Global Locator vs Map Switch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Global Locator
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Your position in 19 coordinate formats, a GPS camera that stamps every shot, and tracks that lead you back β all worked out on your iPhone, signal or not. A precise coordinate reader, converter and navigation tool for hikers, geocachers, surveyors, photographers and travellers. EVERY FORMAT THAT MATTERS Decimal Degrees, DMS, DDM, UTM (latitude band or hemisphere), MGRS, USNG, UPS, GEOREF, Plus Codes, Maidenhead, Geohash and ECEF β plus the Greek (EGSA87), British, Irish, Dutch RD, Swiss LV95 and US State Plane grids wherever they apply, and optional Mapcode. Read older paper maps in ED50, NAD27 or OSGB36. Pan the map and every format updates together; copy any one with a tap. PASTE ANYTHING Auto Detect works out what you pasted β a grid reference, a map link, a geo: URI β and tells you what it found. Batch Convert handles a whole list or CSV at once. Scan a QR code to read a location, or show one to pass a point to another phone. MAPS THAT KEEP WORKING Maps standard, satellite and hybrid, plus OpenStreetMap and OpenTopoMap with contour lines. Areas you view stay available offline. Overlay the UTM/MGRS grid, favourites and tracks. NAVIGATE TO ANY POINT The compass says "Turn slightly right" with the distance, shows true or magnetic bearing, and waits for a good fix before saying you've arrived. Voice guidance works with the phone in your pocket; a Live Activity keeps the distance on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. AR navigation places a marker at the target's true bearing. TRACKS Record your route in the background, even when locked. See distance, moving time, speed, elevation gain and an elevation profile, then Retrace it back the way you came. Import and export GPX, KML and CSV. GPS CAMERA Photos and video stamped with coordinates, address, altitude, heading, time and a mini map, in four templates. RAW capture and Camera Control support, and the position saved in the photo's metadata. GPS Photos maps every shot and exports a PDF report, CSV, KML or KMZ. GEOCACHING Formula Solver for multi-caches, plus letter values, cross sums, ROT13 and Roman numerals. Corrected coordinates for solved puzzles, GPS averaging for hiding a cache, waypoint projection, distance and bearing, and a find log with notes. FAVOURITES AND FIELD LOGS Save places in coloured categories, with photos. Sort by name, date or distance, and get an alert when you come near one. Field Logs keep timestamped notes and photos at your position, exported as PDF, CSV, KML or KMZ. ALTIMETER AND GPS QUALITY GPS and barometric altitude side by side, air pressure and its trend, and QNH calibration. Speed, heading, course and magnetic declination. GPS Quality charts accuracy over time, recognises external receivers and predicts the satellite sky β GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and NavIC β with DOP for the next 12 hours. WIDGETS, SIRI AND SHORTCUTS Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets for coordinates, all formats, your target, altitude and pressure. Ask Siri where you are, save where you parked, navigate to a favourite, record a track or take a GPS photo. Open the camera from Control Center or the Action button. 25 LANGUAGES Fully translated, with right-to-left layout for Arabic and Hebrew and the compass rose in each language's own convention. Switch language inside the app. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no analytics, no tracking β the developer collects nothing. Favourites and tracks can sync through your own iCloud, and Backup & Restore moves everything to a new iPhone in one file. Conversions, compass, altimeter, tracks and saved places all work offline. BUILT FOR THE FIELD Kilometres or miles, metres or feet. Light, Dark or System. GPS accuracy to suit your battery. 83 world cities built in. VoiceOver, Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion supported. Walking back to your car or reading a grid reference on a ridge β Global Locator gives you the number you need, in the format you need it.
Map Switch
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Open any place in your preferred map app. Share or paste a map link, coordinates, or a location code. Map Switch finds the place, previews it on a map, and creates links for compatible services. Supports Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps, HERE WeGo, TomTom, and many more apps. Use DD, DMS, and DMM coordinates, plus UTM, MGRS, Plus Codes, Geohash, and other geographic formats. History lets you find, rename, and reopen recent conversions. You can also copy coordinates or share a place as text or a customizable map card. No account and no tracking. Some short links may require a connection to the service that created them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Map Switch at every 3 months against Global Locator's every 16 months. Map Switch also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Global Locator ships an update every 16 months, Map Switch every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Global Locator | Map Switch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Every 3 months β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nik Psaragathos | Erminio Ricciardi |
In-app purchases
Global Locator
No in-app purchases
Map Switch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Global Locator free?
Is Map Switch free?
Do Global Locator or Map Switch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Global Locator or Map Switch?
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