Comparison

SmartStops vs RoadTrips!

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

Head to head
About

SmartStops

This app helps families plan road trips by finding parks, playgrounds, and rest stops along their route. It balances drive time with convenient and kid-friendly stopping points, reducing stress for everyone on long journeys.

Highlights
  • Find parks and playgrounds on route
  • Locate rest stops and amenities
  • Preview stops on interactive maps
  • Save and reuse routes
  • Discover kid-friendly food options
  • Compare nearby cities at stops
Read full description

Long drives with kids don't have to end in tears. SmartStops automatically finds parks, playgrounds, gas, and kid-friendly food along your route — timed so everyone stays happy. Unlike Google Maps, SmartStops doesn't optimize for speed. It optimizes for your family's sanity. Stops are spaced around how kids actually travel — so you pull over before the meltdown, not after. SMART STOP PLANNING Enter your start and destination. SmartStops builds a complete stop plan with parks, playgrounds, restaurants, gas, and coffee — spaced at kid-friendly intervals. No more guessing where to pull over. No more juggling apps. MELTDOWN MODE Kid losing it right now? Tap once. SmartStops instantly finds the nearest parks and playgrounds within minutes of your location. Emergency stops, solved. 194,000+ PARKS & PLAYGROUNDS The largest database of family-friendly parks in the US. See amenities like restrooms, picnic areas, trails, and playground equipment before you stop. COMPARE NEARBY CITIES At each stop, see what's available across nearby cities. Pick the town with the best combo of parks, food, and fuel — so every stop counts. WORKS WITH YOUR MAPS Plan in SmartStops, then navigate with Apple Maps or Google Maps. No switching apps mid-drive. PARK REVIEWS Rate and review parks you've visited. See what other families thought before you stop. Build your traveler profile as you explore. FREE TO USE 2 trips every month at no cost. Upgrade to Weekender ($4.99/14 days) or Adventurer ($39.99/year) for unlimited trips, Meltdown Mode, and route comparison. Rated 5.0 on the App Store. Built for families, not algorithms.

About

RoadTrips!

Features
Read full description

Road Trips — Plan Your Route, Know Your Cost Plan road trips with precision. Drop waypoints on an interactive map, get real route calculations, and know exactly what your trip will cost in fuel — or energy, if you drive electric. PLAN VISUALLY Build multi-stop routes directly on the map. Tap to add waypoints, search for places, drag to reorder. Each route segment is color-coded so you can see your journey at a glance. Switch between normal, satellite, terrain, and hybrid map views. KNOW YOUR COSTS Enter your vehicle's fuel consumption and local fuel price — Road Trips calculates the cost for every trip automatically. Driving an EV? Switch to energy mode and track kWh/100km and €/kWh instead. ROUND TRIPS & MULTI-STOP Plan complex routes with as many stops as you need. Toggle round trip mode to include the drive home. Each segment shows distance and travel time individually. SYNCED ACROSS DEVICES Your trips are saved to the cloud automatically. Sign in with email or Google and pick up where you left off on any device. Features: - Interactive Google Maps with place search - Multi-waypoint route planning - Fuel & energy cost calculator (gas + EV) - Round trip support - Color-coded route segments - Cloud sync via your account - Current location detection - Light & dark themes License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://coding-turtle.org/roadtrip/en/privacy/

Screenshots

SmartStops4 screens
RoadTrips!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SmartStops at every 9 days against RoadTrips!'s every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. SmartStops sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and RoadTrips! sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartStops ships an update every 9 days, RoadTrips! every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
SmartStops versus RoadTrips!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartStopsRoadTrips!
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaple Ridge LLCLARS CHRISTIAN GROF

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SmartStops

One-time4
  • Weekender$4.99
  • Explorer$12.99
  • Adventurer$39.99
Show 1 more
  • Road Warrior$49.99
2 purchases

RoadTrips!

Subscriptions2
  • Unlock Route Planning3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Unlock Route Planning7 Days trial$8.991 Year

Questions

Is SmartStops free?
SmartStops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RoadTrips! free?
RoadTrips! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SmartStops or RoadTrips! have ads?
Neither SmartStops nor RoadTrips! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartStops or RoadTrips!?
SmartStops ships an update every 9 days, and RoadTrips! every 6 weeks. Most recently, SmartStops was updated on October 24, 2026 and RoadTrips! on October 11, 2026.

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