Comparison

Footpath Route Planner vs Map Area Calculator

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

Head to head
About

Footpath Route Planner

Easily plan and navigate custom routes for any outdoor activity. Draw your path with a finger and the app snaps to roads and trails. Measure distances, elevations, and get turn-by-turn directions, even offline.

Highlights
  • Snap to roads and trails
  • Measure distance and elevation
  • Turn-by-turn navigation
  • Offline map downloads
  • Route sharing
  • GPX/TCX/FIT export
Features
Read full description

Map routes with your finger and Footpath will snap to roads and trails. Measure distances and elevations in seconds, then navigate along with turn-by-turn directions. Footpath is the ultimate companion for planning and navigating custom routes. Join millions of adventurers and plan out your perfect route. SNAP TO MAP Quickly measure distances by tracing a map with your finger or Apple Pencil. Footpath will snap to roads and trails on the map. MEASURE DISTANCE AND ELEVATION Know exactly how far and how high you'll travel with elevation profiles. Plan routes that match your goals. SAVE ROUTES FOR LATER Plan out your week or trip. Keep up to 5 routes on hand for reference, or save unlimited routes with Footpath Elite. SHARE ROUTES Send your routes to friends or workout partners to open on their device. Footpath is designed to work for pretty much any activity or adventure, in any country: • Running • Cycling and mountain biking • Hiking and mountaineering • Walking • Motorcycling and driving • Backcountry skiing • Kayaking and standup paddleboarding • Sailing • And many more! FOOTPATH ELITE Ready to go the extra mile? Upgrading to Footpath Elite unlocks the following powerful features: TURN-BY-TURN NAVIGATION - Footpath will tell you when to turn with turn-by-turn audio cues on your iPhone and Apple Watch - Save your route and cues in advance for voice guidance that works completely offline - Double tap your AirPods or use the playback controls button on your headphones to replay your next cue PREMIUM OFFLINE MAPS - 3D and topographic maps including Footpath Outdoors (Worldwide), USGS Topo Maps (U.S. and Canada), OpenCycleMap (Worldwide), and many more - Cycling lanes, avalanche slope shading, and elevation contour lines - Download maps for use offline - Save places as favorites to customize your maps ORGANIZE - Create and edit unlimited saved routes - Duplicate, merge, and split routes - Organize and sort routes into custom lists ANALYZE - Record GPS tracks of your activities - Use HealthKit display and log extra health and fitness metrics such as heart rate during a GPS activity - View a calendar log and weekly summary of your activities - Analyze splits, speed, elevation, and heart rate - View a heatmap of your speed during your activity EXPORT - GPX import and export - TCX and FIT course export for turn-by-turn navigation on Garmin and Wahoo GPS devices - Export cue sheets to a spreadsheet app for customization and printing - Export your routes and workouts to Apple Health You can purchase a Footpath Elite monthly or yearly subscription through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renew can be turned off anytime by going to the Manage Subscriptions page in settings after purchase, and your features will remain active until the end of the subscription period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period at the same cost as your original purchase. TIPS FOR MAPPING ROUTES • For longer routes, try zooming in and mapping your route in multiple segments. • Tap and hold the map to quickly route between waypoints and POIs. • Did Footpath snap to the wrong roads? Trace over the incorrect segment to edit, or use the eraser tool. • Turn off snap to roads (magnet icon) and zoom in to manually trace the map. (Try switching to a satellite layer). • Displaying maps and continuously running GPS in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Navigate without maps or with the screen off for all day battery life. CONTACT US We've got a lot planned for Footpath. If you have any suggestions or feedback, or if you run into any issues, please contact us at support@footpathapp.com Terms of Service: https://footpathapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://footpathapp.com/privacy

About

Map Area Calculator

Easily estimate land and field areas using GPS coordinates. Calculate distances between points and get results in multiple units. Premium features include saving measurements, adding notes, attaching photos, and calculating prices.

Highlights
  • Estimate area from coordinates
  • Calculate distances between points
  • Multiple unit conversions (sq meters, acres, etc.)
  • Save areas with notes and pictures (premium)
  • Calculate price based on area (premium)
  • Share as map image or KML (premium)
  • Switch to Google Maps (In-App Purchase)
Features
Read full description

Marea turns any map into a precise area and distance calculator. Measure fields, plots, rooftops, lawns and lakes — anything you can see from above — in seconds. FOUR WAYS TO MEASURE - Tap to drop pins around a region and get its area instantly. - Draw a freeform shape with your finger and Marea traces the outline. - Walk the perimeter and GPS drops pins automatically as you go. - Auto-detect plots — tap to find buildings, fields and parks already on the map and turn one into a measurement in a single tap. RESULTS IN EVERY UNIT Area in square meters, square feet, acres, hectares, square kilometers and square miles — plus the distance between every point. TRACTOR MODE Turn your phone into a field-coverage guide. Set your implement width and speed, then drive: Marea records each pass, draws your covered area live, and tracks total distance and worked acreage. Pause, resume and save passes. GRID OVERLAY Drop a measured grid over any plot to plan rows, sections or spacing — horizontal, vertical or both, with the spacing, direction and color up to you. PROJECT AN AREA Pin a saved plot to the centre of the screen at its real size, then pan and rotate around it to plan, compare or align on the ground. ORGANIZE & ESTIMATE - Save your areas and revisit them anytime - Drop labeled markers on the points that matter - Keep a to-do list for every area - Add notes and attach photos - Estimate prices by multiplying any rate by the measured area SHARE ANYWHERE Send a web link to any saved area — anyone can open it in a browser to see the polygon, its size and details. You can also export a KML file or share a map image or PDF. BUILT FOR THE FIELD AND THE JOB SITE Made for farmers, agronomists, roofers, pavers, landscapers, surveyors and real-estate pros: - Estimate roofing, asphalt, paving, turf and seeding quantities - Check property lines, lot sizes and parcels - Plan plots, gardens and farmland Subscription terms: - The subscription auto-renews at the end of each term. - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. - The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. - You may manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy and Terms of Use: https://mapareacalculator.com/privacypolicy/

Screenshots

Footpath Route Planner4 screens
Map Area Calculator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Footpath Route Planner at weekly against Map Area Calculator's monthly. Footpath Route Planner also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (22K vs 4.8K). On price, review sentiment, 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

Both are free to download. Footpath Route Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Map Area Calculator sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Footpath Route Planner holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22K and 4.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Footpath Route Planner's written reviews are positive against 76% of Map Area Calculator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Footpath Route Planner ships an update weekly, Map Area Calculator monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Footpath Route Planner versus Map Area Calculator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFootpath Route PlannerMap Area Calculator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22K ratings) — better4.5 (4.8K ratings)
Positive reviews78.5% of reviews — better76.4% of reviews
Number of ratings22K — better4.8K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#64 — better#159
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size155 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHalf Mile Labs LLCApplorium Ltd

Customer experience

Footpath Route Planner

All ratings22,237 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews852 reviews
Positive78.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative13.7%

Map Area Calculator

All ratings4,795 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral4.9%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews178 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative19.1%

User reviews

Footpath Route Planner

From 22K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Full-featured outdoors app
  • 👍 Nice app
  • 👍 Excellent for discovering routes
  • 👍 Useful for run planning
  • 👍 Great mapping and graphics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 No more free turn by turn
  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🐛 Seems to no longer recognize footpaths
  • 🐛 Offline maps fail
  • 🐛 Only selects roads

Map Area Calculator

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick measurements
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💰 Free to use
  • 🛠️ Helpful for various industries (farming, construction, etc.)
  • 🗺️ Accurate mapping and area calculations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate measurements for smaller areas
  • 🔒 Subscription/payment issues
  • 🤔 Confusing UI/UX, difficult to navigate
  • 🗺️ Outdated map data
  • 💻 Compatibility issues on certain devices

Bugs and requests

Footpath Route Planner

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • No more free turn by turn
  • Buggy and unreliable
  • Seems to no longer recognize footpaths
  • Offline maps fail
  • Only selects roads
Show 9 more
  • GPS not helpful at all
  • Confusing and difficult to use
  • Useless without paying
  • Degraded my paid for membership
  • Crashes and loses data
  • Doesn't map footpaths well
  • Inaccurate and not reliable
  • Difficult to edit routes
  • Double counting steps

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add ability to make notes on routes
  • Add ability to create folders within folders
  • Add ability to change alerts to be earlier
  • Add ability to display more run data
  • Add ability to store notes against a route
Show 6 more
  • Add ability to search/view good walks
  • Add ability to import existing GPX files
  • Add ability to easily move start/mid points
  • Add ability to automatically snap imported GPX
  • Add ability to share routes
  • Add ability to track steps

Map Area Calculator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Difficulty dropping/moving pins accurately
  • Inability to save or export data
  • Inconsistent unit conversions
  • GPS/location not working properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add visualization tools (e.g., overlays, multiple plots)
  • Improve measurement precision and customization
  • Integrate with other apps/services
  • Provide better instructions and tutorials
  • Enhance GPS/location accuracy

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Footpath Route Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Footpath Elite (Monthly)7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Footpath Elite (Yearly)7 Days trial$23.491 Year
One-time1
  • Single Route Pass$1.99
8 purchases

Map Area Calculator

Subscriptions6
  • Map Area Calculator Premium3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Map Area Calculator Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Marea Premium Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Map Area Calculator Pro$19.991 Month
  • Marea Premium Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Map Area Calculator Pro3 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time2
  • Marea Premium Lifetime$39.99
  • Marea Premium$59.99

Questions

Is Footpath Route Planner free?
Footpath Route Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Map Area Calculator free?
Map Area Calculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Footpath Route Planner or Map Area Calculator?
Footpath Route Planner is rated higher. Footpath Route Planner averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22K ratings, while Map Area Calculator averages 4.5 from 4.8K ratings.
Do Footpath Route Planner or Map Area Calculator have ads?
Neither Footpath Route Planner nor Map Area Calculator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Footpath Route Planner or Map Area Calculator?
Footpath Route Planner ships an update weekly, and Map Area Calculator monthly. Most recently, Footpath Route Planner was updated on November 1, 2026 and Map Area Calculator on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Footpath Route Planner or Map Area Calculator?
Footpath Route Planner currently peaks at #64 in the App Store charts, and Map Area Calculator at #159. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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