Compass mini vs 指南针
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Compass mini
This app provides a minimalist compass for identifying direction. It also displays altitude, barometric pressure, and coordinate information for your current location. Additional features include sunrise/sunset times and solar angles, with offline usability and widget support.
- Direction identification
- Altitude and barometric pressure
- Coordinate navigation
- Location bookmarking
- Sunrise and sunset times
- Solar elevation and azimuth
- Offline usability
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Compass mini is an elegant and minimalist compass tool. You can use it to get the current location's altitude, barometric, and coordinate information, and identify direction. - Clean and lightweight, usable offline. - View altitude and atmospheric pressure information. - Coordinate navigation and location bookmarking. - Sunrise and sunset related times. - Solar elevation and azimuth angles. - Desktop and lock screen widgets. - Detailed latitude and longitude values. - Supports dark mode.
指南针
This app provides real-time environmental data including altitude, pressure, and GPS coordinates. It offers customizable display modes and supports both GPS and phone altimeter data sources. Designed for simplicity and efficiency, it ensures a clean, ad-free user experience.
- Altitude, pressure, and GPS data display
- Switchable GPS or phone altimeter sources
- Dark and light mode support
- UI customization
- Ad-free experience
- Minimal resource usage
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无广告，清爽不打扰！ App 支持显示当前位置的海拔、气压、经纬度等环境信息： 1. 支持切换 GPS 信息或手机高度计作为海拔数据信源。 2. 支持深色及浅色模式、 UI 自定义功能。 5. 支持切换海拔、气压及位置数据的显示模式。 6. 无任何烦人的广告、无乱扣费的订阅、无任何隐私收集。 7. 超小的体积、超快的速度、超少资源占用、下载安装使用无负担 我们的设计理念就是摆脱庸俗、繁琐的元素，应简尽简。 如果您有任何疑问或者建议请联系我们： 邮箱:laoshiduo@163.com 我们期待您的意见!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: 指南针 at free against Compass mini's free with in-app purchases. Compass mini's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Compass mini sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and 指南针 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Compass mini against 4.8 for 指南针. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 59 and 40 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Compass mini's written reviews are positive against 91% of 指南针's.
Compass mini ships an update every 5 weeks, 指南针 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Compass mini | 指南针 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (59 ratings) | 4.8 (40 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.6% of reviews — better | 90.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 59 — better | 40 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 鑫 吴 | 智平 刘 |
Customer experience
Compass mini
指南针
In-app purchases
Compass mini
- Compass mini · Pro$6.99
指南针
- 指南针PLUS 永久买断会员$1.99
