Comparison

Poison Maps vs RFYL

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

Head to head
About

Poison Maps

Discover millions of points of interest and routes worldwide, accessible even offline. Explore diverse categories like food, attractions, and transport, with features like directional signs and radar modes for easy navigation.

Highlights
  • Offline POI and route access
  • Extensive POI categories
  • Directional signs to offscreen POIs
  • Compass, radar, and scanner modes
  • Unique gesture for rapid panning
  • Apple Watch app integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Poison Maps (“POIs on Maps”) is the ultimate app for finding Points of Interest anywhere in the world. It includes millions of POIs and routes, all stored on your device for use even when offline. The app contains every possible category of POI: food, hotels, banks, toilets, fuel stations, tourist attractions, leisure, parking, shops, hills, towns, transport, hospitals, churches, schools, libraries, civic buildings, rescue services, and much much more. It also contains 4 million miles of colour-coded routes, such as railways, subway maps, bus routes, cycle routes, hiking trails and ski pistes. The POIs and routes are all taken from the fantastic OpenStreetMap project. The app includes many unique features: • a toolbar at the bottom of the screen that allows you to display what you want in just 2 or 3 taps; • signs pointing to offscreen POIs, so that you never miss a nearby POI; • compass, radar and scanner modes that display the nearest POIs in different ways; • a unique gesture that allows rapid panning by temporarily zooming out (using 3D Touch when available); • back and forward buttons that help you retrace what you have looked at (like on a browser); • an Apple Watch app that shows what you want in only a few taps (or just one tap of the complication); Compass mode simply shows signs to the POIs. This is particularly useful when you just want to know what is around you or which way to head, and you haven’t got time to inspect a map, such as when cycling or hiking. It also works offline and is perfect for people who hate maps: they just follow the sign to where they want to go. It is also great at viewpoints to identify what hills, towns and structures you can see. Radar mode and Scanner modes are similar but also include a map that rotates around the current position. They include radar “rings” to show the distances from the current position. Scanner mode uniquely positions the GPS dot at the bottom of the screen so that you can see much more information in the direction that you are pointing. The unique panning gesture requires just one touch of one finger instead of the multi-finger gymnastics required by the traditional “pinch to zoom” approach (although that is still available). It also provides a quick way of zooming out and back in again when you are not sure what area the map is showing. It is a brilliant and completely original use of 3D Touch but also works fine on iPhones without it (using a long touch). The Apple Watch app also allows you to select any category in just a few taps. When you have selected a category then the nearest POIs are shown on a mini-map with the details listed below. The watch app also provides navigation to a POI, and you can even phone a POI from the watch! These are just some of the unique aspects of the app. All the usual map features are also provided, such as super-fast searching, directions, bookmarks, POI information, favouriting of brands, and much more. You can even create your own POIs, such as where you parked your car. Note: This is the full global version – if you want to give the app a try first then please click on the 'Related' link above and install one of the regional versions. Not only can you try the app for free, but these versions only take up about the same space as 2 or 3 music albums.

About

RFYL

Features
Read full description

RFYL is a free, anonymous community map of places that felt unsafe: an aggressive dog, harassment, someone following you, a path with no lights, a road with no pavement. Check it before you head out for a run, a walk or a hike. Pin it for the next person. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO • See what people reported around you, colour-coded by severity • Filter by type, severity and how recent it is • Tap a pin for the details: what happened, when, and whether it is still a problem PIN IT IN SECONDS • Tap PIN HERE, drop the pin on the exact spot, pick a category and severity • Add a short note if it helps • Missing a category? Suggest one NO ACCOUNT, NO TRACKING • Nothing to sign up for and no personal data collected • Your location stays on your phone; only the pin's coordinates are shared • No ads, no analytics, no third-party tracking KEPT HONEST BY THE COMMUNITY • Every pin asks "Still a problem? Yes / No" — pins fade when the problem is gone • Anyone can request removal of a pin; every request is reviewed • Pins describe places, never people SHARE A SPOT • Send a pin to a friend with one tap, whether or not they have the app Made for anyone who runs, walks or hikes alone — especially women — RFYL is built on one idea: if you knew, you would have taken the other path. Now you can know. RFYL is made by The Bad Lemon.

Screenshots

Poison Maps4 screens
RFYL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: RFYL at Free against Poison Maps's $1.99. Poison Maps's advantage is chart position (#49 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases 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

RFYL is free to download; Poison Maps costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Poison Maps versus RFYL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPoison MapsRFYL
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#49 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size1.3 GB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCCS LtdTYPHANIE JANET ALISON GILBERT

In-app purchases

None

Poison Maps

No in-app purchases

None

RFYL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Poison Maps free?
Poison Maps costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is RFYL free?
RFYL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Poison Maps or RFYL have ads?
Neither Poison Maps nor RFYL shows ads.

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