Comparison

NorthPin Compass vs Archies Explorer

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

Archies Explorer

Features
Read full description

Meet Archies Explorer — the walk tracker and star finder built for curious dogs and their humans. Go for a walk and track every step with live GPS mapping, distance, pace, and HealthKit integration. When the sun goes down, point your phone at the sky and explore 8,834 real stars and all 7 visible planets — Earth not included, you're standing on it. WALK TRACKER • Live GPS route map with distance, duration, and pace • HealthKit step counting and active minutes • Walk history with streaks and lifetime stats • Background location tracking STAR FINDER • 8,834 stars from the HYG astronomical catalog • All 7 planets with real-time positions, verified against the actual sky • Star colors, magnitudes, and distances • Rich mythology and science for every object • Tap any star or planet to learn more EXPLORE • Discover nearby parks and trails • View your past walk routes on the map • Search any location and get directions EXPLORER PRO (one-time purchase, no subscription) • Constellation overlays drawn on the live sky • Tonight's Sky with moon phase at a glance • ISS tracker and meteor shower calendar • Dog-friendly places on the Explore map • New sky features added regularly Part of the Archies Universe — built by a dad and his Miniature Schnauzer, figuring it out together.

Screenshots

NorthPin Compass4 screens
Archies Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Archies Explorer at every 5 days against NorthPin Compass's every 6 weeks. Archies Explorer also leads on iOS requirement (15.2 vs 26.0). 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. NorthPin Compass sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Archies Explorer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NorthPin Compass ships an update every 6 weeks, Archies Explorer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
NorthPin Compass versus Archies Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNorthPin CompassArchies Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHuseyin BicenRobert E. Farney

In-app purchases

1 purchases

NorthPin Compass

One-time1
  • NorthPin Pro Lifetime$9.99
1 purchases

Archies Explorer

One-time1
  • Archies Explorer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is NorthPin Compass free?
NorthPin Compass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Archies Explorer free?
Archies Explorer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do NorthPin Compass or Archies Explorer have ads?
Neither NorthPin Compass nor Archies Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NorthPin Compass or Archies Explorer?
NorthPin Compass ships an update every 6 weeks, and Archies Explorer every 5 days. Most recently, NorthPin Compass was updated on November 4, 2026 and Archies Explorer on October 31, 2026.

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