Comparison

LiveHeight vs Mini Altimeter

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

Head to head
About

LiveHeight

Read full description

LiveHeight turns your iPhone's built-in barometer into a precision altimeter that reveals altitude changes as small as a few centimeters, live, on a clean dashboard with a real-time sparkline. PRECISION ALTITUDE β€’ Live altitude from the iPhone's barometric sensor β€’ Altitude above sea level, fused from GPS and the barometer β€’ Real-time sparkline to watch every rise and fall β€’ Metric or imperial units STORM WATCH (works offline) β€’ Tracks atmospheric pressure trends to warn you before storms roll in β€’ No signal needed, built for the backcountry β€’ Optional background monitoring, off by default and fully under your control BUILT FOR HIKING β€’ Track a hike and save it to Apple Health as a workout β€’ Topographic maps and 3D terrain views β€’ Elevation profiles and terrain lookups for the trail ahead β€’ Hike prep cards with the essentials before you set off β€’ Outdoor conversion tool for multiple occasions β€’ Sunset times so you know how much daylight is left β€’ Emergency mode: continuous location tracking, then a power-saving standby that keeps your position findable for days so rescuers can reach you PRIVATE BY DESIGN β€’ No account, no ads, no tracking β€’ Your readings stay on your device β€’ Health data is never sold or shared Whether you're chasing a summit, watching the weather turn, or just curious how high you are right now, LiveHeight gives you the numbers instantly and accurately.

About

Mini Altimeter

Features
Read full description

A barometric altimeter and GPS speedometer for hiking, skiing, trail running, cycling and flying. One screen, with nothing on it that is not a reading. BOTH ALTITUDES, SIDE BY SIDE Most altimeter apps make you choose between the pressure sensor and the satellite fix. This one shows both, always. They fail in different ways β€” the barometer drifts as the weather moves, GPS elevation wanders indoors and under trees β€” so seeing them together is what tells you whether to trust either. The difference between them is shown as a delta, and it is the most honest signal the app has: it is measured, not estimated. WORKS WITH NO SIGNAL There is no networking code in this app at all. Altitude is computed on the device from raw barometric pressure using the standard atmosphere, so the altimeter keeps working in a valley, inside a building, on a plane and in airplane mode. LIVE ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN AND IN THE DYNAMIC ISLAND Start a trip and the altimeter keeps running in the background. Your current altitude sits in the Dynamic Island, and the lock screen shows both altitudes, climb rate, ascent, descent and speed without unlocking the phone. End the trip and it all stops β€” background tracking is always something you chose. WIDGETS Home-screen widgets show your last altitude, pressure, ascent and speed, and say how long ago the reading was taken. They never pretend to be live. APPLE WATCH On a watch with a barometer it is a complete altimeter on your wrist, using the same calibration as your phone. On one without, it mirrors your iPhone's readings and says so. TRIP RECORDING AND STATISTICS Every trip is saved. Open it later for statistics shaped to what you were doing β€” pace and ascent for a hike, speed for a ride, exit and deployment altitude and freefall time for a jump, thermals, climb rates and glide ratio for a flight β€” with an altitude profile. The activity is recognised from the track itself, and on iPhones with Apple Intelligence the on-device model gives a second opinion. Trips store altitude, speed and pressure only, never where you were. FOUR LOOKS Glass β€” true black, lit numerals. Phosphor β€” a green terminal. Paper β€” ink on white. LCD β€” a grey-green segment display with a bar trace. Every one keeps every number in the same place. CALIBRATION THAT MAKES SENSE A pressure sensor measures changes to within about a metre, but it cannot know how far it is to sea level on its own. Pin it three ways: match the GPS, type an elevation you trust from a trailhead sign or a chart, or enter the sea-level pressure (QNH) from a nearby airfield. A stale reference costs roughly 8 metres per hectopascal, so the app tells you when it has gone stale rather than quietly drifting. WHAT IT SHOWS β€’ Barometric and GPS altitude together, either one selectable as primary β€’ Ground speed, with maximum and average β€’ Vertical speed, fitted over several seconds so it does not jitter β€’ A fifteen-minute elevation trace β€’ Cumulative ascent and descent β€’ Distance travelled, and station pressure β€’ Metres or feet, km/h, mph, knots or m/s, hPa, inHg or mmHg BUILT TO BE READ AT A GLANCE Large monospaced numerals that do not shift as digits change. One accent colour, spent only on what is live or wrong. Nothing decorative. It never shows a number it does not have. No speed fix says so plainly rather than displaying zero. NO ACCOUNT, NO TRACKING, NO ADS Nothing is collected and nothing is transmitted. The source code is public.

Screenshots

LiveHeight4 screens
Mini Altimeter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Mini Altimeter at every 6 days against LiveHeight's every 6 weeks. Mini Altimeter also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LiveHeight ships an update every 6 weeks, Mini Altimeter every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
LiveHeight versus Mini Altimeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiveHeightMini Altimeter
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS26.517.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size5 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShyam SteenhautWoodenshark LLC

In-app purchases

None

LiveHeight

No in-app purchases

None

Mini Altimeter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LiveHeight free?
LiveHeight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mini Altimeter free?
Mini Altimeter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LiveHeight or Mini Altimeter have ads?
Neither LiveHeight nor Mini Altimeter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LiveHeight or Mini Altimeter?
LiveHeight ships an update every 6 weeks, and Mini Altimeter every 6 days. Most recently, LiveHeight was updated on October 10, 2026 and Mini Altimeter on October 2, 2026.

Other comparisons