# ChiMarathon vs My Big Year

The clearest difference is price: ChiMarathon at Free against My Big Year's $9.99. ChiMarathon also leads on ratings volume (45 vs 1). My Big Year's advantage is rating (3.0 vs 2.5) and device support (3 vs 1). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

ChiMarathon is free to download; My Big Year costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

My Big Year holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ChiMarathon has 45 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ChiMarathon | My Big Year |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $9.99 |
| Rating | [2.5 (45 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chimarathon/id718145625/reviews) | **[3.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-big-year/id6799727781/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **45** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 32.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 112 MB | 370 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tata Consultancy Services](https://appshunter.io/developer/467615204) | [PVI Maine LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/384927995) |

## What reviewers say

### ChiMarathon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chimarathon/id718145625)

Prepare for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with this comprehensive resource. Track runners live, view athlete profiles, and access real-time weather and course maps. Spectators can send digital cheers to be displayed on the course.

**Highlights:** Live runner tracking, Athlete profiles, Live broadcast streaming, Real-time weather, Interactive course map, Digital cheer submission

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for tracking runners
- 👍 Works well in the UK
- 👍 Able to track runner entire time
- 👍 Loved tracking friends
- 👍 Very useful for watching friend run

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Map tracker not spectator-geared
- 🐛 Mile markers inconsistent
- 🐛 Map shows water stations for runners
- 🐛 Units displayed incorrectly (miles vs km)
- 🐛 App doesn't update times

**Reported bugs**

- Mile markers inconsistent
- Map shows water stations for runners
- Units displayed incorrectly (miles vs km)
- App doesn't update times
- Links in map don't work

**Requested features**

- Geared towards spectators for map tracking
- Display mile markers clearly
- Option to switch between miles and kilometers
- Update app design to be more modern
- Real-time updates and alerts for runners


### My Big Year

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-big-year/id6799727781)

Track birds you haven't seen for your Big Year, Big Day, or Life List. Discover unseen species with map pins and sortable tables, get directions, and access field guides. Includes eBird import and export for serious birders.

**Highlights:** Track unseen birds for Year, Day, or Life Lists, Map pins and sortable tables for bird locations, Nearest and all reports for a species, Directions, eBird checklists, and field-guide links, eBird import and spreadsheet export, Custom and nearby search for birds, Dynamic hotspot maps

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ChiMarathon free?

ChiMarathon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is My Big Year free?

My Big Year costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ChiMarathon or My Big Year?

My Big Year is rated higher. ChiMarathon averages 2.5 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while My Big Year averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do ChiMarathon or My Big Year have ads?

Neither ChiMarathon nor My Big Year shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ChiMarathon or My Big Year?

ChiMarathon ships an update every 2 weeks, and My Big Year every 2 weeks. Most recently, ChiMarathon was updated on October 20, 2026 and My Big Year on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*