Waypoint vs Trailseek
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Waypoint
Navigate back to saved locations using a compass arrow and real-time distance. This app works completely offline, requiring no maps or internet connection. Save your campsite, car, or any spot and easily find your way back.
- Offline GPS navigation
- Compass arrow guidance
- Real-time distance tracking
- Save unlimited locations (Premium)
- Attach photos to markers
- View current elevation
- Works without internet or cell signal
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Waypoint is an offline GPS compass for outdoor navigation. Drop a pin anywhere — your car, your campsite, a trailhead, a fishing spot — and a big arrow points the way back with live distance. No maps to download, no cell service, no account. It works in airplane mode, deep in the backcountry, and in the garage where your maps app gives up. WORKS WITH NO SIGNAL The arrow runs on your phone's GPS and magnetometer — local sensors, local math. No data connection, no map tiles, nothing phoning home. It also shows how accurate your GPS fix is — when you save a pin and while you navigate — so you never have to guess whether your position is trustworthy. UNLIMITED PINS, FREE There is no limit and no paywall on capacity. Save every fishing hole, trailhead and campsite you want, for free. Name them, choose from dozens of icons, attach a photo, and see each one's elevation. Drop a pin where you stand in one tap, or mark a spot anywhere on the map. RECORD A TRAIL, THEN WALK IT BACK Start recording and Waypoint lays down breadcrumbs along your route. When you turn around, follow your own track back on the map — the way you actually came, not a straight line through a ravine. Made for unmarked trails, fresh snow, dense forest, and anywhere the way in was easier than the way out. RALLY — FIND YOUR PEOPLE Start a Rally, share the code, and everyone sees each other live on one map, with a roster showing how far away each person is. Point the same arrow at a person instead of a pin. Built for festivals, theme parks and campgrounds. Rallies are temporary — they expire on their own, and nothing is shared before or after. Starting a Rally needs Pro; joining one is always free, so only one person in the group needs it. THE COMPASS, UPGRADED Waypoint Pro puts every saved pin around the dial at its true bearing — turn toward any one and navigate. Add bearing lock to hold a heading, a live heading strip above the arrow, high-detail markings, and the position of the sun and moon so you never miss golden hour. WEATHER WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY STANDING Pro also brings weather for your coordinates, not the nearest city: current conditions with an hour-by-hour timeline, UV index and risk band, humidity and dew point, wind speed, direction and gusts, and sunrise and sunset with exactly how much daylight you have left. MAKE IT YOURS Fifteen themes, including Blizzard, Ember, Nature, Sunny and a carbon-fibre finish. Night Mode goes red-on-black to protect your dark adaptation, and AMOLED mode uses true black to save battery. Plus alternate app icons and haptic profiles. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR • Finding the car in a huge lot, a garage, or a trailhead • Marking a campsite, a tree stand, a mushroom patch • Getting back to the boat or the anchorage • Finding one tent in a sea of identical tents FREE — NO ACCOUNT, NO CATCH • Unlimited pins, with photos and elevation • Full arrow navigation, completely offline • Trail recording and retracing • Join any Rally — no Pro needed • Map view and mark-on-map • Game Mode — guess a pin's bearing and get scored • Imperial or metric units • No ads. No trackers. Ever. WAYPOINT PRO — ONE PAYMENT, YOURS FOR LIFE • Your pins on the compass dial • Pin groups • Start a Rally and share live location with a group • Bearing lock and live heading strip • High-detail compass • Weather, UV, wind and daylight at your location • Night Mode • Sun and moon overlay • Fifteen themes and app icons • Place search — find a place by name and pin it • Cloud backups, and sync across your devices No subscription. Ever. One purchase unlocks everything, permanently. ON PRIVACY Waypoint needs no account to work, and nothing leaves your phone unless you choose it. Rally shares your location only while a rally is running, and only with people holding the code. Cloud backup stays off until you switch it on, and is encrypted in transit. No ads, no third-party trackers. Available in 12 languages.
Trailseek
This offline GPS app helps hikers and backcountry travelers navigate using topographic and satellite maps. Record tracks, mark waypoints, and receive directional guidance back to any location, all while keeping your data private and on your device.
- Offline topographic and satellite maps
- Track recording with elevation data
- Waypoint marking and management
- Compass navigation with ETA
- GPX import/export
- On-map drawing
- Apple Watch integration
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Trailseek is an offline GPS app for hiking and backcountry travel. It records your track, marks waypoints, shows where you are on topographic and satellite maps, and points you back to any spot. Your location and data stay on your device. Maps - Free maps with no account: Apple Maps, satellite, hybrid, OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, and USGS Topo. - A 3D terrain option adds relief to the Apple maps. - Download USGS Topo areas and use them with no signal. - Turn on a coordinate grid for latitude and longitude, UTM, or MGRS and USNG. Waypoints - Drop a waypoint at the map center, your location, or a long press. - Set a name, an icon, a color, and a note. - Attach photos from the camera or your library. - Search and sort the list. Tracks - Record distance, time, speed, and elevation. - Elevation comes from the barometer and GPS together. - Recording continues with the screen off. - Review a saved track's stats and elevation profile. Navigation - Follow a compass arrow to a waypoint, with distance, bearing, and ETA. - It uses GPS and the compass, so it works with no signal and no map. Coordinates - Show your position as decimal degrees, degrees decimal minutes, or degrees minutes seconds. - UTM and MGRS/USNG are always there. - Tap a value to copy it. GPX and sharing - Import and export waypoints and tracks as GPX. - Share a waypoint or track as a file, plain coordinates, or a maps link. Drawing - Draw on the map with Apple Pencil on iPad or a finger on iPhone. - Drawings stay fixed to the ground as you pan and zoom, and share between devices. iPad - The map fills the screen and the panels open as popovers. Apple Watch - Record a track, mark and browse waypoints, and navigate from your wrist. - See your track and waypoints on the watch map. - Waypoints and tracks sync with your iPhone. More - A ruler measures distance and bearing between two points. - Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and the moon phase for your location. - A trip computer tracks distance, moving time, and average speed. Privacy - No account, no sign-in, no ads, and no tracking. - Your tracks, waypoints, photos, and location stay on your device. Trailseek does not collect them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Trailseek at none against Waypoint's 1. Trailseek also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly). Waypoint's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Waypoint sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Trailseek asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Waypoint against 5.0 for Trailseek. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
Waypoint ships an update weekly, Trailseek daily. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Waypoint | Trailseek |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Pyers | MICHAEL CHERRY |
Customer experience
Waypoint
Trailseek
In-app purchases
Waypoint
- Waypoint Pro$4.99
Trailseek
No in-app purchases








