Comparison

Footpath Route Planner vs Hike Safe

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

Hike Safe

This navigation app saves your starting location and waypoints to help you find your way back if you get lost. It offers map, GPS coordinates, and compass features with large buttons and high contrast colors for visibility. Detailed satellite views are available with active cell service.

Highlights
  • Saves start location and waypoints
  • GPS Coordinates and Compass
  • XL Buttons and high contrast colors
  • Detailed Satellite Map Views
  • Unit and map scale options
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

Everyone Needs a Back Up Plan Hikers, hunters, berry pickers, off roaders, conservationists, field workers, skiers, even boaters! Saves your hike start location ( and waypoints ) in case you are lost or off trail Can close the app and power off the phone to save battery, your location is still saved Map, GPS Coordinates and Compass Meters, Yards, Kilometers, Miles XL Buttons and 5 high contrast colors for night or day outdoor visibility One tap bearings, unit and map scales All on one screen NEW - Detailed Satellite Map Views if active cell service Still 100% FREE NO file downloads NO subscriptions NO in app purchases required

Screenshots

Footpath Route Planner4 screens
Hike Safe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hike Safe at none against Footpath Route Planner's 3. Hike Safe also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). Footpath Route Planner's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (22K vs 1). On price 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

Both are free to download. Footpath Route Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Hike Safe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hike Safe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Footpath Route Planner has 22K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Footpath Route Planner ships an update every 2 weeks, Hike Safe every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Footpath Route Planner versus Hike Safe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFootpath Route PlannerHike Safe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings22K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#56 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHalf Mile Labs LLCTodd Studer

Customer experience

Footpath Route Planner

All ratings22,076 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews836 reviews
Positive78.7%
Neutral7.8%
Negative13.5%

Hike Safe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Hike Safe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

Hike Safe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Footpath Route Planner free?
Footpath Route Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hike Safe free?
Hike Safe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Footpath Route Planner or Hike Safe?
Hike Safe is rated higher. Footpath Route Planner averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22K ratings, while Hike Safe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Footpath Route Planner or Hike Safe have ads?
Hike Safe shows ads; Footpath Route Planner does not.
Which is updated more often, Footpath Route Planner or Hike Safe?
Footpath Route Planner ships an update every 2 weeks, and Hike Safe every 5 days. Most recently, Footpath Route Planner was updated on September 26, 2026 and Hike Safe on June 6, 2026.

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