Comparison

Lonely Planet vs Fallcast

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

Head to head
About

Lonely Planet

Discover curated travel advice from local experts for over 400 destinations worldwide. Explore guides, walking tours, and interactive maps to find hidden gems, save points of interest, and build custom itineraries. An AI assistant provides quick answers to your travel questions.

Highlights
  • Expert-vetted destination guides
  • Interactive maps with local recommendations
  • Save points of interest to travel collections
  • Build custom itineraries
  • AI-powered travel assistant
  • Exclusive member content
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Travel the world with the Lonely Planet app. Every recommendation, route and restaurant we share is vetted by our global community of 450+ local experts for different kinds of travelers.  Explore their curated travel advice inside our trusted guides to 400+ places all across the globe: Italy, Vietnam, Ireland, Spain, Japan, Costa Rica, Portugal and Greece. More on the way, too.  Not sure where to go, or what to do once you're there? Browse destination guides, explore walking tours and use our interactive maps to uncover locals’ favorite restaurants, places to stay, museums and hidden gems. Save whatever catches your eye to travel collections to use whenever you’re ready to plan your next trip. Then build an itinerary from everything you've saved, or just edit one of ours.   Or just ask our AI Assistant your burning travel questions –  such as,  where to eat in Rio. Faster answers, always and only rooted in actual advice from real Lonely Planet experts. The Lonely Planet app is your travel app for discovering, saving and planning to make the most of every vacation. Unlock even more as a Lonely Planet member with exclusive access to premium itineraries, walking tours and experiences in our app plus more travel perks and Lonely Planet benefits. See our Terms&Conditions: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/legal/app-terms

About

Fallcast

Predicts fall foliage conditions nationwide, helping you find peak colors and plan trips. Identify any leaf with your camera and learn about different tree species. Offers trail maps and golden hour information for photographers.

Highlights
  • Fall foliage condition prediction
  • Leaf species identification
  • Trip planning for fall colors
  • Interactive trail maps
  • Golden hour forecasting
  • Customizable home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

KNOW WHEN THE LEAVES WILL CHANGE Fallcast predicts fall foliage conditions across the country, helping you find where the colors are changing now, where they're headed next, and when to plan your next leaf-peeping trip. The forecast is rebuilt every day from satellite observations and state foliage reports, so when a season runs early or late, the forecast changes with it. PLAN AHEAD See how foliage conditions are expected to change over the coming weeks. Compare locations and find the places most likely to have good color when you're ready to go. TRIPS Planning a fall trip? Follow foliage conditions at your destination before and during your trip. See what's changing and where to look for the best color along the way. Add a hike or a saved route as a stop. TRAILS More than 44,000 hiking, biking, horse, ATV and 4WD trails, each mapped with this season’s foliage. See the color and elevation along any trail, explore it in 3D, and export it to your favorite trail app. Link trails together to build your own custom foliage route. FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS Find foliage conditions alongside golden hour to help plan your next autumn photo. IDENTIFY ANY LEAF Point your camera at a leaf and Fallcast names the species. Fallcast has 176 species identified right on your device. Save what you find and build a collection. LEARN THE LEAVES Which trees change first, how different species contribute to the fall landscape, and what each tree looks like as its color turns. Every species page covers its shape, its color, when to look for it, and why it changes colors the way it does. Regional tree and leaf guides help you understand what you're seeing. WIDGETS Keep foliage conditions for your favorite places on your Home Screen, so you can check the season at a glance. Fallcast is free to use: current and recent conditions, how this year compares with normal, every trail with free GPX export, the complete field guide, three photo identifications a season, and one saved place. Season Pass is an annual subscription that unlocks the full forecast, color intensity forecasts, trip planning, routes built from several trails, automatic Live Activities on travel days, unlimited identifications and saved places, and alerts when color at a saved place runs early or late. The leaves are changing. Know where to find them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Fallcast Terms of Use: https://fallcast.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://fallcast.app/privacy

Screenshots

Lonely Planet4 screens
Fallcast4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Fallcast at 100% against Lonely Planet's 58%. Lonely Planet's advantage is ratings volume (218 vs 2) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, 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. Lonely Planet sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $72.00 per year and Fallcast sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lonely Planet holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lonely Planet has 218 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Lonely Planet's written reviews are positive against 100% of Fallcast's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lonely Planet ships an update every 2 weeks, Fallcast every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Lonely Planet versus Fallcast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLonely PlanetFallcast
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (218 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings218 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#97 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size148 MB169 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLonely Planet Global, Inc.Alex Starck

Customer experience

Lonely Planet

All ratings211 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative32.3%

Fallcast

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Lonely Planet

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Membership$72.001 Year
One-time1
  • Trip Pass$30.00
1 purchases

Fallcast

Subscriptions1
  • Season Pass$7.991 Year

Questions

Is Lonely Planet free?
Lonely Planet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fallcast free?
Fallcast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lonely Planet or Fallcast?
Lonely Planet is rated higher. Lonely Planet averages 4.7 out of 5 from 218 ratings, while Fallcast averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Lonely Planet or Fallcast have ads?
Neither Lonely Planet nor Fallcast shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lonely Planet or Fallcast?
Lonely Planet ships an update every 2 weeks, and Fallcast every 8 days. Most recently, Lonely Planet was updated on November 4, 2026 and Fallcast on October 31, 2026.

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