Mountain Project vs American Whitewater
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mountain Project
Discover and navigate to outdoor climbing areas, and find specific routes with detailed filters. Access route beta, photos, and topos offline, and view climbing area statistics. Connect with other climbers in the forum, track your progress, and create to-do lists.
- Find and navigate to climbing areas
- Sort routes by discipline, difficulty, and rating
- Search 155,000+ climbing routes offline
- Download route beta, photos, and topos for offline use
- View climbing area route statistics and critical info
- Connect with climbers in the forum
- Track attempts, sends, and create to-do lists
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Beyond the Guidebook: The Definitive Rock Climbing Resource. • Find outdoor climbing areas near you, and navigate to them, using the map. This super-handy new feature is one of our personal faves. • The much requested route finder: Easily sort routes by discipline, difficulty, star ranking and more. If a 4-star M9 is your thing, we'll help you find it. • Search our entire database of 155,000+ climbing routes, even offline. • Download route beta, photos, and topos state by state for offline use — because the best crags often have the worst reception. • View a climbing area’s route stats (how many 5.11s are there?) and critical info (when is the raptor closure again?) in a single glance. • Chat, ask questions, or put out a call for partners in our forum. • Rate routes and photos, keep track of attempts & sends, or make a to-do list • It's free to download and free of advertising too. Everything you need, nothing you don't.
American Whitewater
This app connects human-powered recreational river users with ecological data to conserve and restore whitewater resources. It serves as a primary advocate for preserving whitewater rivers across the United States, promoting safe enjoyment.
- Whitewater resource conservation
- River restoration initiatives
- Safe whitewater recreation opportunities
- Advocacy for river preservation
- Connects users with ecological data
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Founded in 1954, American Whitewater is a national non-profit organization (Non-profit # 23-7083760) with a mission “to conserve and restore America's whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely.” American Whitewater is a membership organization representing a broad diversity of individual whitewater enthusiasts, river conservationists, and more than 100 local paddling club affiliates across America. The organization is the primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States, and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to achieve the goals within its mission.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mountain Project at 4.6 against American Whitewater's 3.4. Mountain Project also leads on ratings volume (4.6K vs 24) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mountain Project holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mountain Project has 4.6K ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Mountain Project's written reviews are positive against 22% of American Whitewater's.
Mountain Project ships an update every 3 weeks, American Whitewater every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mountain Project | American Whitewater |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.6K ratings) — better | 3.4 (24 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 34.8% of reviews — better | 22.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.6K — better | 24 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Adventure Projects Inc. | AMERICAN WHITEWATER |
Customer experience
Mountain Project
American Whitewater
User reviews
Mountain Project
From 4.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🗺️ Extensive database of climbing routes
- 📚 Detailed route information and beta
- 🗺️ Offline access to downloaded areas
- 👥 Helpful community contributions
- 📸 Useful photos and visuals
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🗺️ Inaccurate or outdated map information
- 🔍 Inefficient search and navigation
- 💰 Excessive advertising and promotion of other apps
- 📝 Inability to add comments or photos from the app
American Whitewater
From 24 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🗺️ Map view displaying all runs simultaneously
- 📊 Accurate river gauge information and levels
- 🎨 Modern, visually appealing redesign
- 📱 Responsive app that updates reliably
- 🌈 Color-coded difficulty ratings
Room to improve
- ❌ Removal of favorites/bookmarks feature
- 🔍 Eliminated filtering by difficulty, flow, and distance
- 😕 Loss of saved runs and user preferences
- ⏱️ Requires clicking individual rivers to view levels
- 🗂️ Incomplete state river lists with scrolling issues
Bugs and requests
Mountain Project
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes when opening routes or areas
- Map not showing all available climbs
- Incorrect date recording for ticks
- Inability to delete downloaded areas
- Login issues and account sync problems
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to add/update routes and areas
- Implement better offline map functionality
- Improve search and filtering options
- Add user profile and route tracking features
- Enhance community engagement tools
American Whitewater
Reported bugs
13 issues- Rivers not populating on map or in lists
- Incorrect water level readings
- App crashes on launch (iPhone 11 and other devices)
- Login functionality broken or non-functional
- Favorites data lost during updates
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Flow data inconsistency between app and website
- Gauge information displays in mixed units (CFS vs feet)
- App stalls during flow updates
- Incomplete river lists when browsing by state
- Share button crashes the app
- App won't load or displays 'update in progress' indefinitely
- Password manager integration issues
- Weekly automatic logouts
Requested features
13 requests- Restore favorites/bookmarked rivers functionality
- Restore filtering by difficulty class, distance, and runnable status
- Add ability to save custom river sections
- Implement flow-based alerts and notifications
- Add toggle between CFS and feet measurements
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Restore quick-view list format with flow indicators
- Include rapid descriptions and hazard information
- Add user location zoom button on map
- Implement custom notes attachment to runs
- Add configurable flow alerts for premium members
- Restore login functionality and account persistence
- Improve search persistence across navigation
- Display rapids and descriptions in app (not just website)
In-app purchases
Mountain Project
No in-app purchases
American Whitewater
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mountain Project free?
Is American Whitewater free?
Which has better reviews, Mountain Project or American Whitewater?
Do Mountain Project or American Whitewater have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mountain Project or American Whitewater?
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