Comparison

GPS Tracks vs GPS OS Grid Reference

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

Head to head
About

GPS Tracks

This app allows users to track outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and running. It enables navigation to waypoints, storage of favorite destinations, and offers advanced features for route planning and data export with a subscription.

Highlights
  • Track hiking, biking, running, and walking routes
  • Navigate to saved waypoints
  • Store and manage favorite destinations
  • Offline map downloads
  • Export tracks and waypoints (GPX, KML, CSV)
  • Real-time track sharing
  • Apple Watch app for direct activity tracking
Features
Read full description

"One of the better GPS apps for sporting enthusiasts for the iPhone..." - Bryan Wolfe, AppAdvice.com Do you want to track your hiking, biking, walking, running? Do you want to track your outdoor activities? Do you need to navigate to waypoints? Do you want to store your favorite destinations? Explore anywhere, without limits with GPS Tracks. It is an ideal app for offline hiking, running, walking, cycling, and any other route tracking activity. It is a perfect companion for traveling, hunting, fishing, and other navigational activities where you need to store specific waypoints. Use Applications - • Great for hiking offline, running, walking, and biking to track your route! • Great for photographers who need to track location data for their pictures! • Great for hunters and fishermen who need to store specific locations! • Great for golfing to find the distance to the pin! • Great for military navigational applications! Features Upgrade to GPS Tracks Pro & Premium (requires subscription) • Download maps for offline use • Use Street, Terrain, Topo, Satellite, USGS, NOAA nautical charts, FAA charts, and many other alternate map sources • Add map overlays of local trails or area boundaries from images, files, or directly from your camera • Use custom Map Tile Server URLs • Export tracks and waypoints to GPX, KML, KMZ, or CSV • Print Maps in PDF • GPS Tracks Live - real-time track sharing with friends which allows you to see your friends tracks live on the map • Use the Range Finder • Create a track pacesetter or goal to improve your time on a given track • Weather at waypoints • Elevation profiles for tracks • Create routes manually by tracing the map or dropping pins • GPS Tracks uses WGS84 datum, over 220 datums available with the subscription • Subscription syncs via iCloud to other devices Track • Record your track for any activity • Save your favorite waypoints • Take GPS static observations to average current location for more accurate waypoints • Easily navigate to waypoints with the waypoint guide on the compass • Add a vector as a waypoint with angle and distance • Convert between four sets of coordinates (Decimal, DMS, MGRS, UTM) anytime Measure (requires subscription) • The Range Finder allows you to measure distance, elevation and angle between any two points on the map • Map measuring tools allow you to measure area and distance on the map • Draw or drop pins to measure Apple Watch App • Track your activity directly with your Apple Watch without your iPhone • Will save your workouts to the Health app from the watch (only the watch app uses HealthKit) Connect • iCloud syncing (will sync between Mac, iPad, and iPhone version) • Import from Dropbox, iCloud Drive, or the local device storage • Send a waypoint to the Apple, Google, or Waze app for driving directions • Import tracks and coordinates in a GPX, KML, BIN, CSV, or NMEA format Live Activities & Widgets • Live Activity for tracking and navigating waypoints • Lock Screen & Home Screen widget for distance today and current location • Home Screen widget for last track and add new waypoint There are many other great features. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use - http://www.dmsoftwaresolutions.com/privacyPolicyTermsOfUse.html Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

GPS OS Grid Reference

This app accurately pinpoints your location on Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain and Ireland, even without a phone signal. It offers precise grid references, waypoint creation, and navigation features. The display is designed for clarity in all lighting conditions, and it optimizes battery usage.

Highlights
  • Offline map location
  • Accurate grid references
  • Waypoint creation and management
  • High-contrast display
  • Battery optimization
  • Share waypoints
Features
Read full description

GPS OS provides a fast and accurate way to locate your position on an Ordnance Survey map, both in Great Britain and Ireland. • No phone signal required - works in the most remote locations. • OSTN15 transform data for high conversion accuracy (better than 1m). • 6, 8 and 10 figure grid references. • A large, clear, high contrast display ensures you can easily read your position in any light conditions. • Optimises the frequency of position updates depending on battery charge and speed of travel to make sure you can always make calls at the end of the day. • Create waypoints from a map, your current location or manually enter Ordnance Survey coordinates. • Explore waypoints and get directions in Apple Maps. • Share waypoints with other apps or users. • No adverts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Includes OSTN15 transform data licensed with permission. Copyright and database rights Ordnance Survey Limited 2016, ©Crown copyright and database rights Land and Property Services 2016 and/or ©Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2016. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

GPS Tracks4 screens
GPS OS Grid Reference4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: GPS Tracks at fortnightly against GPS OS Grid Reference's every 3 months. GPS Tracks also leads on ratings volume (18K vs 17) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GPS Tracks sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year and GPS OS Grid Reference sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GPS Tracks holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GPS Tracks has 18K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of GPS Tracks's written reviews are positive against 90% of GPS OS Grid Reference's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GPS Tracks ships an update fortnightly, GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
GPS Tracks versus GPS OS Grid Reference: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGPS TracksGPS OS Grid Reference
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (18K ratings) — better4.4 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews88.1% of reviews89.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18K — better17
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#63 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size107 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid MorneaultTomstrails.com

Customer experience

GPS Tracks

All ratings17,616 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews1,119 reviews
Positive88.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.6%

GPS OS Grid Reference

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive89.9%
Neutral1.0%
Negative9.1%

User reviews

GPS Tracks

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate GPS tracking
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 💡 Versatile features for various activities
  • 🚀 Responsive customer support
  • 👍 Reliable and consistent performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data security
  • 👎 Offline maps not fully functional

GPS OS Grid Reference

From 17 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🎯 Accurate grid references
  • 🚀 Fast and quick updates
  • 💡 Works without phone signal
  • 🗺️ Useful for navigation and backup

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Blurry satellite maps
  • 🧭 Compass not accurate
  • 📉 Accuracy dropped recently
  • 🗺️ No map data included
  • 🚫 Cannot search locations

Bugs and requests

GPS Tracks

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Tracks disappearing after updates
  • GPS coordinates not always accurate
  • Difficulty deleting unwanted waypoints

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to edit waypoint names
  • Improved map synchronization across devices
  • Integration with popular fitness apps
  • Landscape map view option
  • Automatic activity tracking without user interaction

GPS OS Grid Reference

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Waypoint finder satellite view is blurry
  • Compass is not accurate
  • Accuracy has dropped recently
  • Location services permanently dimmed off (iOS)
  • App does not work for users not in England

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add map data and search functionality
  • Improve satellite map clarity
  • Add ability to view location on a map
  • Enable navigation from point to point
  • Add Apple Watch equivalent app
Show 5 more
  • Display latitude and longitude
  • Add a dynamic display for accuracy improvement
  • Implement time averaging for accuracy
  • Allow copying grid reference to clipboard
  • Add facility to store and recall reference information

In-app purchases

3 purchases

GPS Tracks

Subscriptions2
  • GPS Tracks Pro7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • GPS Tracks Premium$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Datum Add-On Pack$2.99
2 purchases

GPS OS Grid Reference

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Features7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Feature Pack - Compass & sharing features.Free

Questions

Is GPS Tracks free?
GPS Tracks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GPS OS Grid Reference free?
GPS OS Grid Reference is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GPS Tracks or GPS OS Grid Reference?
GPS Tracks is rated higher. GPS Tracks averages 4.7 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while GPS OS Grid Reference averages 4.4 from 17 ratings.
Do GPS Tracks or GPS OS Grid Reference have ads?
Neither GPS Tracks nor GPS OS Grid Reference shows ads.
Which is updated more often, GPS Tracks or GPS OS Grid Reference?
GPS Tracks ships an update fortnightly, and GPS OS Grid Reference every 3 months. Most recently, GPS Tracks was updated on September 25, 2026 and GPS OS Grid Reference on September 22, 2026.

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