Explorer vs ReadRivals
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Explorer
Navigate a world-renowned museum with ease. This app provides interactive maps, turn-by-turn directions to exhibits and amenities, and personalized recommendations based on your interests. Enhance your visit with behind-the-scenes content and engaging quizzes.
- Interactive museum map
- Turn-by-turn directions
- Customized exhibit recommendations
- Exhibit information and quizzes
- Amenity finder (restrooms, shops)
- Multi-language support
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Download Explorer, the Museum’s free mobile app! Get a map, turn-by-turn directions to exhibits and amenities, customized recommendations for what to see, and more! “A great aid to anyone seeing the museum for the first or 40th time.” - The New York Times Available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Explorer is automatically set to the language of your device. Map and Turn-by-Turn Directions Get directions to exhibits and amenities, including shortest and accessible routes. Get Recommendations for What to See Explorer recommends exhibits based on interests you select—and sorts them by how close they are to your location. Learn More About the Museum’s Exhibits Go behind the scenes and dive deeper with videos, fun quizzes, and more. Find the Nearest Restroom Explorer provides you the shortest route to restrooms, shops, exits, and more. How does Explorer know where you are? The Museum has placed more than 700 Bluetooth beacons throughout its 45 permanent halls. These tiny beacons give off signals that your phone can detect (when Bluetooth is enabled). Your phone calculates your position based on detecting three of these beacons simultaneously. This triangulation is not always perfect, especially in certain areas like large, multi-level halls, meandering walkways, or stairwells. Your phone should be able to detect the hall that you are in and provide turn-by-turn directions, but sometimes the “blue dot” is not exactly in the right place. In some rare cases it will even be missing. Moving to another area and waiting a few moments will usually fix the issue. The Museum’s free AMNH-GUEST Wi-Fi also varies in strength throughout the complex. Certain materials and large exhibits (i.e. the Blue Whale) either absorb or reflect the radio signals used by Wi-Fi, further complicating this technology. If you experience difficulty connecting to Wi-Fi in a particular part of the Museum, you can usually fix the issue by moving a short distance away. We’d Love to Hear From You! Your feedback is important and will help us improve your Museum experience. Email explorer@amnh.org. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies
ReadRivals
Practice reading aloud and track your progress with interactive challenges. Compete against AI or friends, and receive detailed feedback on your performance to improve reading speed and accuracy.
- Read aloud practice
- AI reading challenges
- Compete with friends
- Detailed performance feedback
- AI-powered reading assistance
- Progress tracking
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ReadRivals turns reading practice into an interactive challenge. Read aloud, measure your performance, challenge AI or compete with friends and family, and see how your reading improves over time. READ & PRACTICE Choose a book or passage and read aloud while ReadRivals measures your reading performance. CHALLENGE AI Put your reading skills to the test against AI opponents and see who comes out on top. COMPETE WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY Use Pass & Play to read the same passage and compare your results. DETAILED PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK See your reading speed, accuracy, mistakes, substitutions, omissions, and other insights after each session. AI-POWERED READING HELP Get help understanding passages, hear text read aloud, look up words, and receive useful feedback on your reading. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Follow your performance over time and see how your reading develops with every session. Whether you’re practicing on your own or turning reading into a friendly competition, ReadRivals makes every page an opportunity to improve. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ReadRivals at 5.0 against Explorer's 3.8. ReadRivals also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Explorer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (115 vs 2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. ReadRivals sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Explorer asks for nothing beyond the download.
ReadRivals holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Explorer has 115 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Explorer ships an update every 2 months, ReadRivals weekly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Explorer | ReadRivals |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (115 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 115 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | American Museum of Natural History | ReadRivals LLC |
Customer experience
Explorer
ReadRivals
Bugs and requests
Explorer
Reported bugs
12 issues- App crashes when accessing membership/ticket linking
- Location services fail to detect user position
- Bluetooth continues tracking after app closes
- Payment confirmation button unresponsive
- Duplicate charges on payment attempts
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- App freezes on food page navigation
- Crashes when changing map levels
- Swiping on image galleries doesn't work
- App won't open or closes immediately
- GPS shows incorrect floor levels
- Directions loop back on themselves
- Maps don't match physical museum layout
Requested features
10 requests- Digital membership card storage
- Apple Pay support for payments
- Search function for exhibits
- Swipe functionality for image galleries
- To-do list based on interests and time
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Planetarium and show times integration
- Ability to highlight halls on map
- Improved battery optimization
- Current exhibition listings
- Ticket pricing and hours information
ReadRivals
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Explorer
No in-app purchases
ReadRivals
- ReadRivals Basic Monthly$9.991 Month
- ReadRivals Pro Monthly$19.991 Month
Questions
Is Explorer free?
Is ReadRivals free?
Which has better reviews, Explorer or ReadRivals?
Do Explorer or ReadRivals have ads?
Which is updated more often, Explorer or ReadRivals?
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