Pro Altimeter vs Topo Fire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pro Altimeter
This app measures and computes altitude using your device's barometric pressure sensor and GPS. It offers multiple calibration methods, including GPS, manual input, and airport METAR data, for accurate readings. The interface is simple with large, easy-to-read numbers and offers distinct day and night display modes.
- Barometric and GPS altitude measurement
- Multiple calibration methods (GPS, manual, METAR)
- Real-time accuracy estimates
- Large, easy-to-read display
- Day and night display modes
- Calibration reminders
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Pro Altimeter uses the high-fidelity barometric pressure sensor in iOS devices to measure and compute altitude. Pro Altimeter has a dead simple interface. Barometric altitude and GPS altitude are displayed in large easy to read numbers, showing units of both feet and meters, and giving realtime accuracy estimates from the hardware. At bottom are calibration and display mode buttons. The display offers a highly-readable daytime mode with black digits on an LCD-green background, and a reversed night mode that is easy on the eyes in dark conditions. That's it! Proper calibration is necessary to measure altitude from barometric pressure (this is why a pilot "dials in" the cockpit altimeter before taking off). Pro Altimeter offers four different methods for calibration -- choose the easiest and most convenient: 1. Use GPS altitude. This method correlates the measured local barometric pressure with the altitude measured by GPS. This method can be used when your device has a clear line of sight to the sky and a reliable GPS fix with good accuracy. 2. Manually enter altitude. This method correlates the measured local barometric pressure with known altitude from landmarks, elevation benchmarks, trail markers, topo maps, land surveys, etc. Altitude can be entered in feet or meters. 3. Manually enter pressure. If you have a weather station, weather report, or METAR report with equivalent sea level pressure for a nearby location, this can be used to correlate local barometric pressure to altitude. Pressure can be entered with units of inches Hg, kPa, or mb. 4. Check local airports. With the tap of a button, Pro Altimeter will locate the five closest airports within 100 miles (160km) of your present location anywhere in the world, and pull in METAR data. From that list of five, pick the airport of your choice and Pro Altimeter will import pressure data for calibration. Once calibrated, Pro Altimeter keeps track of the time since its last calibration. Because weather and local barometric pressure change over time, the app will warn you when 6 hours have elapsed since the last calibration by flashing the "CALIBRATE" button. You should calibrate as frequently as practical -- for example, on a hike, calibrate whenever you pass a trail marker or elevation benchmark. But at a minimum, calibrate at least every 6 hours or whenever weather changes in your area. Pro Altimeter is intended for iOS devices with a built-in barometric pressure sensor (iPhone 6 and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPad Pro). On older devices without a barometric pressure sensor, only GPS altitude and accuracy will be displayed. If you have an Apple Watch, check out the new Pro Altimeter for Watch and get all this same functionality on your wrist!
Topo Fire
This app provides wildland firefighters with essential mapping tools and resources for incident response. It offers shared incident maps, various map layers, and navigation aids, all accessible on mobile devices and Apple Watch.
- Shared incident maps with live location
- Multiple map layers (USGS, Forest Service, etc.)
- Drawing and waypoint tools
- Proximity alerts
- Apple Watch integration
- Cloud sync across devices
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Topo Fire is packed with the maps & tools every Wildland Firefighter needs. ‣‣ FREE Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG) ‣ Easily accessible right on your phone. ‣ Change font size. ‣ Change color scheme. ‣‣ SHARED INCIDENT MAP ‣ Create a new map for each incident. ‣ Share that map with your teammates. ‣ Add NWCG & ICS Symbols to the map. ‣ Live location sharing. ‣‣ MAPS ‣ US National Map ‣ USGS Topo Map ‣ US Forest Service ‣ Natural Resource Canada Topo Map ‣ Thunderforest ‣ AccuTerra maps ‣ ESRI Maps ‣‣ MAP OVERLAYS ‣ Elevation ‣ Slope ‣ Grid ‣ Distance Rings ‣ Hill Shading ‣ Private Land (US) ‣ Public Land (US) ‣‣ TOOLS ‣ Import geoPDF© ‣ Add Lines, Waypoints, & Polygons ‣ Share map data ‣ Import & Export Map Data ‣ Proximity Alerts ‣ Print Maps ‣ Guide Me ‣‣ APPLE WATCH ‣ Download maps directly to the watch ‣ Pan and zoom the map just like on the phone ‣ Drop a waypoint ‣ Record a track and see all of your stats ‣‣ CLOUD Sync your lines, polygons, waypoints, incidents, & subscriptions between all of your iOS and Mac devices. SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENT INFORMATION Topo Fire subscriptions will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase and/or completion of free trial. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the free trial or current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://topofire.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://topofire.com/tos Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Topo Fire at Free against Pro Altimeter's $0.99. Topo Fire also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.8) and update cadence (weekly vs every 12 months). Pro Altimeter's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#68 vs unranked). On ads 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
Topo Fire is free to download; Pro Altimeter costs $0.99 up front. Topo Fire sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $59.99 per year. Pro Altimeter asks for nothing beyond the download.
Topo Fire holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 11 respectively.
Pro Altimeter ships an update every 12 months, Topo Fire weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pro Altimeter | Topo Fire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.8 (40 ratings) | 4.5 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 40 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #68 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 185 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Craig Hunter | Glacier Peak Studios LLC |
Customer experience
Pro Altimeter
Topo Fire
In-app purchases
Pro Altimeter
No in-app purchases
Topo Fire
- Topo Fire Pro7 Days trial$59.991 Year
Questions
Is Pro Altimeter free?
Is Topo Fire free?
Which has better reviews, Pro Altimeter or Topo Fire?
Do Pro Altimeter or Topo Fire have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pro Altimeter or Topo Fire?
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