique photos, and tipster reports guide you to less traveled places just off the next exit. App includes your choice of 1 permanent U.S./Canada region (see region states list below*). In-app purchases require sign-up for a Roadside America account to unlock more or all regions ("All Access"). •Car & Driver: "All the Rt 66–type classics, from neon signs to 25-foot-tall muffler men." •People Jul '24/Shay Spence: "Put in your route and it populates the kitschiest, coolest spots along the way." •Popular Science: “Holy Grail of road-trip apps.” •Thrillist: "Absolute must for fans of animatronic roadside dinosaurs and kitschy rest stops." ____________________________ DISCOVER UNUSUAL AND FUNNY PLACES - "World’s Largest and Smallest sights - Museums, graves, statues, Muffler Men - Bizarre architecture, obscure history - Route 66 sights, tourist traps, odd theme parks - Mystery spots, gravity hills, caves ____________________________ SEE WHAT'S UP THE ROAD - Check map for nearby oddities, drop a pin revealing what's ahead. - Add Start/End city to reveal possibilities along the route. - Search by attraction, address, or browse by city. - Explore 70+ themes: Atomic, Music, Celebrities, Tech, Crime, more! ____________________________ PLAN A TRIP - OR JUST LAUGH - Read amusing stories by Roadside America's authors, and useful eyewitness tips by travelers. - View photos, maps and directions, addresses, hours. Call attractions. - Help investigate "research" attraction targets we believe have potential! - Filter Editors' Ratings to focus on must-sees in your vicinity. ____________________________ USE ROAD TRIP TOOLS - Send attraction location to Maps or other popular routing apps - Mark Saves and Been Theres to view on a list/map. Or filter-hide to only see the unexplored! - iCloud sync or Export/Import your Saves and Been Theres to the app on your Apple Account devices - Submit Tips and your photos on oddball and unique discoveries to our editors for possible inclusion. ____________________________ SUPPORT FAQs (inc. how to Restore regions for new/reset device): https://www.roadsideamerica.com/mobile/roadside/ios/faq For region activation issues, please contact us via app: More, Feedback or the website https://www.roadsideamerica.com/mobile/ ____________________________ * REGIONS: HOW TO COMPLETE YOUR IN-APP PURCHASE(S) When first launching app, select your one permanent region (see included states, below). You can later make in-app purchases to unlock more regions. All Access unlocks all remaining regions. Register a Roadside America user account for purchased region access recovery (Restore) on new/reset/2nd devices. - NORTHEAST: Delaware, DC, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia - SOUTHEAST: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee - MIDWEST: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin - SOUTHWEST: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah - NORTHWEST: Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming - CALIFORNIA: California, Alaska, Hawaii - CANADA: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, PEI, Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Family Share works for basic app only; additional region access requires separate accounts and in-app purchases by each user.
ExploreHere
This app transforms your drives into engaging audio journeys. It automatically plays stories about historic landmarks and hidden places as you travel, allowing for a hands-free and immersive discovery experience.
- Hands-free audio stories
- Automatic landmark discovery
- Walking and driving tours
- Offline access (Pro)
- Nearby history alerts
- Save favorite stops (Pro)
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Turn every drive into a story. ExploreHere is a hands-free road trip guide that plays stories automatically as you travel. Discover historic landmarks, hidden places, and unforgettable moments, without ever touching your phone. Whether you're cruising cross-country, exploring a small town, or wandering a new city, ExploreHere reveals the stories that shaped the places around you. Made for the Road - 240,000+ Historic Landmarks across the U.S. - Auto-Play Audio as you pass places worth knowing - Hands-Free Travel Mode for safe driving - Walking & Driving Tours through cities, parks, and scenic highways - Nearby History Alerts so you never miss a story Pro Features - Offline access for no-service road trips - High-Quality Immersive Audio - View public lands, national parks & forests and native lands - Smart proximity alerts - Save and organize favorite stops Perfect For Road trippers • RV travelers • National park explorers • History lovers • Families on vacation • Curious travelers ExploreHere transforms highways into story-filled journeys and ordinary stops into unforgettable discoveries. See the history around you. Start exploring today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: http://explorehere.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ExploreHere at Free against Roadside America's $3.99. ExploreHere also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). Roadside America's advantage is chart position (#6 vs #75) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 810). On rating, review sentiment, 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
ExploreHere is free to download; Roadside America costs $3.99 up front. Roadside America sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and ExploreHere sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 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 — 4.6 for Roadside America against 4.7 for ExploreHere. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.5K and 810 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Roadside America's written reviews are positive against 67% of ExploreHere's.
Roadside America ships an update monthly, ExploreHere every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roadside America | ExploreHere |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.5K ratings) | 4.7 (810 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.7% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K — better | 810 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #6 — better | #75 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 160 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | This Exit LLC | Wesley Vance |
Customer experience
Roadside America
ExploreHere
User reviews
Roadside America
From 2.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun and interesting app
- 🚀 Helps find unique roadside attractions
- 🚀 Useful for planning road trips
- 👍 Detailed information and ratings on attractions
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Difficulty accessing full content
- 💰 Expensive to unlock all regions
- 🔍 Hard to navigate and find desired content
ExploreHere
From 810 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Innovative concept for discovering historical markers while traveling
- 📚 Comprehensive historical information and educational content
- 🗺️ Effective for road trips and exploring unfamiliar areas
- 🎧 CarPlay integration for hands-free listening
- 👥 Excellent customer support and developer responsiveness
Room to improve
- 💳 Automatic charging and paywall frustration
- 🔐 Mandatory email/login requirement for basic use
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and stability issues
- 🗣️ Robotic voice quality for audio descriptions
- 🗺️ Dark map roads difficult to read
Bugs and requests
Roadside America
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login/account issues
- Regions not syncing between devices
- Blank screens and inability to access content
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to restore previous purchases
- Improved map functionality and navigation
- Option to search for specific types of attractions
- Better accessibility for users with disabilities
ExploreHere
Reported bugs
8 issues- App crashes when viewing multiple items
- Crashes on app launch/opening
- Continuous tracking feature not working on iPhone
- CarPlay compatibility issues
- Audio descriptions cut off mid-sentence
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Double charging incidents
- App freezing and becoming unresponsive
- Incomplete marker database coverage
Requested features
8 requests- Automatic audio reading when passing markers for drivers
- City-based browsing instead of marker name search
- Improved voice quality and complete audio descriptions
- Better map visibility with lighter road colors
- Automatic location detection on app launch
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- Free filtering options without upgrade requirement
- Continuous tracking feature improvement
- Offline marker access capability
In-app purchases
Roadside America
- US - California$2.99
- US - Northwest$2.99
- US - Southwest$2.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- US - Midwest$2.99
- US - Northeast$2.99
- US - Southeast$2.99
- Canada$2.99
- US Access (v1.0-1.3)$5.99
- All Access$7.99
ExploreHere
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$2.001 Month
- Pro - Monthly$3.001 Month
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$4.001 Month
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$5.001 Month
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$6.001 Month
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$10.001 Month
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$10.001 Year
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$16.001 Year
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$20.001 Year
- Pro - Yearly$25.001 Year
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$35.991 Year
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$50.001 Year
- Pro - Lifetime$24.99
- Pro - Lifetime$60.00
- Pro - Lifetime$90.00
Questions
Is Roadside America free?
Is ExploreHere free?
Which has better reviews, Roadside America or ExploreHere?
Do Roadside America or ExploreHere have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roadside America or ExploreHere?
Which is more popular, Roadside America or ExploreHere?
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