Roadside America vs State Lines
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! - Export/Import your Saves and Been Theres to a 2nd device - 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.
State Lines
This app provides a comprehensive guide to state laws and regulations across the USA. It covers over 45 categories of travel-relevant information, including device use, taxes, and specific RV laws. The app is location-aware and works offline, making it ideal for travelers.
- State law summaries
- Location-aware information
- Offline database access
- Quick compare feature
- Custom sorting options
- Rearrangeable information pages
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Because some things change when you cross the line... Compiled after over 20+ years of full time RV road-tripping across the USA, State Lines is an indispensable traveler’s guide to highly variable state laws and regulations. Currently State Lines tracks over 45 pieces of travel relevant information for each of the 50 states plus DC; including electronic device use, seat belt & child safety seats, state sales tax exemptions, gas/diesel taxes, bottle deposits, plastic shopping bag bans, time zones, towing & RV specific laws, rest area overnight parking limits, state park camping fees, default speed limits, radar detectors, highway emergency #s, alcohol sales laws & taxes, smoking bans, open container laws, pet leash laws, e-bike laws, bicycle helmet laws, motorcycle helmet laws, left turns on red, u-turns, keep right and more. State Lines is location aware, so it can automatically show you information about nearby states. The entire State Lines database is integrated into the application, so State Lines works when you are out of internet access. When you visit a new state, have you ever wondered: Is the sales tax lower over the next state line? Is the fuel tax cheaper here? Can I buy beer in the grocery stores? Can I overnight in rest areas? Is smoking allowed in restaurants? Are radar detectors legal? Can I make a left turn on red? Are helmets required? What restraints for my kids are required in this state? KEY FEATURES: + Quick Compare: You can pick up to three favorite data fields to be displayed on the main screen, making it easy to compare nearby states. + Custom Sorting: You can sort the state list alphabetically, by distance from you, and by your selected Quick Compare fields. If you’ve ever wanted to see what state has the lowest alcohol or fuel taxes, this feature makes it easy! + Custom Page Ordering: State Lines has six pages of detailed information per state. You can rearrange these pages so that your favorite pages are first. State Lines is an essential application for anyone traveling around the United States - whether by RV, car, train, bike, plane, or boat. No matter how you travel, if you’re frequently crossing state lines, you need State Lines. ****** NOTES ******* State Lines is intended to provide an at-a-glance summarized guide to rules and regulations, and it is not an exhaustive legal reference. While every effort has been made to provide quality up to date data, no warranty for accuracy of data is expressed or implied. State Lines assumes no responsibility for how you utilize the data. Keep in mind, local regulations can often override state level rules (so while a state may not have plastic bag bans, a city may - which will not be reflected in State Lines), and laws frequently change. Always verify with the proper authorities before assuming anything. Gun Laws: Please note, State Lines has not included this feature in a long time. We recommend apps like 'Legal Heat' - which is updated regularly by the experts on this very complex topic. We attempt to keep State Lines up to date annually This is a time consuming manual research process, and we appreciate your patience and understanding that things WILL get out of date. State Lines is a personal passion project that has been maintained in the App Store for over 15 years, and takes a tremendous amount of time to manually research and update. This app was first released in 2010, pre-dating the era of in-app subscriptions - so the app only generates income from new app sales. If you want
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: State Lines at none against Roadside America's 9. State Lines also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 62%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Roadside America's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (2.4K vs 19). On ads 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
Roadside America costs $3.99 and State Lines $4.99 up front. Roadside America sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. State Lines asks for nothing beyond the download.
Roadside America holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roadside America has 2.4K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of Roadside America's written reviews are positive against 90% of State Lines's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Roadside America ships an update every 2 months, State Lines every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roadside America | State Lines |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.4K ratings) — better | 4.2 (19 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews | 90.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K — better | 19 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #6 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | This Exit LLC | Two Steps Beyond |
Customer experience
Roadside America
State Lines
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
State Lines
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roadside America
- US - California$2.99
- US - Northwest$2.99
- US - Southwest$2.99
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- 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
State Lines
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Roadside America free?
Is State Lines free?
Which has better reviews, Roadside America or State Lines?
Do Roadside America or State Lines have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roadside America or State Lines?
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