CompassOne vs RouteCue
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CompassOne
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Find your way in the field, back to your car, or to any precise coordinate with CompassOne, a modern navigation and field toolkit for iPhone and Apple Watch. Save parking, follow trails, plan tides, and convert coordinates in one focused app. From quick bearings to rich field projects, CompassOne keeps your location tools in one place. KEY FEATURES • Parking Mode • Save your parking spot with a note like level, row, slot, or landmark • See your current parking at a glance and tap Guide Me to navigate back • Share your parking location with friends or family • Trails and Waypoints • Record trip trails and review your Trail History • Save waypoints from your current location • Start Guidance along a route with Route Navigator • Export trails and waypoints as GPX, KML, CSV, or JSON • Coordinates and Import • View your current location in multiple formats • Convert between decimal coordinates, UTM, and Plus Code • Paste coordinates, map links, UTM, or Plus Code and preview on the map • Import GPX or KML files from Files and save imported places • Sky Compass and Space • Use Sky Compass to orient with the sky • Show or hide planets for a cleaner sky view • Track an estimate of the International Space Station position • Center the sky view with the spatial viewport controls • Tides and Moon Reference • Check tide estimates on a simple tide timeline • Use Moon Transit Estimate to set a tide reference time • Set tide check time to now for quick status checks • Read clear notes reminding you to use official tide stations for safety • Field Cockpit and Projects • Use Field Cockpit for an at a glance navigation and status view • Capture Field Projects with project name and notes • Save Field Snapshots for later reporting • Export Field Projects as JSON for archiving or analysis • Export Hub and Offline Pack • Prepare export sets for waypoints, trails, and field projects • Create an Offline Pack to keep essential data ready when coverage is poor • Watch Companion • Use the Watch Companion for quick compass actions on your wrist • See compact field data with a watch ready layout • Tools Grid • Open Tools for focused utilities, including: • Coordinate Converter: decimal, UTM, or Plus Code • Decimal Coordinate entry with latitude and longitude • Bearing Calculator for simple navigation bearings • Route tools to work with saved paths • Widgets and Shortcuts • Add CompassOne widgets for quick access to compass and field info • Use shortcuts like OpenCompass, SaveCurrentPlace, ShareLocation, GuideToCar, OpenFieldCockpit, OpenTides, or OpenLevel from the Shortcuts app • Personalization and Settings • Choose north mode, units, coordinate format, and smoothing preferences • Pick a compass theme to match your environment • Accuracy coaching and trust status help you understand location quality CompassOne is built for everyday navigation and serious fieldwork alike, from finding your car in a crowded lot to managing trails and tide checks on the coast. Install CompassOne today and bring a powerful field-ready compass, trail recorder, and coordinate toolkit wherever you go. Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
RouteCue
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Find Your Way Back—Even When GPS Can’t Parking garages, hospitals, hotels, airports, malls, cruise ships, campuses, and convention centers can quickly become confusing. GPS may bring you to the building, but it cannot always remember the elevator, hallway, floor, entrance, or turns you used inside. RouteCue gives you a simple visual trail back. As you walk, capture photos of important landmarks and decision points—such as an elevator, parking level, hallway sign, doorway, or turn. When it is time to return, RouteCue presents those photos in reverse order, one visual cue at a time, helping you retrace the route you actually took. HOW ROUTECUE WORKS 1. Start a new trail. 2. Capture recognizable landmarks along your route. 3. Open the return journey when you are ready to go back. 4. Follow your photos in reverse order, one cue at a time. 5. Finish the trail when you reach your destination. USE ROUTECUE TO HELP RETRACE YOUR STEPS IN: • Multilevel parking garages • Airports and transit centers • Hospitals and medical complexes • Hotels and resorts • Cruise ships • Shopping malls • College and corporate campuses • Convention centers and event venues • Large indoor buildings where GPS is less useful MORE THAN A PARKING PIN A map pin can show where you parked, but it may not show how to navigate multiple floors, elevators, hallways, entrances, or turns. A single photo may capture your parking space, but RouteCue remembers the complete visual path you followed. PRIVATE BY DESIGN RouteCue is designed to work without an account, location tracking, map data, or an internet connection. Your route photos remain on your device, giving you a simple and private way to create visual breadcrumbs. BUILT FOR REAL-LIFE CONFUSION RouteCue is useful for travelers, visitors, families, and anyone who finds large indoor spaces difficult to navigate. Instead of trying to remember every turn, leave yourself a clear visual trail. GPS gets you there. RouteCue helps you remember the way back.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RouteCue at Free against CompassOne's $3.99. RouteCue also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support 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
RouteCue is free to download; CompassOne costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CompassOne ships an update every 2 months, RouteCue every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CompassOne | RouteCue |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ona Pacholo Asis | Moorthi Nataraj |
In-app purchases
CompassOne
No in-app purchases
RouteCue
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CompassOne free?
Is RouteCue free?
Do CompassOne or RouteCue have ads?
Which is updated more often, CompassOne or RouteCue?
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