Comparison

WristTopo vs ThisTrail

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

Head to head
About

WristTopo

Plan and navigate outdoor routes on your Apple Watch without your phone. Offers turn-by-turn directions, offline maps, and route planning for various activities like hiking, running, and cycling. Syncs GPX files and provides real-time elevation and distance feedback.

Highlights
  • Offline Apple Watch navigation
  • Turn-by-turn voice guidance
  • Route planning on iPhone and Watch
  • GPX file import and sync
  • Downloadable offline maps
  • Activity-optimized routing
Features
Read full description

Plan a route on your iPhone and follow it on Apple Watch with spoken turn-by-turn directions and topographic maps. Record your outing along the way. The watch works without your phone, and downloaded maps keep you covered offline. FOR EVERY ACTIVITY WristTopo is built for hiking, running, gravel and mountain biking, skiing, and paddling: 30 activity types across foot, bike, snow, and water. It adapts to however you move. TURN-BY-TURN NAVIGATION See the next turn and its distance, with spoken directions and alerts on your wrist. Navigate routes planned in WristTopo or imported from GPX. Mark a hut or summit as a waypoint and get a tap and its name announced as you approach. CLIMB GUIDANCE Know what’s ahead on every climb. While you navigate, Apple Watch detects climbs and descents, with wrist taps and optional voice cues at the start and finish. Zoom into the current climb on the elevation profile to see the elevation, distance, and time left, and preview the next ones in Up Ahead. At the top, check how long the climb took you. ROUTE PLANNER Tap the map to drop points and the route snaps to real trails, with distance and total climb updating as you add them. Close it into a loop, extend it into an out-and-back, or reverse it in a tap. Five routing modes cover running, hiking, biking, mountain biking, and straight lines for when there is no path at all. When the route is ready, one tap starts navigation on the watch without saving it first. RECORD YOUR WORKOUTS Record workouts on Apple Watch, with a GPS track and your live stats in the corner of the map. Fill up to six screens per activity with pace, cadence, running power, heart rate zones, grade adjusted pace, the climb to the finish, and 50 more metrics. Save workouts to Apple Health and send them to Strava. You can also use Apple’s Workout app alongside WristTopo: recording and navigation work independently. QUICK ROUTE ON YOUR WATCH Tap a destination on the watch map and Quick Route finds a path from your location, without reaching for your iPhone. SAVED PLACES Mark the trailhead parking, a water source, a shelter, a campsite. Save them on the iPhone while you plan, or drop one from your wrist the moment you stand there. Places sync both ways, carry their own symbols on the map, and one tap routes you to any of them. BACKTRACK TO YOUR START One tap while recording turns the track you have already covered into a route home, with turn-by-turn guidance all the way to the start. OFFLINE MAPS Download summer, winter, or satellite maps straight to the watch. Take a whole region for general use, or grab just the area along a route in one tap. The maps show contour lines, shaded relief, and marked ski trails. IMPORT YOUR OWN ROUTES Import routes and activities directly from Strava, or GPX files with waypoints on your iPhone. Follow them on Apple Watch and display several routes at once. ICLOUD BACKUP Routes, places, and downloaded map regions sync across your devices through iCloud, and they survive a reinstall or a new iPhone. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account to create, no ads, and no tracking. Your routes and recordings stay on your device and sync only to your own iCloud. FREE TO START The free version covers shorter days out: • Up to 3 saved routes • Up to 20 saved places • 3 small offline map regions • Plan with up to 5 route points • Follow routes on your Apple Watch UNLOCK PRO Pro adds: • Unlimited routes and places, larger offline regions • Voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation and climb guidance • Workout recording with Apple Health and Strava sync • Quick Route planning on your Apple Watch • GPX and FIT export • Support independent app development Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://wristtopo.app/privacy

About

ThisTrail

Features
Read full description

ThisTrail is a private, ad-free companion for hiking, running, walking, cycling, backpacking, and everyday adventures. RECORD EVERY OUTING Use iPhone or Apple Watch to capture your path, distance, time, pace or speed, elevation, heart rate, steps, and energy. Pause whenever you need, then pick up where you left off. Live Activities keep the essentials easy to see on iPhone. FOLLOW A ROUTE WITH CONFIDENCE Choose a saved or imported route before you set out. See the distance, ascent, and descent remaining to your next waypoint or the finish. ThisTrail also lets you know when your route progress is uncertain or you have moved away from the route. KEEP YOUR ADVENTURES TOGETHER Build a personal collection of trails and routes. Add photos and waypoints to remember useful places, viewpoints, and moments along the way—even on loops and out-and-back trips. BRING YOUR ROUTES WITH YOU Import and share GPX, KML, and KMZ files, or back up your ThisTrail collection for safekeeping. MADE FOR YOU, NOT ADVERTISERS Choose metric, imperial, or system units and keep your choice in sync with Apple Watch. Recording works without a data connection; maps load when connected. There are no ads, and ThisTrail does not collect your personal trail data. Apple Watch and HealthKit features require compatible Apple devices and permissions.

Screenshots

WristTopo4 screens
ThisTrail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ThisTrail at none against WristTopo's 6. WristTopo's advantage is iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. WristTopo sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. ThisTrail asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WristTopo ships an update every 5 days, ThisTrail weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
WristTopo versus ThisTrail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWristTopoThisTrail
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (89 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings89 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.4 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size174 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPiotr JanikKongjian Network Technology (shanghai) Co., Ltd

In-app purchases

6 purchases

WristTopo

Subscriptions2
  • PRO14 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • PRO7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Supporter$3.99
  • PRO Lifetime$9.99
  • PRO Lifetime$24.99
Show 1 more
  • PRO Lifetime$29.99
None

ThisTrail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WristTopo free?
WristTopo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThisTrail free?
ThisTrail is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do WristTopo or ThisTrail have ads?
Neither WristTopo nor ThisTrail shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WristTopo or ThisTrail?
WristTopo ships an update every 5 days, and ThisTrail weekly. Most recently, WristTopo was updated on October 25, 2026 and ThisTrail on October 13, 2026.

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