Comparison

ZoneMap vs TrailBand

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

Head to head
About

ZoneMap

Read full description

Ditch the messy folded PDFs, tiny spreadsheet cells, and coffee-stained channel sheets. ZoneMap is a fast, offline-first radio reference, tactical mapping, and field comms toolkit built for first responders, wildland fire personnel, incident comms technicians (COMT/COML), ham radio operators, and scanner hobbyists. Keep your plans organized, searchable, and rock-solidβ€”from the staging area to the backcountry dead zones. ZERO CELL SERVICE? NO PROBLEM Incidents rarely happen next to a cell tower. ZoneMap is 100% offline-first. Your entire channel directory, tactical maps, and RF toolset load instantly with zero latencyβ€”no loading spinners, no timeouts, and zero dependence on cellular data. HIGH-STRESS CHANNEL READABILITY Stop squinting at 8-point font in the dark. β€’ Crystal-Clear Lineups: View channel numbers, band, digital modes (P25, DMR, mixed), frequencies, tones (CTCSS/DCS/NAC), power levels, and operational notes on clean, color-coded cards. β€’ Scan Lists & Favorites: Star critical tactical nets or local repeaters for quick one-tap monitoring. β€’ Automated ICS Imports: Parse ICS-204 and ICS-205 documents directly into live, interactive channel zones. TACTICAL MAPS, GEOPDF & GPS Turn your device into a full offline tactical GIS viewer: β€’ GeoPDF Support: Import georeferenced maps from CalTopo, Avenza, Gaia GPS, or OnX. Run them as custom basemaps or layered overlays. Use the on-map fine-tuning tool to nudge or stretch GeoPDF boundaries to match live GPS. β€’ Vector Layers: Drop in KML, KMZ, GPX tracks, and GeoJSON overlays with zero network overhead. β€’ Universal Coordinate Converter: Instantly convert coordinates between DD, DMM, DMS, UTM, USNG, MGRS, Maidenhead Grid, Plus Codes, and GARS. BUILT-IN FIELD & RF TOOLKIT Leave the reference binders and cheat sheets behind: β€’ Incident Forms: Fill, sign, and export official-layout ICS-214 Unit Logs and ICS-213 General Messages straight to PDF. β€’ Fire Weather: Sling psychrometer Relative Humidity (RH) and Dew Point calculator with real-time hazard ratings. β€’ Ham & RF Calculators: Antenna wire cut lengths (dipoles, EFHW, J-pole), VSWR & return loss, coax loss, dBm/watt conversions, OET 65 RF exposure distances, battery run-time budgets, and intermod product checks. β€’ Tone & Audio Suite: Interactive DTMF keypad with playback, Morse code audio trainer (with Farnsworth timing), two-tone sequential paging alerts, and CTCSS/DCS reference lists. β€’ Live Lookups: Satellite pass tracking with Doppler curves, solar weather band conditions, and callsign lookups (cached for offline field use). AGENCY & TEAM DEPLOYMENT Managing comms for mutual-aid strike teams or larger incidents? β€’ Instant QR & Link Setup: Field crews scan a single QR code to download official lineups and incident forms instantly. β€’ Multi-Agency Support: Connect up to 4 agencies simultaneously without numbering conflicts. β€’ Free for Field Responders: Field operators access official agency plans, incident overlays, and custom agency forms completely free via simple Access Codesβ€”no personal subscription required. Get your comms organized. Download ZoneMap today. Note: Advanced individual features and personal cloud sync require a ZoneMap subscription. Field users connecting via agency access codes do not require a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

TrailBand

Features
Read full description

TrailBand turns an FRS, GMRS or MURS channel number into the exact frequency and settings to program into a handheld radio. Built for offroad and overland groups, where some vehicles have bubble-pack FRS walkie-talkies and others have programmable radios, and nobody can work out how to make them talk to each other. β€’ All 35 channels: FRS/GMRS 1 to 22, the eight GMRS repeater pairs, and MURS 1 to 5 β€’ Receive and transmit frequency, offset, bandwidth, tuning step and power setting for every channel β€’ CTCSS tones and DCS codes, with the bubble-pack privacy code number shown beside every standard tone β€’ Search by channel number, or by a frequency you heard β€’ Favorites for the channels your group runs β€’ Export a CHIRP-compatible CSV to program a radio over USB β€’ Send a plain text programming card to the group so every radio ends up identical β€’ Reference articles on FRS vs GMRS, MURS, matching consumer radios, using a repeater, and choosing a trail channel Frequencies and power limits follow the US FCC allocations in 47 CFR Part 95. TrailBand is a reference tool: no account, no data collected, works entirely offline. A radio must be certified for the service it transmits in. TrailBand says plainly where the popular Part 90 handhelds stand.

Screenshots

ZoneMap4 screens
TrailBand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TrailBand at none against ZoneMap's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. ZoneMap sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. TrailBand asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
ZoneMap versus TrailBand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZoneMapTrailBand
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyβ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size106 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNathan FilionSkunk River Restorations, LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ZoneMap

Subscriptions2
  • ZoneMap Pro Monthly (1 Month)1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • ZoneMap Pro Annual (1 Year)1 Month trial$19.991 Year
None

TrailBand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ZoneMap free?
ZoneMap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TrailBand free?
TrailBand is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ZoneMap or TrailBand have ads?
Neither ZoneMap nor TrailBand shows ads.

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