Comparison

Patchly vs Dig Here

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

Head to head
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 β€’ 100+ curated layers and growing: geology, geochemistry, tenements, land access, terrain, historic activity and more β€’ Tenements refresh nightly, so leases, applications and expiries are current β€’ Bare-earth LiDAR relief for New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, with Victoria as a separate add-on β€’ Stacks: build your own layer setups with per-layer filters, and switch between saved maps in a tap β€’ Custom layers: bring your own GeoTIFFs and map services into a Stack β€’ 3D terrain: tilt and exaggerate the ground to read its shape β€’ Section 40E permit builder for Western Australia, with Form 1A export β€’ Offline search for places and watercourses FIELD RECORDING AND NAVIGATION β€’ Smart classification: Patchly works out which parts of a session were travelling, detecting or stopped β€’ Logbook+ draws detecting as lines or as Coverage, the honeycomb of how hard a patch has been worked β€’ Record a session and see where you detected, and which detector was active for that section β€’ Off-road go-to and multi-stop routes, by bearing, distance and ETA β€’ Finds by type, size and condition, and pins with icons for camps, vehicles, water and hazards β€’ Logbook Editor: edit tracks, finds, pins and shapes on the map, draw lines and areas, and reclassify travelling, detecting or stopped by hand β€’ Recording setup checklist: keep a session running all day β€’ Nametag: sign on to the Palmerville camp board from your phone, no more trips to the office RECORDS AND GOLD β€’ Logbook: filter and sort every session, inspect it, and return to the exact ground β€’ Stash: track nuggets, specimens, bars and coins in a simple or purity-aware mode, valued at the live gold price β€’ Overview and Calendar: totals, value, categories, daily hauls and season statistics β€’ Add photos to finds and pins, and link a find to its Stash item OFFLINE, BACKUP AND SYNC β€’ Offline regions: download an area's satellite and layers, and keep working out of range β€’ Automatic backup of records, photos, Stash, detectors and Stacks to your own iCloud Drive or Google Drive β€’ Sync your Logbook between your phones and tablets, through your cloud or straight over Wi-Fi β€’ Guided imports for Trilobite CSV, Detector Maps KML and Gaia GPS, plus generic GPX, KML and KMZ β€’ 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 over ground you have already searched, and offline region downloads. Unlimited Stash and detectors. β€’ Patchly Pro annual: A$79.99 per year (first year A$23.99) β€’ Patchly Pro monthly: A$13.49 per month β€’ 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.

About

Dig Here

Features
Read full description

DigHere is a map for gold prospectors. It shows the ground the way a fossicker needs to see it, then helps you find your way out again when you are done. Turn on the terrain and LiDAR layers to read the landscape before you walk it. Hillshade and slope bring out the gullies and benches. The LiDAR analysis layers pick out things that are hard to see on the ground or on satellite imagery: old alluvial workings, terrace benches, paleochannels, and sudden changes in relief. Use them to decide where to swing the coil instead of wandering. Drop a pin the moment you find something. Every pin has a type, such as gold, water, camp, vehicle access or hazard, so your map stays readable. Pins are saved on your phone and sync to your account, so a good spot is still there next trip. Get Me Back records your track as you walk in. When you are ready to leave, it turns that track around and points you back to where you started, with a compass and a line on the map. It runs offline and keeps going with the screen locked, so it works deep in the scrub where there is no signal. Everything works without a connection. Cache the terrain and layers for an area over wifi, then head out. Your pins, tracks and maps are all there when you are off the grid. DigHere also runs on CarPlay and Apple Watch. On CarPlay you can navigate to a pin, drive back to your start, and see terrain on the car screen. On Apple Watch you can drop a pin, record a Get Me Back trail, keep a named Dig Track, and follow the compass to a pin without pulling your phone out. Some layers and areas need a subscription, and you can see what is available before you subscribe. Covers Australia and New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Terms of Use (EULA): https://dighere.com.au/terms Privacy Policy: https://dighere.com.au/privacy

Screenshots

Patchly4 screens
Dig Here4 screens

Verdict

The call

Patchly and Dig Here are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters β€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them β€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Patchly sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Dig Here sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Patchly ships an update weekly, Dig Here every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Patchly versus Dig Here: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatchlyDig Here
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews92.3% of reviewsβ€”
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreeβ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS15.515.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size105 MB88 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatchly Labs Pty LtdAndrew Davis

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Patchly

Subscriptions3
  • Patchly Pro$8.991 Month
  • Victoria LiDAR Relief$39.991 Year
  • Patchly Pro1 Year trial$49.991 Year
4 purchases

Dig Here

Subscriptions4
  • Fossicker - Monthly$8.001 Month
  • Digger - Monthly$19.001 Month
  • Fossicker - Yearly$79.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • Digger - Yearly$179.001 Year

Questions

Is Patchly free?
Patchly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dig Here free?
Dig Here is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Patchly or Dig Here have ads?
Neither Patchly nor Dig Here shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Patchly or Dig Here?
Patchly ships an update weekly, and Dig Here every 4 days. Most recently, Patchly was updated on October 31, 2026 and Dig Here on October 31, 2026.

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