Comparison

RanchScan vs Survey Compass

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

Head to head
About

RanchScan

Features
Read full description

RanchScan brings professional-grade cattle assessment to your iPhone. SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED A subscription is required to access all features. A free trial is available for new accounts (7 days or 10 scans, whichever comes first). RanchScan is a decision-support tool and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sharpixeltech.com/english-privacy-policy

About

Survey Compass

This app uses your phone's camera and sensors to measure bearing, elevation, and GPS position of targets in real-time. It's designed for quick outdoor checks, calculating heights, and logging readings with optional notes. Easily convert coordinates and share results.

Highlights
  • Live camera HUD with azimuth ribbon
  • Pitch gauge for elevation and grade
  • Multiple GPS coordinate formats (DMS, UTM, MGRS)
  • A-B angle and height calculation
  • Reading log for saved measurements
  • Coordinate converter
  • Shareable results
Features
Read full description

Survey compass app for field angles: aim your phone camera at a target and read its bearing, elevation angle and GPS position on one live screen. It is built for quick outdoor checks such as sighting a ridge, a mast or a tree, logging where you stood, and working out a height from two angles. ▶ LIVE CAMERA HUD • Azimuth ribbon across the top with the bearing in degrees and a 16-point direction (N, NNE, NE…) • Crosshair reticle with a small bubble that shows when the phone is level • Pitch gauge on the side with the elevation angle, percent grade and 1:n slope • Switch between magnetic north and true north (true north appears once your location gives the local declination) ▶ YOUR POSITION IN THREE FORMATS • Latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes and seconds • UTM zone, easting and northing • MGRS grid reference While there is no GPS fix the panel shows a dash instead of a number, so a coordinate on screen always comes from a real GPS fix, never from a placeholder. ▶ A–B ANGLE AND HEIGHT Mark point A, mark point B, and read the horizontal angle and vertical angle between the two sightings. Enter the horizontal distance to the object and the app estimates its height from the base and top angles. If you have a slope distance instead, switch to slope mode to get the horizontal distance and the rise. ▶ READING LOG Save a reading with its bearing, pitch, coordinates and an optional note. Up to 200 readings stay on your phone. A reading saved without a GPS fix is marked as having no position rather than being given a made-up one. ▶ COORDINATE CONVERTER Type any latitude and longitude, or pull in your current GPS fix, and read it as decimal degrees, DMS, UTM and MGRS at once. Add a second point to get the great-circle bearing and distance between them. ▶ SHARE Send an A–B result as plain text to a message, a note or a work order. HONEST LIMITS Bearing and angle come from your phone's compass and motion sensors, and position comes from GPS. Nearby metal, cars and power lines disturb a compass; move away from them and hold the phone steady for a better reading. The app does not measure distance by itself: for a height estimate you enter the distance. This is a field aid for planning and estimating, not survey-grade instrumentation, so confirm critical measurements with proper equipment.

Screenshots

RanchScan4 screens
Survey Compass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Survey Compass at none against RanchScan's 2. RanchScan's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs weekly). On price and iOS requirement 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. RanchScan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $199.99 per year. Survey Compass asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RanchScan ships an update every 4 days, Survey Compass weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
RanchScan versus Survey Compass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRanchScanSurvey Compass
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB80 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSharpixel LLCheekyung moon

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RanchScan

Subscriptions2
  • RanchScan Annual, 200 Uses7 Days trial$199.991 Year
  • RanchScan Annual, Unlimited7 Days trial$499.991 Year
None

Survey Compass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RanchScan free?
RanchScan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Survey Compass free?
Survey Compass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RanchScan or Survey Compass have ads?
Survey Compass shows ads; RanchScan does not.
Which is updated more often, RanchScan or Survey Compass?
RanchScan ships an update every 4 days, and Survey Compass weekly. Most recently, RanchScan was updated on November 5, 2026 and Survey Compass on November 8, 2026.

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