Comparison

Crowsflight vs DistanceSurvey

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

Head to head
About

Crowsflight

This app offers intuitive, mapless navigation using GPS and a compass. It displays distance and heading, allowing you to drop markers, search for destinations by address or what3words, and view saved locations on a map. It works offline for navigation and supports iCloud sync.

Highlights
  • Mapless GPS navigation
  • Heading pointer
  • Drop location markers
  • Search by address or what3words
  • Offline navigation
  • iCloud location sync
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Crowsflight is a GPS compass that simply points. No instructions, maps to read or paths to follow. When we ask for directions on the street, a friendly finger pointing towards the destination is often more than enough. By combining location data (GPS) with the compass, Crowsflight provides mapless navigation in an intuitive, glance-at-it kind of way. It uses only GPS to navigate, so once you’ve loaded your destination/s, you don’t need a data connection to navigate. Crowsflight is perfect for wandering around foreign cities. MAIN VIEW -Displays distance in metric or imperial units -Drop a marker at your current position (if you have a data connection, Crowsflight will attempt to autoname your location) -Heading pointer changes width as the compass/GPS accuracy increases or decreases LIST VIEW -Search for a new destination by address or placename -Input latitude and longitude manually (e.g. open search, enter 40.692,-73.944) -search for what3words (offline) -Location list view shows your relative distance to each location, so you can see how places compare (distances are scaled logarithmically, so shorter distances show greater difference) -Rearrange your location list by long-pressing the row -Share your current location via email -Launch Maps to get turn-by-turn directions MAP VIEW -Map view shows and allows you to select all your saved locations. It’s another way to see what is around you. -Drag and drop pins in map view to pinpoint and adjust locations -Longpress in map view to save a new location on your map. (if you have a data connection, Crowsflight will attempt to autoname your location) OTHER FEATURES -Works offline (searching is the only function that requires an internet connection) -Opens custom url schemes (e.g. crowsflight://&ll=42.923580,-78.793953&q=BUFFALO). You can send Crowsflight destinations to yourself and friends via email. To get the browser bookmarklet for easy sharing, go to http://cwandt.com/#crowsflight -Backup your locations to your computer through iTunes file sharing -save and sync locations to iCloud APPLE WATCH - same pointing interface as iPhone app - swipe to select from locations that you've add on your phone. -pro tip: If your running app keeps taking over as frontmost app, you can double press the crown to switch back to the last app. *Crowsflight is not meant for driving. Most cars have too much magnetic interference to show the compass reliably in the car anyways. You probably want turn by turn directions if you’re driving, but just in case you were thinking about it...we don’t recommend it.

About

DistanceSurvey

Measure distances to objects using your phone's GPS, compass, and manual stepping. Ideal for situations where traditional measurement tools are impractical. Also displays your current coordinates and address.

Highlights
  • Distance measurement using GPS
  • Distance measurement using compass
  • Manual baseline stepping for short distances
  • Triangulation for accurate measurements
  • Display GPS coordinates and address
Features
Read full description

Use your phone to calculate the distance to an object in sight, where it is not practical to measure in other ways. For long distances using GPS to determine an appropriate baseline and then triangulate with the built-in compass. For short distances by stepping an appropriate baseline and then triangulate using the compass. You can also check your long/lat and address.

Screenshots

Crowsflight4 screens
DistanceSurvey3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Crowsflight at 72% against DistanceSurvey's 0%. Crowsflight also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.6 vs 1.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Crowsflight is free to download; DistanceSurvey costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crowsflight holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crowsflight has 33 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Crowsflight's written reviews are positive against 0% of DistanceSurvey's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crowsflight ships an update every 3 months, DistanceSurvey every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Crowsflight versus DistanceSurvey: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrowsflightDistanceSurvey
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.6 (33 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 20 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCW&Tdomesticusdevelop

Customer experience

Crowsflight

All ratings33 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral12.2%
Negative15.7%

DistanceSurvey

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Crowsflight

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Compass won't calibrate properly
  • Directional readings off by 90+ degrees
  • App freezes at instruction screen
  • App opens spontaneously after unlocking phone
  • Search function returns locations in wrong countries
Show 8 more
  • What3Words integration no longer works
  • Location name disappears when tapped, preventing copy/paste
  • Pop-up info bubbles won't disappear and block navigation
  • App thinks user is in wrong location (e.g., New York when elsewhere)
  • Distance calculations wildly inaccurate (e.g., 1.26 miles when at saved location)
  • Yellow compass arc doesn't move/respond
  • Search buttons disappear from bottom of screen
  • App stopped tracking after updates

Requested features

18 requests
  • Apple Watch support
  • Gyroscope-based active pointer for hands-free navigation
  • Metric kilometers display option
  • Ability to organize locations into groups/categories
  • GPS-based accuracy instead of compass-only
Show 13 more
  • Larger, configurable font sizes
  • Dark mode or color theme options
  • Help/tutorial menu for new users
  • Elevation information for destinations
  • LED light option for night navigation
  • Search by intersection (e.g., 6th Ave & 3rd St)
  • Sort search results by proximity
  • SMS sharing of locations in addition to email
  • Integration with What3Words addresses
  • Multiple location list organization
  • Ability to enter GPS coordinates in DMS format
  • Alias/naming system for GPS coordinates
  • Train transit option in addition to walk/bike/car/plane

DistanceSurvey

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Crowsflight

No in-app purchases

None

DistanceSurvey

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crowsflight free?
Crowsflight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DistanceSurvey free?
DistanceSurvey costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crowsflight or DistanceSurvey?
Crowsflight is rated higher. Crowsflight averages 4.6 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while DistanceSurvey averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Crowsflight or DistanceSurvey have ads?
Neither Crowsflight nor DistanceSurvey shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crowsflight or DistanceSurvey?
Crowsflight ships an update every 3 months, and DistanceSurvey every 20 months. Most recently, Crowsflight was updated on October 8, 2026 and DistanceSurvey on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons