Comparison

Northing vs Trailwise

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

Head to head
About

Northing

Features
Read full description

Northing builds your verified summit record from GPS activities and uses that history to plan walks through the hills you still have left to record. RECORD YOUR SUMMITS Connect Strava or import GPX and FIT activity files. Northing checks GPS coordinates against summit positions using a fixed 200-metre horizontal tolerance and records matching summit visits in your private ledger. Track progress across nine lists in Britain and Ireland: Munros, Wainwrights, Corbetts, Grahams, Nuttalls, Welsh 3000s, Trail 100, Ethels and Marilyns. PLAN FROM YOUR SUMMIT RECORD Northing Premium uses your verified history to identify Wainwrights and Munros still missing from your record. Plan walks around those hills or select particular summits, with distance and ascent limits. Generated walks return to their starting car park and may include loops, shared approaches or retraced paths. Export the planned walk as GPX for your preferred navigation app or device. You can also save routes and download their maps before leaving signal for offline use in Northing. Review route information and conditions before deciding where to walk. FREE ACCESS Record eligible recent activities within the initial historical window and continue recording eligible future activities. Browse the summit database and view your verified record. NORTHING PREMIUM Add full eligible historical recovery and Wainwright and Munro planning based on your summit record. Premium is an annual subscription; your App Store displays the applicable price and terms. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled in your Apple account settings. Private by default. No public feed or leaderboard. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://www.northing.app/privacy

About

Trailwise

This app helps hikers track their progress on various UK and Irish hill lists, plan routes with offline maps, and log every adventure. It provides detailed ground conditions, summit forecasts, and allows users to race against past efforts or share their location with others.

Highlights
  • Track UK/Irish hill lists
  • Offline map route planning
  • Real-time ground conditions
  • Summit weather forecasts
  • Race past efforts
  • Live location sharing
  • Gear list management
Features
Read full description

The hiking companion built for fell baggers and peak collectors. Track every UK and Irish hill list, plan routes with offline maps, and turn every summit into progress. YOUR LISTS, FINALLY IN ONE PLACE Wainwrights, Munros, Corbetts, Birketts, Donalds, Ethels, County Tops and more. Log a summit once and every list it belongs to updates automatically. Watch your percentages climb and earn milestone badges at 25%, 50%, 75%, and completion โ€” every finished list stays on your profile forever. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S LEFT See your remaining fells on the map, find walks that bag multiple summits in one route, and let Trailwise suggest your next hill based on where you've been. A GUIDE THAT RUNS ON YOUR PHONE Ask about a route, a fell, or your own walking history and get an answer worked out on the device โ€” not in a data centre. Nothing you ask, photograph, or plot is uploaded, and none of it trains anything. It still answers with no signal, which is where you need it. KNOW WHAT'S UNDERFOOT Bog, heather, scree, forestry, or good path โ€” shaded along your route before you commit. Timings follow the gradient and the ground instead of assuming a flat road pace, so you know when you'll be down. WEATHER, AND WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY FOUND Summit forecasts a fortnight out and hour by hour for today. Walkers report the real state of the hill โ€” snow, flooding, washed-out bridges, closed paths โ€” and you can add yours just by photographing it. RACE A GHOST Pick a past effort on any route โ€” your own PB or another walker's โ€” and race it. See where you're up and where you're losing time, not just who won. WALK TOGETHER Start a party and see everyone on the map, even with no phone signal โ€” devices link straight to each other. Or share a live link so someone at home can watch you get back down. ON YOUR WRIST The Apple Watch app records without your phone, shows your track as you go, and guides you back the way you came. SHOW IT OFF ON STRAVA Connect Strava and your summit progress is added to each activity automatically โ€” "Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike โ€” Wainwrights 112/214". Your finished hikes import straight into your lists, no manual logging. PLAN ROUTES WITH OFFLINE MAPS Build loops, out-and-backs, and multi-day routes on the interactive map. Download any region before you leave so your route is always there โ€” even with no signal on the hill. LOG EVERY ADVENTURE Record live with GPS, import from Strava, or log manually. Elevation profiles, distance, and stats build a complete picture of everywhere you've walked. GEAR, SORTED Build gear lists per hike, track weight by category, and share your kit with a link. EARN REAL ACHIEVEMENTS Badges for distance, elevation, streaks, and list completions โ€” plus hidden achievements that unlock by doing, not by grinding menus. Finish a list and generate a completion card showing your global rank. PREMIUM โ€” FROM 99p/MONTH Unlimited routes and gear lists, deeper analytics, GPX import/export, and all milestone awards. 14-day free trial, cancel anytime. Core fell bagging is always free โ€” so are conditions, parties, ghosts, and the watch app. EULA: https://trailwise.io/legal/eula

Screenshots

Northing4 screens
Trailwise4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Northing at none against Trailwise's 1. Trailwise's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Trailwise sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Northing asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Northing ships an update every 2 weeks, Trailwise every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 4 level
Northing versus Trailwise: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNorthingTrailwise
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
Monetizationโ€”Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size58 MB122 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorthing Technical LimitedAdam Young

In-app purchases

None

Northing

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Trailwise

Subscriptions1
  • Trailwise Pro14 Days trial$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Northing free?
Northing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Trailwise free?
Trailwise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Northing or Trailwise have ads?
Neither Northing nor Trailwise shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Northing or Trailwise?
Northing ships an update every 2 weeks, and Trailwise every 5 days. Most recently, Northing was updated on November 5, 2026 and Trailwise on November 9, 2026.

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