Crowsflight vs DistanceSurvey
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Mapless GPS navigation
- Heading pointer
- Drop location markers
- Search by address or what3words
- Offline navigation
- iCloud location sync
- Apple Watch support
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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.
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.
- Distance measurement using GPS
- Distance measurement using compass
- Manual baseline stepping for short distances
- Triangulation for accurate measurements
- Display GPS coordinates and address
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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
Verdict
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
Crowsflight is free to download; DistanceSurvey costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Crowsflight | DistanceSurvey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (33 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 33 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 20 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CW&T | domesticusdevelop |
Customer experience
Crowsflight
DistanceSurvey
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
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- 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
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- 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
Crowsflight
No in-app purchases
DistanceSurvey
No in-app purchases









