Comparison

Washington DC Travel Guide . vs SmarTrip

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

Head to head
About

Washington DC Travel Guide .

Explore Washington D.C. with a comprehensive offline travel guide. Discover attractions using augmented reality, navigate with interactive maps, and follow curated itineraries. Get practical tips for shopping, dining, and nightlife.

Highlights
  • Augmented Reality (AR) city discovery
  • 100% offline travel guide
  • Offline Metro and regional maps
  • GPS-enabled interactive maps
  • Daily and budget-based itineraries
  • Shopping, nightlife, and safety tips
Features
Read full description

SPECIAL FEATURES - AUGMENTED REALITY - AR - STOP CARRYING BOOK GUIDES!!! - 100% OFFLINE TRAVEL GUIDE - OFFLINE METRO MAP - ZOOMABLE 100% REGIONAL OFFLINE MAPS: Washington DC & Alexandria - PICS GALLERY - GPS CAPABLE - INTERACTIVE POINTS OF INTEREST on the maps showing public bus stops, restaurants, pubs, hotels, hospitals, museums, theatres, and many others. - DAILY BASED ITINERARIES - BUDGET BASED HOTELS & RESTAURANTS - WHERE, WHAT & HOW TO SHOP - NIGHTLIFE ACTIVITIES - CITY TIPS, MOVING AROUND, COMMUTING - SAFETY TIPS ------------------------------------------ PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Stop carrying heavy city tours guide in your pocket. TRAVEL LIGHT!!! With this Travel Guide you have a full city guide in your iPhone & iPod Touch. This tourist guide is built to be used offline. No connection to Internet required, meaning no extra charges in your phone bill!! AUGMENTED REALITY, unlike other tourist guides you will be able to discover the city with the best iPhone tool - AR - Just click on the AR button, turn yourself 360° and view on the screen where the best spots are and how to find them. You can also scroll up and down to view the closest and furthest attraction. Slide through the tutorial for more tips. After many requests, we bring to you your own steps with a GPS feature. Do not get lost, just take a look where you are standed. It is a very practical city guide since it is designed to be used by itineraries. There are 4 different itineraries for the city depending on the duration of your journey. We also provide tips and advices to travelers, how to get into the city, how to move around, where to shop, where to go at night, most popular places, safety tips, etc... Unlike other guides, this Travel Guide provides you with interactive zoomable OFFLINE MAPS (x6 zoom + GPS capable) of the region showing the attractions, public bus stops, restaurants, pubs, hotels, hospitals and many other useful points of interest. You cannot get lost!. With this guide, you will not only visit the city but also move around its region. Tourist info for must see attractions such as The White House, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Washington Monument, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Pennsylvania Avenue, United States Capitol, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, Arlington National Cemetery, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, African American Civil War Memorial, John A. Wilson Building, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Alexandria, among others. The travel guide is made based on travelers advices. Unlike other city guides, we can guarantee we have already visited these places and would like to give you a fancy and practical tool to make your visit a more enjoyable one. This app contains IAPs for you to enjoy and discover the best out of your visit.

About

SmarTrip

Manage your SmarTrip card and account with this optional tool. Register your card for balance protection, check benefits, set up auto-reload, or purchase transit passes. It can also be added to Apple Wallet for easy tap-to-pay.

Highlights
  • Manage SmarTrip card and account
  • Add SmarTrip to Apple Wallet
  • Register card for balance protection
  • Check SmartBenefits
  • Setup Auto-Reload
  • Buy unlimited transit passes
Features
Read full description

This app is an OPTIONAL tool that allows you to manage your SmarTrip® card and account. This app can NOT be used to pay your transit or parking fares. You do NOT need to setup a SmarTrip account to use SmarTrip in Apple Wallet. Add SmarTrip to Apple Wallet: - Open Apple Wallet on iPhone or Apple Watch - Tap “+”, choose “Transit Card”, select “SmarTrip” - In less than a minute you’ll have a new SmarTrip card in your Apple Wallet and be ready to tap to pay for rides or parking anywhere SmarTrip is accepted. If you need to do account management, then: - Install this optional SmarTrip app to register your card for account balance protection, check SmartBenefits, setup Auto-Reload, or buy money-saving unlimited transit passes. Chat with us at WMATA.COM/CHAT or call 888-SMARTRIP (888-762-7874)

Screenshots

Washington DC Travel Guide .4 screens
SmarTrip4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Washington DC Travel Guide . at 4.7 against SmarTrip's 2.5. Washington DC Travel Guide . also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 11%) and ratings volume (700 vs 57). SmarTrip's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Washington DC Travel Guide . sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. SmarTrip asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Washington DC Travel Guide . holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Washington DC Travel Guide . has 700 ratings behind it against 57, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Washington DC Travel Guide .'s written reviews are positive against 11% of SmarTrip's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Washington DC Travel Guide . ships an update every 4 months, SmarTrip every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Washington DC Travel Guide . versus SmarTrip: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWashington DC Travel Guide .SmarTrip
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (700 ratings) — better2.5 (57 ratings)
Positive reviews31.3% of reviews — better10.6% of reviews
Number of ratings700 — better57
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel GarciaWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Customer experience

Washington DC Travel Guide .

All ratings700 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative66.7%

SmarTrip

All ratings57 ratings
Positive29.8%
Neutral7.0%
Negative63.2%
Written reviews331 reviews
Positive10.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative87.6%

User reviews

Washington DC Travel Guide .

From 700 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗺️ Offline maps functionality
  • 👍 User-friendly interface design
  • 📸 Good quality pictures and visuals
  • ℹ️ Useful travel information and recommendations
  • 🎯 Easy navigation around the city

Room to improve

  • 💰 Deceptive pricing model with hidden costs
  • 🚫 Requires multiple purchases for small areas
  • 📊 Limited tourist attraction information
  • 🗺️ Poor quality metro maps
  • ❌ Not worth the cost compared to free alternatives

SmarTrip

From 57 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient for commuting
  • 🚀 Seamless integration with Apple Wallet
  • 🚀 Straightforward account setup

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable card reading at turnstiles
  • 🐛 Delayed balance updates
  • 🐛 Buggy app functionality
  • 🔒 Excessive personal information required
  • 🔒 Difficult to recover account

Bugs and requests

Washington DC Travel Guide .

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • Maps appear blurry on certain devices
  • Unauthorized charges without user consent
  • App fails to unlock after payment
  • Unable to pin custom locations
Show 1 more
  • No help or support contact information provided

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to pin custom locations like hotels
  • Efficient routing between multiple points of interest
  • Clear explanation of what each map/guide purchase covers
  • Upfront pricing disclosure before download
  • Better metro map quality and readability
Show 2 more
  • More comprehensive attraction listings
  • Itinerary planning with timing and travel directions

SmarTrip

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to activate account due to missing activation email
  • Password reset process not working
  • Inconsistent behavior when adding value to card

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to transfer balance between cards
  • Real-time balance updates
  • Improved trip planning tools
  • Apple Watch support

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Washington DC Travel Guide .

One-time9
  • National Air and Space Museum Guide & Plans$1.99
  • White House Visitor Guide$1.99
  • National Gallery of Art Washington DC Visitor Guide$1.99
Show 6 more
  • National Air and Space Museum$1.99
  • National Gallery of Art$1.99
  • New York City$1.99
  • Baltimore$1.99
  • White House$2.99
  • Washington D.C. Tourism2 variants$3.99
None

SmarTrip

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Washington DC Travel Guide . free?
Washington DC Travel Guide . is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SmarTrip free?
SmarTrip is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Washington DC Travel Guide . or SmarTrip?
Washington DC Travel Guide . is rated higher. Washington DC Travel Guide . averages 4.7 out of 5 from 700 ratings, while SmarTrip averages 2.5 from 57 ratings.
Do Washington DC Travel Guide . or SmarTrip have ads?
Neither Washington DC Travel Guide . nor SmarTrip shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Washington DC Travel Guide . or SmarTrip?
Washington DC Travel Guide . ships an update every 4 months, and SmarTrip every 5 months. Most recently, Washington DC Travel Guide . was updated on September 21, 2026 and SmarTrip on September 22, 2026.

Other comparisons