Comparison

pathRecorder vs MissionNAV

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

Head to head
About

pathRecorder

Features
Read full description

Do you love hiking in the mountains? Do You follow the mountain trails with your jeep or your mountain bike? Do you like sailing? Do you want to mark your points of interest on the route, the points where you have to be careful, etc...? Do you want to save a position of interest (ex. for fishing or diving) and return to the saved point of interest in the next days? Do not want to get lost and be sure to return to the starting point (home) of your trip? Do you want to be able to send an SOS with your current position, the registration of the route taken and the request for help? Do you want to share the recording (numerical data of position, speed, route, orientation, timestamp) of your route with the related navigation data? "pathRecorded - come back" is the right application for you. You can also: - Register your trip by pressing the "Rec" (route recording) button - Record a single point of interest by pressing "Rec" and "Stop" - Go back (return to the initial position of the voyage or go to the saved point of interest by pressing the "ComeBack" button) During the "Comeback" function it will be possible to start a new path by pressing the "Rec" button: the application will continue the journey from the current position. Other characteristics: - Ability to save the recorded routes using text files - Archive for saved routes - File manager to load, rename and delete saved routes - "AirDrop", "iTunes File Sharing", "Open In", "iCloud Drive", "Dropbox", etc ... "SOS email" to share the recorded route data - Recording of the path on a text file (format: .csv) that can be imported into any Text Editor, Excel, Numbers, Openoffice Calc, etc... for future analysis: * registered .csv file: latitude (deg); longitude (deg); course (deg); speed (m/s); altitude (m); heading (deg); timestamp (sec); waypointID (int); * possible waypointsID (integer) (stored points of the route): 0: NORMAL, 1: INTEREST, 2: ALERT, 3: SOS * course error led indicators * graphical indicator for next waypoint and home waypoint * sound indicator for approaching and home waypoint * walking or sailing mode * meters or nautical miles as units of measure for distance * meters/second or knots as unit of measure for speed * high contrast for the interface components (the interface is visible also when the device is illuminated by sun) NOTES FOR NAVIGATION: This route navigator / recorder has been designed to work in different places than commercial car navigators. It is therefore suitable for routes where cars can not travel (ex. in the sea or in the mountains) but can also be used on cars, on normal urban or rural roads or on mountain / forest paths. INTERNET CONNECTION NOT NECESSARY: Internet connection is not required for navigation, route recording ("Rec") and return home ("ComeBack"). Application type: - UNIVERSAL APP

About

MissionNAV

Track your location and navigate using MGRS and GPS coordinates. Add unlimited waypoints, convert units, and share your location and target information via SMS. New features are added weekly.

Highlights
  • Track current location in latitude/longitude
  • Display UTC or military time
  • Track bearing to target
  • Add unlimited waypoints
  • Convert between imperial and metric units
  • Share location in MGRS format
  • Share information via SMS
Features
Read full description

MissionNAV is a professional field-navigation app for hiking, search and rescue, hunting, surveying reference, emergency preparedness, geocaching, and outdoor operations. Navigate with accurate GPS position data and view your location in MGRS, USNG, UTM, OSNG, latitude/longitude decimal degrees, degrees-minutes-seconds, and degrees-decimal-minutes. Convert coordinates, copy or share them, create waypoints, and open locations on the map. Use the navigation compass to track bearing and distance to a selected waypoint. View target direction, current heading, speed, altitude, GPS accuracy, course, and estimated travel information. Optional haptic feedback helps indicate when you are aligned with your target. Create waypoints from your current GPS position, manual coordinate entry, map center, long-press map placement, or distance-and-bearing projection. Rename, edit, favorite, duplicate, reorder, organize, and delete waypoints. Group locations into overlays such as Home, Hiking, Emergency, Survey, or Mission, with visibility controls, custom icons, and colors. The Field Map provides standard, satellite, and hybrid map styles, user location tracking, waypoint markers, a fixed center targeting reticle, coordinate display, and map-based waypoint creation. Measure distance and bearing between locations and quickly purge all saved waypoints when needed. Import and export waypoint data using GPX, KML, CSV, and MissionNAV JSON backups. Share individual waypoints or your complete waypoint dataset using the native iOS share sheet, including AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Files, and iCloud Drive. Customize the Dashboard and Navigate screens with reorderable data panels, adjustable font sizes, unit preferences, and multiple display presets. Choose metric, US/Imperial, or both units for distance, speed, and altitude. Personalize the experience with Tactical Green, Amber Night, Ocean Blue, High Contrast, and daylight-friendly display options. MissionNAV stores waypoint data locally and core navigation features work without an account or subscription. GPS-dependent readings are clearly identified and are never fabricated when unavailable.

Screenshots

pathRecorder4 screens
MissionNAV4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: pathRecorder at $1.99 against MissionNAV's $8.99. MissionNAV's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 31 months). 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

pathRecorder costs $1.99 and MissionNAV $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pathRecorder ships an update every 31 months, MissionNAV every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
pathRecorder versus MissionNAV: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpathRecorderMissionNAV
Price$1.99 — better$8.99
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 31 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGianluca NataliniYOURFULLSTACK, LLC

In-app purchases

None

pathRecorder

No in-app purchases

None

MissionNAV

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is pathRecorder free?
pathRecorder costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MissionNAV free?
MissionNAV costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do pathRecorder or MissionNAV have ads?
Neither pathRecorder nor MissionNAV shows ads.
Which is updated more often, pathRecorder or MissionNAV?
pathRecorder ships an update every 31 months, and MissionNAV every 2 weeks. Most recently, pathRecorder was updated on October 26, 2026 and MissionNAV on October 24, 2026.

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