Comparison

Black Rock Compass vs DATALAND

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

Head to head
About

Black Rock Compass

Navigate and discover everything happening at Burning Man. Find friends, events, and essential locations like porta-potties with real-time guidance. Plan your schedule and stay connected with your crew, even with limited cell service.

Highlights
  • Full Burning Man event schedule
  • Real-time friend finder compass
  • Navigate to friends, art, events & porta potties
  • Interactive BRC map
  • Save events and build personal schedule
  • Bluetooth status broadcasts
  • Offline location sharing via Bluetooth
Features
Read full description

Black Rock Compass is your companion for Black Rock City. There's always more happening than you can see. BRC helps you catch more of it — and find your people (and the nearest porto) while you do. Browse thousands of events by day and vibe — music, workshops, parties, fire, food, art, and more. Save favorites and build your personal schedule. Find your crew with a real-time compass needle that points directly at your friends. Set a status so everyone knows what you're up to — "at camp", "heading to temple", "come find me". Works with GPS and Bluetooth when cell signal drops. Explore the BRC map with layers for camps, art installations, events, and friends. Tap anything for details and directions. Message your crew directly or in groups. Messages queue offline and deliver when signal returns. Set your status and share your location with nearby friends over Bluetooth — no cell signal needed. Your crew sees where you are and what you're doing, even in the deep playa. Plan a hop crawl — a route between events, bars, or art installations. Pick a vibe and go. Feeling spontaneous? Hit Surrender and let the playa decide what's next. FEATURES: - Full event schedule - Real-time friend finder compass - Navigate to friends, art, events & porta potties - Interactive BRC map with camps, art & events - Save events and build your personal schedule - Bluetooth status broadcasts — tell your crew what you're up to - Offline location sharing via Bluetooth — no signal needed - Hop crawl planner for themed routes - Direct and group messages - Built for the desert — works mostly offline Black Rock Compass is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Burning Man Project. Your companion for Black Rock City, browse the full event schedule, find your crew with a real-time compass, explore the city map with camps, art, and portos, and plan your days. Works fully offline out on the playa.

About

DATALAND

This app serves as a dynamic museum guide, offering AI-powered insights into artworks, technologies, and datasets. It personalizes your museum journey, allowing you to revisit experiences and explore content connected to your interactions, extending the museum experience beyond its physical walls.

Highlights
  • AI-powered museum guide
  • Interactive artwork exploration
  • Personalized visitor journey
  • Post-visit content access
  • Data and technology insights
  • Responsive environment integration
Features
Read full description

The DATALAND app is your companion to a museum that evolves with every visitor. As you move through the museum, the app becomes your guide to the artworks, ideas, technologies, and datasets that shape each experience. Curious about what you're seeing? Ask the DATALAND Museum Guide: RAIN. Powered by AI and trained on DATALAND's exhibitions, artworks, and research, RAIN can answer questions about the creative process, the data behind the artworks, the technologies that bring them to life, and the stories that inspired them. During your visit, the app connects with your Data.Token to help you follow your unique path through DATALAND. As you experience the museum's responsive environments, the app allows you to explore content connected to your journey and gain a deeper understanding of how your presence becomes part of the experience. After your visit, your journey continues. Revisit the artworks you encountered, explore moments from your experience, and discover how your interactions shaped your path through DATALAND. From personalized insights to exclusive digital content, the app extends the museum beyond its walls, allowing you to return to your experience whenever you wish. About DATALAND Created by Refik Anadol Studio, DATALAND is the world's first museum dedicated to AI arts. Combining data, machine intelligence, scientific research, and human creativity, DATALAND transforms archives into living experiences that evolve over time. Through immersive environments that respond to the world around them, DATALAND invites visitors to imagine new relationships between technology, museums, nature, memory, and art.

Screenshots

Black Rock Compass4 screens
DATALAND4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Black Rock Compass at every 2 days against DATALAND's every 3 weeks. Black Rock Compass also leads on ratings volume (149 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). DATALAND's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DATALAND holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Black Rock Compass has 149 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Black Rock Compass ships an update every 2 days, DATALAND every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Black Rock Compass versus DATALAND: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlack Rock CompassDATALAND
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (149 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings149 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB168 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBenjamin RitterDataland Inc

Customer experience

Black Rock Compass

All ratings142 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%

DATALAND

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Black Rock Compass

No in-app purchases

None

DATALAND

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Black Rock Compass free?
Black Rock Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DATALAND free?
DATALAND is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Black Rock Compass or DATALAND?
DATALAND is rated higher. Black Rock Compass averages 4.8 out of 5 from 149 ratings, while DATALAND averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Black Rock Compass or DATALAND have ads?
Neither Black Rock Compass nor DATALAND shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Black Rock Compass or DATALAND?
Black Rock Compass ships an update every 2 days, and DATALAND every 3 weeks. Most recently, Black Rock Compass was updated on October 21, 2026 and DATALAND on October 18, 2026.

Other comparisons