Polarsteps vs PathReel

Join 23M+ travelers using Polarsteps as their all-in-one travel app. Build unique itineraries with the travel planner, let the travel tracker record your route, share the journey with friends and family, and turn it into a photo book to relive later. Whether it's a six-month trip or a weekend canoeing close to home, Polarsteps is here to capture and share your journey as it unfolds. Awards ■ Top 26 Apps — Apple App Store (2026) ■ Top 3 Travel Apps — Apple App Store (2026) ■ App of the Day — Apple App Store (2025) PLAN ■ AI itinerary planner: Create a personalized adventure based on past trips or current goals. ■ Destination snapshots: Get a quick overview of each place, why it fits your travel style, and which friends have already been there. ■ Trip details: Add notes, accommodation details, and must-see spots and activities. ■ Transport planner: Choose how you'll get from A to B for every leg of the trip. ■ Inspiration: Follow other explorers, see where they went, and get ideas for your own trips. TRACK ■ Automatic route tracking: Accurately track the route you took on a beautiful digital world map. ■ Travel Buddies: Invite friends to track trips together. ■ Capture the adventure: Add photos, videos, and stories to each step to bring your journey to life. ■ Travel stats: See how much of the world you’ve traveled, with your total of countries visited, distances covered, and more. ■ Top spots: Add your favorite places and activities so they’re part of your story. ■ Transport mode: Select how you got from place to place, whether by plane, train, or even tuk tuk. SHARE ■ Trip updates: Share your journey so friends and family can follow along from anywhere, seeing where you are and what you’ve been up to. ■ Traveler tips: Leave suggestions for other travelers on what to see and do. ■ Privacy controls: Decide who sees your adventures: everyone, followers only, or you only. RELIVE ■ Digital memories: Scroll through the places, photos, stories, and stats you’ve captured across all your trips. ■ Trip Reels: With the press of a button, transform your trip into a memorable video (also perfect to share on socials). ■ Travel Books: Turn your trip into a beautifully printed Travel Book that showcases your route and memories. WHAT OUR USERS SAY: “Love this app! It tracks me on my vacation and provides real-time notifications to friends and family of my trip. At the end, I ordered a Travel Book of my photos which is very high quality.” “The Polarsteps app is great. I am totally addicted. It is so nice to keep up with all your travels. And friends and family can follow you wherever you go. The Travel Book, which you can order afterwards, is of very good quality.” “I’ve been using this app for years now. It’s always been good and it keeps getting better.” WHAT THE PRESS ARE SAYING ABOUT POLARSTEPS “The Polarsteps app replaces your travel journal, making it easier and more beautiful.” - National Geographic “Polarsteps helps you track and share your journeys in an easy and visually appealing way” - The Next Web “Polarsteps’ resulting travel log is impressive, and is the source of a severe case of itchy feet in your correspondent.” - TechCrunch

PathReel — Turn Your Journey into a Story You Can Replay Every trip leaves a trail. A walk through your neighbourhood, a weekend bike ride, a cross-country road trip, or a flight across the ocean, PathReel captures your GPS tracks, photos, and workouts, then transforms them into living memories you can replay anytime. Automatic Trip Recording PathReel intelligently detects walking, running, cycling, driving, and flying — and can switch modes automatically during the same journey. Set your home as a geofence, and PathReel will automatically start recording when you leave and stop when you return. No buttons. No reminders. Built for long trips, background GPS recording is optimized for battery efficiency and remains reliable even with the screen locked. Watch Your Life on a 3D Globe Replay your journeys on a cinematic 3D satellite globe with two unique recap modes. Media Recap Relive your travels month by month with photos, stops, and smooth cinematic camera movements that automatically adapt to your activity. Route Recap Watch a UFO travel across the globe and retrace every journey you’ve taken. A glowing beam reveals each route on the map before the UFO lifts back into the sky and flies to your next destination. Smart camera transitions automatically adjust altitude based on travel distance — from local city trips to full intercontinental flights. Walking through a city should feel different from crossing an ocean — and PathReel makes it feel that way. Export Beautiful Videos in One Tap Turn any trip into a shareable cinematic video. Export: A single adventure Your latest vacation Your entire year Any custom date range Perfect for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, WeChat, and more. New in Version 2.5.0 UFO-Powered Route Recap A brand-new cinematic playback mode with dynamic globe flyovers and adaptive altitude transitions. Route Video Recording Route Recap now supports one-tap video recording and sharing. Smoother Camera Transitions Nearby trips stay low and cinematic, while long-distance travel smoothly transitions into space-level flyovers. Game Center Leaderboards Compete globally across 15 leaderboards, including walking, driving, cycling, flights, countries visited, cities explored, streaks, and photo counts. Built for Travellers, Athletes, and Memory Keepers PathReel is for: Hikers, runners, and cyclists preserving every workout Travellers building a visual memory of everywhere they’ve been Anyone who loves year-in-review moments Creators who want cinematic travel videos without complicated editing tools Privacy First Your data belongs to you. Trips are stored locally on your iPhone Optional backup uses your personal iCloud account No third-party servers No telemetry or behavioural tracking Game Center powers leaderboards without exposing personal data Technical Highlights 3D satellite globe powered by Apple Maps Automatic city and country detection Apple Health workout import Full Dark Mode and Light Mode support Available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish, and more Open PathReel today — and turn every step, mile, and flight into a story worth replaying.