Comparison

NorthPin Compass vs Pointy Navigation

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

Head to head
About

NorthPin Compass

Easily save and navigate back to important locations like your parked car or campsite. Offers live directional guidance, customizable compass styles, and convenient widget support. Share locations with others, even before they install the app.

Highlights
  • Save and follow locations
  • Live directional guidance
  • Customizable compass styles
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Share saved places
  • Global directions (Qibla, etc.)
Features
Read full description

Point back to the places that matter. NorthPin Compass turns a saved place into a direction you can follow. Your parked car, your campsite, your hotel, a meeting point, or Qibla. SAVE A PLACE, FOLLOW ITS DIRECTION • Quick Add saves where you stand in one tap • Or drop a pin on the map and give it a name and icon • Live heading, bearing and distance to your target • Edit, favorite, reorder and share your saved places LIVE GUIDANCE • Walk to a saved place and follow it from the Lock Screen • Dynamic Island on compatible iPhone models • Distance, turn guidance, walking ETA and progress • Apple Watch Smart Stack on compatible setups • Needs location access, Precise Location and Live Activities YOUR PLACES, ONE TAP AWAY • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Home Screen quick actions and iOS 18 controls • Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight 21 GLOBAL DIRECTIONS North, south, east and west, Qibla toward the Kaaba in Mecca, Jerusalem, the Vatican, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, the North Pole and more. MAKE IT YOURS 23 compass styles, 11 themes, 9 fonts, light or dark. SHARE A NORTHPIN Send a place as a link. Recipients can follow it right away, and the App Clip works even before they install NorthPin. FREE TO START Use NorthPin free, with no ads. Some features require NorthPin Pro, a one-time purchase with no subscription. Purchase restoration supported. PRIVACY FIRST No account, no tracking, no ad SDKs. Compass and coordinate calculations run on your device. Your places stay local unless you turn on iCloud sync. NorthPin gives compass direction and straight-line distance, not street routes or turn-by-turn navigation. Privacy Policy: https://apps.husofttech.com/northpin-compass/privacy Terms of Use: https://apps.husofttech.com/northpin-compass/terms Support: https://apps.husofttech.com/support

About

Pointy Navigation

This app provides a simple walking compass that guides you to your destination using a clear arrow and distance indicator. It allows you to search for places, drop pins, or select saved locations, offering a unique way to navigate without turn-by-turn directions.

Highlights
  • Full-screen arrow guidance
  • Distance and direction text
  • Apple Maps place search
  • Drop-pin destinations
  • Saved and recent places
  • Parked vehicle marker
  • Local walk history
Read full description

Pointy is a simple walking compass for iPhone. Pick a place, then walk by direction and distance instead of following turn-by-turn instructions. Search for a destination with Apple Maps, drop a pin, or choose a saved place. When you start walking, Pointy switches to a calm black-and-white arrow screen that points toward your destination and shows how far away it is. Pointy is useful for walking across neighborhoods, finding a parked car, returning to favorite places, and staying oriented while still choosing your own streets. Features: • Apple Maps-style place search • Drop-pin destinations • Saved places and recent places • Parked vehicle marker • Full-screen arrow guidance • Distance and simple direction text • Local walk history • No accounts, ads, analytics SDKs, tracking, or cloud sync Pointy does not provide turn-by-turn directions. It gives you a direction and distance so you can choose your own route.

Screenshots

NorthPin Compass4 screens
Pointy Navigation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NorthPin Compass at 5.0 against Pointy Navigation's 3.5. Pointy Navigation's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. NorthPin Compass sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pointy Navigation asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NorthPin Compass holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NorthPin Compass ships an update every 6 weeks, Pointy Navigation every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
NorthPin Compass versus Pointy Navigation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNorthPin CompassPointy Navigation
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB87 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHuseyin BicenDusan Zabrodsky

In-app purchases

1 purchases

NorthPin Compass

One-time1
  • NorthPin Pro Lifetime$9.99
None

Pointy Navigation

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NorthPin Compass free?
NorthPin Compass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pointy Navigation free?
Pointy Navigation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NorthPin Compass or Pointy Navigation?
NorthPin Compass is rated higher. NorthPin Compass averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Pointy Navigation averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do NorthPin Compass or Pointy Navigation have ads?
Neither NorthPin Compass nor Pointy Navigation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NorthPin Compass or Pointy Navigation?
NorthPin Compass ships an update every 6 weeks, and Pointy Navigation every 9 days. Most recently, NorthPin Compass was updated on November 4, 2026 and Pointy Navigation on October 31, 2026.

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