Comparison

Polaris® vs Garmin Explore™

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

Head to head
About

Polaris®

Manage your powersports vehicle's maintenance, plan adventurous rides with detailed maps and navigation, and discover gear. Connect to in-vehicle displays for an enhanced experience.

Highlights
  • Vehicle service history and maintenance reminders
  • Ride planning with snap-to-trail routing
  • On/offline maps and navigation
  • Group Ride tracking
  • 3D ride replays
  • Gear and accessory shopping
  • Help Center support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Own your adventure with greater confidence and peace of mind, putting you in the driver seat with access to vehicle and riding details at your fingertips. Information you need when you need it to more easily tackle powersports ownership. Download now and plan your first trip! My Garage View your vehicle service history Stay on top of your maintenance schedules and receive reminders Easily schedule your RideReady service appointments Rides & Community Plan your ultimate ride using snap to trail routing and on/offline maps Navigate during your ride with Group Ride, waypoints, and tracking Relive and share your ride with 3D flyover of your tracked ride Shopping & Support Find your gear & accessories to elevate your ride Easily get your questions answered at the Help Center Unleash the full power by connecting to your in-vehicle display powered by RIDE COMMAND, or upgrade to RIDE COMMAND+ for next level remote vehicle connectivity and control. RIDE COMMAND® is a registered trademark of Polaris Industries Inc. *Continued use of GPS running in the background can decrease battery life. Recommend running with power source. **Group Ride functionality requires cellular connectivity. If cellular signal is lost, RIDE COMMAND will show the last known location of riders in your group until signal is established again.

About

Garmin Explore™

Navigate off-grid with this app, which pairs with a compatible Garmin device for trip planning, mapping, and navigation even without Wi-Fi or cellular service. Plan routes, download maps for offline use, and sync data to the cloud.

Highlights
  • Off-grid navigation
  • Trip planning
  • Offline map downloads
  • Pair and sync with Garmin device
  • Activity library
  • Cloud storage
  • LiveTrack location sharing
Currently charting
Read full description

OFF-GRID NAVIGATION When paired with your compatible Garmin device(1), the Garmin Explore app lets you use your mobile device for outdoor navigation, trip planning, mapping and more — with or without Wi-Fi® connectivity or cellular service. SEARCH TOOL Easily locate geographic points — such as trailheads or mountain summits — associated with your adventure. STREAMING MAPS For pre-trip planning, you can use the Garmin Explore app to stream maps when you’re within cellular or Wi-Fi range — saving valuable time as well as storage space on your mobile device. Download maps for offline use when venturing outside cellular range. PAIR, SYNC AND SHARE With Garmin Explore, you can pair your smartphone or tablet with your compatible Garmin device to sync and share data for off-grid adventures. Use downloadable maps for navigation anywhere. EASY TRIP PLANNING Plan your next trip by downloading maps and creating courses. Specify your start and finish points, and automatically create a course you can sync with your compatible Garmin device. ACTIVITY LIBRARY Under the Saved tab, review and edit your organized data, including your saved waypoints, tracks, courses and activities. See map thumbnails to easily recognize your trips. SAVED COLLECTIONS The collections list allows you to quickly find all data related to any trip — making it easy to sort and locate the course or location you’re looking for. CLOUD STORAGE The waypoints, courses and activities you’ve created will automatically sync to your Garmin Explore web account when you’re within cellular or Wi-Fi range, preserving your activity data with cloud storage. A Garmin account is required for storing your data in the cloud. LIVETRACK™ With the use of the LiveTrack™ feature, loved ones can follow your location in real time(2) and see data such as distance, time and elevation. What You Get with Garmin Explore • Unlimited map downloads; access topographic maps, USGS quad sheets and more • Aerial imagery • Waypoints, tracking and route navigation • High-detail GPS trip logging and location sharing • Unlimited cloud storage of routes, waypoints, tracks, and activities • Online trip planning 1. https://explore.garmin.com/appcompatibility 2. When used with your compatible smartphone, the Garmin Explore® app and your compatible inReach® technology-enabled Garmin device. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Garmin is under license.

Screenshots

Polaris®4 screens
Garmin Explore™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Polaris® at 4.5 against Garmin Explore™'s 4.1. Garmin Explore™'s advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Polaris® holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.9K and 1K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 46% and 45% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Polaris® ships an update every 4 weeks, Garmin Explore™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Polaris® versus Garmin Explore™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolaris®Garmin Explore™
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2.9K ratings) — better4.1 (1K ratings)
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews — better45.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better1K
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#151#96 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB449 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperPolaris IndustriesGarmin

Customer experience

Polaris®

All ratings2,933 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.9%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews215 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral9.3%
Negative45.1%

Garmin Explore™

All ratings1,015 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral6.0%
Negative17.0%
Written reviews544 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral11.9%
Negative43.0%

User reviews

Polaris®

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Accurate tracking
  • 🚀 Great features
  • 👍 Awesome app
  • 👍 Essential for riding

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App freezes/crashes
  • 🐛 Clunky user interface
  • 🐛 Unreliable mapping
  • 🐛 Missing features
  • 🐛 Buggy offline mode

Garmin Explore™

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Excellent for planning routes and activities
  • 💡 Great for offline navigation with downloaded maps
  • 👍 Seamless integration with Garmin devices
  • 👍 Useful for tracking and sharing adventures

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues with Garmin devices
  • 🔍 Lacking detailed map options in some regions
  • 🔍 Confusing interface and terminology
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🔒 Requires login and internet connection for full functionality

Bugs and requests

Polaris®

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Login issues
  • Ride tracking problems
  • Disappearing vehicle data
  • Mapping inaccuracies
  • Constant sign-outs
Show 1 more
  • Compatibility problems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to plan routes
  • Offline map downloads
  • Larger font for map details
  • Dark mode option
  • Apple Watch compatibility
Show 2 more
  • Improved group ride features
  • Better trail updates and coverage

Garmin Explore™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Sync failures between app and Garmin devices
  • Disappearing or corrupted user data
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS/Android versions
  • Unreliable offline map downloads

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to edit waypoint coordinates
  • More customization options for map layers and displays
  • Improved route planning and navigation features
  • Better syncing and data management between app and devices
  • Support for more Garmin device models

In-app purchases

None

Polaris®

No in-app purchases

None

Garmin Explore™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Polaris® free?
Polaris® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Garmin Explore™ free?
Garmin Explore™ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Polaris® or Garmin Explore™?
Polaris® is rated higher. Polaris® averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Garmin Explore™ averages 4.1 from 1K ratings.
Do Polaris® or Garmin Explore™ have ads?
Neither Polaris® nor Garmin Explore™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Polaris® or Garmin Explore™?
Polaris® ships an update every 4 weeks, and Garmin Explore™ monthly. Most recently, Polaris® was updated on September 23, 2026 and Garmin Explore™ on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Polaris® or Garmin Explore™?
Polaris® currently peaks at #151 in the App Store charts, and Garmin Explore™ at #96. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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