Comparison

pathRecorder vs GPS Explorer

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

Head to head
About

pathRecorder

Features
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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

GPS Explorer

Features
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GPS Explorer is the map and navigation app for cyclists, hikers, drivers, motorcyclists and everyone who actively explores the world. 3D GLOBE WITH SATELLITE IMAGERY Experience the Earth as an interactive 3D globe with high-resolution satellite imagery - rotatable, zoomable, down to the finest detail. The unique split-view shows the same location simultaneously in the globe and in classic OpenStreetMap side by side. Plan your tours with a bird's-eye view and the precision of a street map. Choose from 8 map styles: Street, Satellite, Topographic, Cycling, Winter Sports, Watercolor, 3D Globe and Split-View. NAVIGATION Turn-by-turn voice guidance for pedestrians, bicycle, e-bike, MTB, car and motorcycle. Routes are automatically recalculated when you go off track. Distance, arrival time and all turns always in view. Navigate directly to group members with live location. RECORD TOURS Integrated bike computer with real-time speed, distance and elevation. After the tour: interactive elevation profile, full statistics and GPX export. Elevation data is added automatically. Daily and total distance always up to date. DISCOVER Wikipedia articles directly on the map: explore landmarks and places with a single tap. Current regional news as a map layer. Create, categorize and share your own POIs with your group. GROUPS AND CHALLENGES Share your location live with the group and track all members on the map. Take on route challenges, compete for the best time on the live leaderboard or create your own challenges from your tours. TECHNICAL Based on OpenStreetMap - Firebase Sync - Offline Mode Available in 7 languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese. Guest mode available without registration. GPS Explorer - The World in Your Hands.

Screenshots

pathRecorder4 screens
GPS Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: GPS Explorer at Free against pathRecorder's $1.99. GPS Explorer also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 31 months) and device support (4 vs 2). pathRecorder's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

GPS Explorer is free to download; pathRecorder costs $1.99 up front. GPS Explorer sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. pathRecorder asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

pathRecorder ships an update every 31 months, GPS Explorer monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 2 level
pathRecorder versus GPS Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpathRecorderGPS Explorer
Price$1.99Free β€” better
Update frequencyEvery 31 monthsMonthly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS16.615.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size6 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGianluca NataliniStefan Hutter

In-app purchases

None

pathRecorder

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

GPS Explorer

One-time10
  • Snow Map$5.99
  • Weather Map$5.99
  • 3D Globe$5.99
Show 7 more
  • Split View$5.99
  • Nautical Map$5.99
  • Aviation Map$5.99
  • 3D Street Map$5.99
  • Historical Map$5.99
  • Hiking Map$5.99
  • All Maps$59.99

Questions

Is pathRecorder free?
pathRecorder costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is GPS Explorer free?
GPS Explorer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do pathRecorder or GPS Explorer have ads?
Neither pathRecorder nor GPS Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, pathRecorder or GPS Explorer?
pathRecorder ships an update every 31 months, and GPS Explorer monthly. Most recently, pathRecorder was updated on October 1, 2026 and GPS Explorer on October 9, 2026.

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