Comparison

Bivy vs Georgia River Guide

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

Head to head
About

Bivy

Discover and navigate over 40,000 mapped outdoor adventures across 21 activity types. Track your progress, share your location for safety, and even connect to a satellite device for off-grid communication and messaging.

Highlights
  • 21 adventure types
  • 40,000+ mapped adventures
  • Location sharing
  • Offline maps
  • Satellite messaging
  • Adventure tracking
Features
Read full description

* 21 different adventure types, Hiking, Biking, Kayaking, Rock Climbing and Backcountry skiing all in one app. * 40,000+ adventures fully mapped - never get lost again! * Share adventures with your friends, build up your profile and contribute your favorite photos and routes. * Share your location with friends and other Bivy users. Make it easy to stay safe and found. FIND • Easily find any kind of outdoor adventure near you. Filter by activity type, difficulty, and quality. • Bivy has 17 different adventure types: Hiking, mountain biking, road biking, trail running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, camping, rock climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, canyoneering, bouldering, aid climbing, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, sea kayaking, SUV, UTV, Snowmobile, ATV, and Motorcycle. • Search by map or list. Get directions to the start of every adventure TRACK • Let Bivy track your location on the full path of every adventure. • If you go off-route, Bivy will alert you to get back on the right path. • Keep track of your pace, mileage, calories burned, top speed, resting time and ETA. SHARE • Locate other friends and Bivy users in the outdoors. See other adventurers near you. • Find out who has completed adventures you are interested in. And see comments on each adventure • Build status in the community by completing adventures and uploading your own adventures, photos, comments, and corrections. Be the most accomplished adventurer in your neck of the woods. • Every uploaded adventure is vetted by our knowledgeable staff so you can trust the accuracy and quality of the data. SAFETY • Share your location with friends or other Bivy users. If you don’t come back on time, they will be able to see your path and location. • Every adventure description gives you detailed information on distance, elevation, and difficulty • While you are tracking, Bivy will tell you how much further you have and your expected time of arrival at your current pace. BIVYSTICK • Connect via Bluetooth to the Bivystick. Turn your Cell phone into a satellite communication device. • Send and receive text messages when you are out of phone service • Send an SOS and get in communication with EMS from ANYWHERE in the world. • Access to point weather forecasts • Detailed downloadable maps that can be used when you are offline or without service. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Georgia River Guide

Explore Georgia's waterways with detailed information on over 40 water trails. Get live safety data, access points, river conditions, and points of interest for your next paddling adventure. Plan your trip with confidence and learn about river conservation.

Highlights
  • Live safety data (water levels, temp, pH)
  • Public access points and mileage
  • River conditions and runnable levels
  • Rapids and hazard identification
  • Outfitters and shuttle services
  • Cultural and historic points of interest
Features
Read full description

Discover and explore Georgia’s 40+ unique water trails by kayak, canoe or paddleboard using the Georgia River Guide app powered by Georgia Rivers. Now featuring curated data and enhanced interactive safety information to empower users to plan their trips with live data about water trail conditions! Georgia’s water trails comprise thousands of miles of navigable waterways and stretch to every corner of the state. Whether you are curious about the iconic wetlands of the Dub Denman Canoe Trail in the southeast, the limestone-lined banks of the Flint River in the southwest, or the historic waters of the Etowah River in the northwest, the Georgia River Guide can help you find the perfect section of river for your next adventure. Featuring: - Live safety data about water levels, water temperature, e coli, pH, e. coli and related dam releases - Public access points & river mileage - River conditions & recommended runnable levels - Level of difficulty - Specific river rapids or hazards - Outfitters and shuttle services - Cultural and historic points of interest - Fishing guides - Available amenities - Tips on how to plan your trip & stay safe on the water - And more! Georgia River Guide is a project of Georgia Rivers, a nonprofit river conservation organization, and is designed to support the organization’s goal to connect more people to Georgia’s rivers and educate paddlers on the importance of water trails, water safety and river conservation. Georgia River Guide is completely free with no in-app purchases so everyone can be empowered to enjoy Georgia’s waterways. About Georgia Rivers: Founded in 1998, Georgia Rivers serves as the voice of Georgia’s rivers and works to empower everyone to enjoy, connect with, and advocate for economically vital and clean flowing rivers. In addition to the Georgia River Guide app, Georgia Rivers empowers all to enjoy and protect Georgia’s waterways through Paddle Georgia trips, water safety classes, the organization’s river user guide book series, advocacy action alerts and more. Learn more at www.garivers.org.

Screenshots

Bivy4 screens
Georgia River Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Georgia River Guide at 100% against Bivy's 44%. Georgia River Guide also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Bivy's advantage is ratings volume (110 vs 18). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Bivy sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Georgia River Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Georgia River Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bivy has 110 ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Bivy's written reviews are positive against 100% of Georgia River Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bivy ships an update every 2 months, Georgia River Guide every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Bivy versus Georgia River Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBivyGeorgia River Guide
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (110 ratings)4.6 (18 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings110 — better18
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB51 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHeadgate StudiosGeorgia River Network

Customer experience

Bivy

All ratings109 ratings
Positive60.6%
Neutral9.2%
Negative30.3%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive43.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative45.6%

Georgia River Guide

All ratings17 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Bivy

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • App crashes on startup constantly
  • Tracking is nonexistent or unreliable
  • App glitches when tracking
  • Does not properly send or receive messages
  • Crashes when looking at user guide and other menus
Show 19 more
  • App crashed in backcountry, unable to send messages until reinstalled
  • App crashes constantly
  • App crashes on start after last update
  • Unable to activate Bivy via the app
  • App requires in-app purchase before download
  • App crashes every time when sending a text
  • Lost message responses
  • App initiated tracking issues
  • App stopped working on iPhone 11 iOS 14
  • Unable to log in, says no connection even on Wi-Fi
  • Tracking stopped mid-day and missed most of the hike
  • Check-ins sending with old locations
  • Basic editing functions don't work
  • Moving between screens sometimes doesn't work
  • Keyboard won't disappear, forcing app closure
  • Find Me feature does not work
  • Incorrect river trail data leading to private property
  • Device heats up and battery drains on iPhone 11
  • Top part of the app screen is clipped on iPhone X and 11

Requested features

15 requests
  • Improve search results to exclude paid advertising
  • Allow searching for places by lat/lon coordinates
  • Enable password pasting and visibility on iOS
  • Make the app less cluttered and more focused on core features
  • Add an option to opt out of paid search results
Show 10 more
  • Allow creating waypoints directly from the map
  • Add more camping options to the map
  • Allow saving favorite activity types
  • Improve visibility of routes on topo maps
  • Add arrows to routes for direction guidance
  • Provide a way to clear contacts from message threads without reinstalling
  • Allow users to exclude campgrounds from the map
  • Increase the number of adventures in the database
  • Add more climbing types to filters
  • Optimize app for iPhone X and 11 screen sizes

Georgia River Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bivy

One-time2
  • Premium One Month$2.99
  • Premium One Year$29.99
None

Georgia River Guide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bivy free?
Bivy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Georgia River Guide free?
Georgia River Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bivy or Georgia River Guide?
Georgia River Guide is rated higher. Bivy averages 3.5 out of 5 from 110 ratings, while Georgia River Guide averages 4.6 from 18 ratings.
Do Bivy or Georgia River Guide have ads?
Neither Bivy nor Georgia River Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bivy or Georgia River Guide?
Bivy ships an update every 2 months, and Georgia River Guide every 3 months. Most recently, Bivy was updated on November 1, 2026 and Georgia River Guide on November 3, 2026.

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