Comparison

DirtGPS vs Patchly

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

Head to head
About

DirtGPS

This app provides precise GPS navigation for off-road activities like racing and exploration. It offers real-time speed and position tracking, easy waypoint marking, and the ability to record and replay routes, all in a user-friendly interface designed for high-speed use.

Highlights
  • Real-time GPS with speed & heading
  • One-tap waypoint marking
  • Track recording and replay
  • Offline satellite maps
  • GPX import and export
  • Prerunner mode
  • 3D terrain with satellite imagery
Read full description

Built for speed, precision, and zero signal. DirtGPS is a purpose built GPS navigation app for offroad racing, prerunning, and remote exploration. Combining powerful navigation tools with a clean, easy to use interface. Track your speed, heading, and position in real time. Mark hazards and key locations instantly. Record your runs and replay them later to refine your lines, all without digging through complicated menus. Hear every waypoint called out hands-free as you approach it, and share your race live with anyone who wants to follow along. Designed to perform in harsh environments and high-speed conditions, DirtGPS keeps everything simple, visible, and within reach. FEATURES • Real-time GPS with speed & heading • Fast, intuitive interface designed for use at speed • One-tap waypoint marking with custom icons and colours • Voice navigation with hands-free callouts for every waypoint • Live GPS tracking on one permanent shareable link • Live in-car video streaming with up to 4 cameras • Two-way pit crew messaging • Track recording with full route history and trip stats • Offline satellite maps using Mapbox • GPX import and export support • Prerunner mode for marking race courses and hazards • Track replay for post-run analysis • Collections to organise tracks and waypoints • 3D terrain with satellite imagery • Optimised for iPhone and iPad DESIGNED FOR OFF-ROAD Built for racers, prerunners, and off-road explorers who need reliable navigation in demanding environments. DirtGPS is designed to perform where traditional navigation apps fall short. FREE VERSION • Real-time GPS navigation • Record 1 track • Up to 25 waypoints • Import/export 1 GPX file • 1 collection DIRTGPS PRO Unlock the full capability of DirtGPS: • Unlimited track recording • Unlimited waypoints and collections • Offline satellite maps • Prerunner mode • Voice navigation • Live GPS tracking • Track replay • Unlimited GPX import and export DIRTGPS PREMIUM Everything in PRO, plus your race day broadcast: • Live in-car video streaming with up to 4 cameras • Custom sponsor overlays on your stream • Multistream to other platforms • Two-way pit crew messaging IMPORTANT NOTES • Requires iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later • Continued use of GPS in the background can significantly reduce battery life • Devices without built-in GPS (WiFi-only models) require an external GPS receiver for accurate positioning • Offline maps must be downloaded before entering areas without coverage • Live tracking, streaming and pit crew messaging require an internet connection in the vehicle • Map data is provided via Mapbox and subject to availability SUBSCRIPTION TERMS DirtGPS PRO and DirtGPS Premium are auto-renewable subscriptions, available monthly or yearly, each with a 7 day free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your device Settings under your Apple Account, then Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://dirtgps.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://dirtgps.com/privacy.html

About

Patchly

This app helps gold prospectors and metal detectorists explore and understand goldfields with detailed maps and offline capabilities. It records your activity, classifies finds, and allows for private data management. Navigate to locations and track your findings with detailed logs.

Highlights
  • 90+ curated prospecting layers
  • Offline map and search functionality
  • Field recording and smart classification
  • Off-road navigation to finds
  • Stash for tracking gold and value
  • Automatic cloud backup
Read full description

Know the ground you're working. Patchly is the all-in-one gold prospecting and metal detecting app for exploring and understanding the goldfields. It puts the layers that matter on one map and records where you have been and which detector you used. PRIVACY Patchly asks for no account, runs no server that stores or processes your field history, and does not track you. Your sessions, finds, photos and Stash live in a plain database on your phone that you can export any time. Optional backups and exports go only to storage you choose. Map and content downloads still use network services. MAPS AND RESEARCH • 100+ curated layers and growing: geology, geochemistry, tenements, land access, terrain, historic activity and more, chosen for prospecting • Tenements refresh nightly, so leases, applications and expiries are current before you drive out • Bare-earth LiDAR relief for New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, with Victoria as a separate add-on • Stacks: build your own layer setups, reorder them, and switch between saved maps in a tap • Layer controls: every layer has its own settings, filters and thresholds • 3D terrain: tilt, rotate and exaggerate the ground to read its shape • Section 40E permit builder for Western Australia, with Form 1A export • Offline search for places and watercourses, with no reception • Light and dark, for the hour you are in FIELD RECORDING AND NAVIGATION • Smart classification: Patchly works out which parts of a session were travelling, detecting or stopped • Logbook+ draws detecting as lines or as Coverage, the honeycomb showing how hard a patch has been worked • Record a session and see where you detected, and which detector was active for that section • Off-road go-to: navigate to any find, pin or map point by bearing, distance and ETA • Multi-stop routes: build an ordered route and work through it • Classify finds by type, size and condition, each with its own symbol • Pins that mean something: a colour dot, or an icon for camps, vehicles, water and hazards • Draw and save lines and areas for boundaries and plans RECORDS AND GOLD • Logbook: filter and sort every session, inspect it, and return to the exact ground • Stash: track nuggets, specimens, bars and coins in a simple or purity-aware mode, valued against the live gold price • Overview and Calendar: totals, value, categories, daily hauls and season statistics • Add photos to finds and pins, and link a find to its Stash item OFFLINE, BACKUP AND PORTABILITY • Offline regions: pick an area, download its satellite and layers, and the map keeps working out of range • Automatic backup of records, photos, Stash, detectors and Stacks to your own cloud • Guided import wizards for Trilobite CSV, Detector Maps KML and Gaia GPS exports, step by step • Generic GPX, KML and KMZ import for everything else • Share .patchly files for Stacks, sessions, finds, pins and shapes PATCHLY FREE Free is a real field tool, not a trial. The offline map, the land-access and place-name layers, full session recording, your Logbook, finds, pins, Stash and cloud backup. Free tracks up to one troy ounce in Stash and allows one active detector. PATCHLY PRO Patchly Pro adds the deeper curated Library including LiDAR relief, Logbook+ classified travelling and detecting sections, the Coverage honeycomb drawn over the ground you have already searched, and offline region downloads. Unlimited Stash and detectors. • Patchly Pro annual: A$79.99 per year (first year A$23.99) • Patchly Pro monthly: A$13.49 per month • Victoria LiDAR relief add-on: A$59.99 per year, requires Patchly Pro Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://patchly.gold/terms Privacy Policy: https://patchly.gold/privacy Patchly is made in Australia by Patchly Labs Pty Ltd.

Screenshots

DirtGPS4 screens
Patchly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Patchly at none against DirtGPS's 2. Patchly also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. DirtGPS sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Patchly asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DirtGPS ships an update every 9 days, Patchly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
DirtGPS versus Patchly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDirtGPSPatchly
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB92 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDIRTGPS PTY LTDPatchly Labs Pty Ltd

Customer experience

DirtGPS

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Patchly

Written reviews11 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DirtGPS

Subscriptions2
  • DirtGPS PRO Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • DirtGPS PRO Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

Patchly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DirtGPS free?
DirtGPS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Patchly free?
Patchly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do DirtGPS or Patchly have ads?
Neither DirtGPS nor Patchly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DirtGPS or Patchly?
DirtGPS ships an update every 9 days, and Patchly weekly. Most recently, DirtGPS was updated on October 9, 2026 and Patchly on October 13, 2026.

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