Comparison

Compass AR vs StepBy

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

Head to head
About

Compass AR

This utility app provides precise directional, altitude, and speed readings on a clear interface. It offers augmented reality views of the sun and moon's paths, along with location data and weather information. Pro features include time scrubbing, AR tracking, and speed recording.

Highlights
  • AR sun and moon tracking
  • Precise direction and altitude
  • Live speed and acceleration
  • Sunrise, sunset, and golden hour
  • Location and weather data
  • Time scrubbing for celestial paths
Features
Read full description

CompassPlus is an instrument. Direction, altitude, speed — one screen each, in numbers big enough to read while you walk. COMPASS · A large heading and a dial. True North or Magnetic North, switched any time. · The Sun and Moon are marked on the dial, with sunrise, sunset and elevation. · Scrub time (Pro) by year, month, day, hour or minute and see where the Sun sits at that moment. When you are not on Now, the app says so, and one tap brings you back. · A coordinate card: decimal degrees or DMS, tap to copy, with the place name. · A level, so you can tell whether the phone is flat. · When the magnetic field is disturbed it tells you, and walks you through the figure-eight calibration. ALTITUDE · One big number, colored by how high you are. · GPS + Barometer fused, GPS alone, or automatic — your call. · Meters or feet, with the vertical accuracy beside it. · Pressure, temperature and wind, while you are here. SPEED · Live speed and acceleration, from GPS speed, the motion sensors, or both fused. · It works out whether you are still, walking, running, cycling or driving, and tells you how confident it is. · Tap once to record a stretch (Pro). The average is integrated over time rather than averaged across readings, so the minutes spent parked do not drag it down. Max speed and duration are kept with it. FIND SUN / MOON IN AR (PRO) · Hold up the phone and the Sun and Moon are drawn on the real sky. · It draws the whole day's arc: where it rose, the path it takes, where it sets — including the stretch below the horizon. · The Moon's path drifts a little each day. The gap in the arc says by how much. · When the target is off screen, the edge points you toward it. · Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and the golden hour sit on the arc. · Drag to move the reticle onto the real thing — slowly to fine-tune, quickly to move far. Exposure stays automatic, and a lock is always one tap from released. SETTINGS Which screen opens first, north reference, altitude source and unit, coordinate format, speed unit, whether to show accuracy. Set it once. PRICE Free to download. Direction, altitude and live speed — with weather, the level and coordinates — stay free. The AR finder, time scrubbing, widgets and speed recording make up CompassPlus Pro: a one-time purchase, not a subscription, with future updates included and Family Sharing on. No ads. ABOUT LOCATION Location and motion data are used on the device to work out direction, altitude and speed. Nothing is uploaded to my server — I don't have one. Place names go through the system geocoder, and the weather reading comes from Apple Weather (WeatherKit). Those are the only two places your location leaves the phone; both use coordinates alone, and both go only to Apple. REQUIREMENTS iOS 26 or later, iPhone only. Barometer-fused altitude needs a device with a barometer. AR needs an ARKit-capable device and camera access.

About

StepBy

This app helps you manage personal workflows and tasks with a user-friendly, step-by-step approach. It allows you to create custom processes, execute them with focused guidance, and track your progress with detailed reports. An AI assistant can help generate your workflows.

Highlights
  • Custom SOP editor
  • Step-by-step execution mode
  • AI workflow creation
  • Progress tracking and reports
  • Branching steps for conditional logic
  • Local data storage
Features
Read full description

A checklist tells you what to do. StepBy helps you work through how to do it. Build reusable checklists and standard operating procedures for work, study and personal projects. Break a repeatable task into clear steps, follow the process with timers, and review what happened before your next run. BUILD A PROCESS YOU CAN REUSE Create actions, notes, sections and if/then branches. Add reference links and images, then use the canvas to see how your steps fit together. FOLLOW ONE STEP AT A TIME Choose a checklist overview or focus on the current step in the immersive view. Use timers to pace your work and record completion with a check, photo or number, depending on the step. LEARN FROM EACH RUN Review execution records, calendars, activity heatmaps and time trends. Look back at your path through the process and find steps you want to adjust. MAKE REPEATED TASKS EASIER TO START Set recurring plans with local reminders. Open a favorite SOP or task from a widget, then follow the process you prepared. TURN AN IDEA INTO STEPS Describe a goal to the built-in AI assistant to draft a structured SOP, then refine it through conversation. Share a process with a share code, or import one to adapt for yourself. START FREE Core execution and sync features are available in the free version. A one-time Pro purchase unlocks unlimited SOP creation, advanced statistics and AI features. Check the app for current entitlements. Step by step. Put your method into practice.

Screenshots

Compass AR4 screens
StepBy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StepBy at 17.0 against Compass AR's 26.0. On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Compass AR sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and StepBy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Compass AR ships an update fortnightly, StepBy every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
Compass AR versus StepBy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCompass ARStepBy
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer飞 吕馨洁龙 郑

Customer experience

Compass AR

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

StepBy

Written reviews15 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Compass AR

One-time4
  • Sponsor · A Lunch$0.99
  • CompassPlus Pro$2.99
  • Sponsor · A Coffee$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Sponsor · A Resupply$6.99
3 purchases

StepBy

One-time3
  • StepBy-Pro(lifetime)$2.99
  • StepBy - Upgrade to Pro+$2.99
  • StepBy-Pro+(lifetime)$4.99

Questions

Is Compass AR free?
Compass AR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StepBy free?
StepBy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Compass AR or StepBy have ads?
Neither Compass AR nor StepBy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Compass AR or StepBy?
Compass AR ships an update fortnightly, and StepBy every 9 days. Most recently, Compass AR was updated on November 5, 2026 and StepBy on November 7, 2026.

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