Comparison

Roadside America vs Highway Dining

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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.

About

Highway Dining

Discover nearby restaurants based on your driving direction and speed, with estimated arrival times. Get directions, call restaurants, and read reviews from other diners.

Highlights
  • Restaurant discovery based on driving time
  • Real-time location updates
  • Direct calling to restaurants
  • Navigation to chosen restaurants
  • Display of user reviews
  • Map with updating compass
Features
Read full description

Highway Dining App will show you the available restaurants in next 20,30,40,60 minutes based on the driving direction and speed !!! Share your thoughts for improvements and add your valuable reviews ! Features: Finding a list of the closest restaurants while driving on the highway is now possible with the new Highway Dining app. This app helps users to find restaurants that are just a minute away or even 20-60 minutes away from their current location. The Highway Dining app lists out all the restaurants based on inputs like the speed and direction of travel. Friends and families who are on the move will find this user-friendly app extremely handy and convenient to use when they are looking for a place to eat which is a just minute away from their current location. For their convenience, the Highway Dining app also displays all the places to dine at that are also a little further away and users can view all this information with the touch of a button. This app includes features such as calling a restaurant directly from the app if the phone number is available and users can also get directions from their current location to a restaurant of their choice by accessing maps using the app. Reviews left by previous visitors to a particular specific restaurant are also displayed by the app. Additional features include a map with a compass that constantly updates the user’s location as they travel along the highway, so they get the most accurate information while searching for restaurant through real-time location updates. * Some features not available in all countries * Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Screenshots

Roadside America4 screens
Highway Dining4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Highway Dining at Free against Roadside America's $3.99. Highway Dining also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 9) and review sentiment (77% vs 62%). Roadside America's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.3) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 31). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Highway Dining is free to download; Roadside America costs $3.99 up front. Roadside America sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Highway Dining asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Roadside America holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roadside America has 2.5K ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of Roadside America's written reviews are positive against 77% of Highway Dining's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Roadside America ships an update monthly, Highway Dining every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Roadside America versus Highway Dining: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRoadside AmericaHighway Dining
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (2.5K ratings) — better3.3 (31 ratings)
Positive reviews61.7% of reviews77.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better31
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.07.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB16 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperThis Exit LLCOne Team US

Customer experience

Roadside America

All ratings2,454 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive61.7%
Neutral4.5%
Negative33.8%

Highway Dining

All ratings30 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive77.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.7%

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

Highway Dining

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Roadside America

One-time9
  • US - California$2.99
  • US - Northwest$2.99
  • US - Southwest$2.99
Show 6 more
  • 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
None

Highway Dining

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Roadside America free?
Roadside America costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Highway Dining free?
Highway Dining is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Roadside America or Highway Dining?
Roadside America is rated higher. Roadside America averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Highway Dining averages 3.3 from 31 ratings.
Do Roadside America or Highway Dining have ads?
Neither Roadside America nor Highway Dining shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Roadside America or Highway Dining?
Roadside America ships an update monthly, and Highway Dining every 5 weeks. Most recently, Roadside America was updated on November 1, 2026 and Highway Dining on October 24, 2026.

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