Comparison

BlindSquare vs SightCity

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

Head to head
About

BlindSquare

This app provides accessible navigation for blind and visually impaired individuals, both indoors and outdoors. It uses GPS and compass data, combined with location information, to verbally guide users to points of interest and street crossings. Users can also control the app via voice commands and integrate with popular navigation apps.

Highlights
  • Indoor and outdoor navigation
  • Verbal guidance to points of interest
  • Street crossing announcements
  • Voice command control
  • Integration with popular navigators
  • Save private locations
  • Foursquare client features
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

BlindSquare is pioneering accessible navigation both indoors and outdoors. Know where you are, know where you're going, travel with confidence. BlindSquare is a new solution that combines the latest technology to help the blind with their daily lives. It has been developed in collaboration with blind people and carefully field tested. You need either an iPhone or an iPad to get started. It also supports some additional accessories to enhance the experience. How does it work? BlindSquare uses GPS and the compass to locate you. It then gathers information about the surrounding environment from FourSquare. BlindSquare has some unique algorithms to decide what information is the most relevant and then speaks it to you with high quality speech synthesis. “What's the most popular café within 200 meters radius? Where is the post office or the library?” You can control BlindSquare also through voice commands. The Voice Command feature is a premium service requiring purchase of credits for continuous use. Voice Command Credits are available as an in-app purchase on the App Store. Using BlindSquare as a GPS solution: When you start the app, it will start telling you the interesting places and street crossings around you. By changing the radius, you can limit the area you are interested in. You can also search by search term or by category. You can select an interesting place from the search results and perform the following tasks: 1) Get contact info (address, phone number) 2) Open twitter feed or restaurant menu (if provided) 3) Make a phone call 4) Start tracking the place (BlindSquare will assist you by repeating the distance and the clock face direction) 5) Start your favourite navigator for turn-by-turn instructions (TomTom, Navigon or Apple Maps) BlindSquare is aware of when you travel by car, bus or train and starts to report interesting places in front of you (for example, the next stops) and street crossings when you are passing them. You can also save your own private places to iCloud so they will be found with your every device. Using BlindSquare as a Foursquare client: If you like to play Foursquare, you can do the following with BlindSquare: 1) Get a list of nearby FourSquare venues 2) When you are in a place, you can check in by shaking your device 3) Do a check in with commenting and twitter/facebook sharing 4) Correct the location of the place BlindSquare supports the following languages: English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean (South Korea), Norwegian, Polish, Portugues, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. VoiceOver usage is supported but it also includes higher quality additional speech synthesis by Acapela Text-To-Speech from Acapela Group. Instructions in English: https://www.blindsquare.com/user-guide/ and https://www.blindsquare.com/faq/ Please note: This app retrieves data in real time from Foursquare and Open Street Map. Use of a flat rate data plan is highly recommended. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Having only been released in May 2012, BlindSquare has already received several prizes and awards: - GSMA: Global Mobile Awards 2013, Best Mobile Health Product or Service - Apps4Finland 2012 - OpenCities App Challenge 2012 - The Finnish Information Processing Association: Best Product 2012 Please note: To use BlindSquare, your iCloud account has to be active so BlindSquare can access it to save your settings and places. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

SightCity

This app provides comprehensive information for a major trade exhibition focused on aids for the visually impaired. Discover exhibitors, their products, and event schedules. Plan your visit by marking favorites and creating an itinerary, with interactive QR code integration for on-site navigation.

Highlights
  • Exhibitor and product directory
  • Event schedule overview
  • Search and browse by category
  • Favorite marking and itinerary planning
  • QR code integration for stand information
  • Tactile paving signposting
Features
Read full description

Die SightCity Frankfurt ist die weltweit größte Fachmesse für Hilfsmittel und Lösungen für blinde und sehbehinderte Menschen. Die zugehörige App bietet unter anderem: - Einen Überblick über alle teilnehmenden Aussteller und deren Produkte - Einen Überblick über die Veranstaltungen der Messe - Sie können nach Ausstellern suchen und in den Kategorien stöbern - Speichern Sie Ihre Favoriten und planen Sie Ihren Messebesuch individuell - Scannen Sie die QR-Codes, die Teil des taktilen Bodenleitsystems sind, um Informationen über den jeweiligen Messestand und Wegweiser zu erhalten.

Screenshots

BlindSquare4 screens
SightCity4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SightCity at Free against BlindSquare's $39.99. SightCity also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). BlindSquare's advantage is chart position (#196 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

SightCity is free to download; BlindSquare costs $39.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BlindSquare ships an update monthly, SightCity every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
BlindSquare versus SightCity: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlindSquareSightCity
Price$39.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (57 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings57 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#196 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMIPsoft OyvisorApps

Customer experience

BlindSquare

All ratings57 ratings
Positive71.9%
Neutral14.0%
Negative14.0%
Written reviews160 reviews
Positive83.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative8.8%

SightCity

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

BlindSquare

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashing issues
  • Incorrect address/street announcements
  • Simulation mode problems
  • Bluetooth connectivity failures

Requested features

5 requests
  • Turn-by-turn navigation
  • Intersection details (left/right side)
  • Public transit integration
  • Voice control/commands
  • Multi-language support

SightCity

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BlindSquare

No in-app purchases

None

SightCity

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BlindSquare free?
BlindSquare costs $39.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SightCity free?
SightCity is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BlindSquare or SightCity have ads?
Neither BlindSquare nor SightCity shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BlindSquare or SightCity?
BlindSquare ships an update monthly, and SightCity every 6 days. Most recently, BlindSquare was updated on September 24, 2026 and SightCity on July 20, 2026.

Other comparisons