Comparison

Polarsteps vs Travel 404

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

Head to head
About

Polarsteps

This travel app helps you plan, track, and share your journeys. Create custom itineraries, automatically record your routes, and turn your adventures into beautiful photo books. Keep friends and family updated on your travels in real-time.

Highlights
  • AI itinerary planner
  • Automatic route tracking
  • Photo and video capture
  • Trip sharing with friends and family
  • Printable travel books
  • Destination snapshots
  • Travel statistics
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

Travel 404

Features
Read full description

Travel 404 is the travel journal made for digital nomads, backpackers, and slow travelers — people who plan to be on the road for years, not weeks. YOUR WORLD MAP Every country you visit is highlighted on your personal world map. Watch your map fill in as you travel. Built on OpenStreetMap, the same beautiful basemap that powers the web. TRAVEL JOURNAL Save photo moments by city as you travel. Each moment shows up as a pin on your map and a card in your journey. Your trips are organized chronologically with the route drawn between every place you've stayed. MEET TRAVELERS NEARBY Going to a conference? Settling into a coliving space? Find other Travel 404 users nearby and connect. Public profile shows your job title and socials so you can break the ice quickly. STORIES THAT DISAPPEAR Share what you're up to today as a 24-hour story. Friends see your latest moment first. After 24 hours it's gone — your timeline stays clean. TRAVELER PROFILES Your public profile shows your job, Instagram, LinkedIn, and bio. When people befriend you they get to see your full world map, journeys, and travel style — so connection isn't blind. WORKS EVERYWHERE Free. No ads. Bilingual (English + Spanish). Same app on iOS and the web at travel404.com. Built by digital nomads in Oaxaca, Mexico for the slow-travel community.

Screenshots

Polarsteps4 screens
Travel 4044 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Travel 404 at none against Polarsteps's 3. Travel 404 also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Polarsteps's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and chart position (#67 vs unranked). On price, 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. Polarsteps sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Travel 404 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Polarsteps ships an update every 4 days, Travel 404 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Polarsteps versus Travel 404: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPolarstepsTravel 404
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (10K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews89.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings10K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#67 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size218 MB49 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPolarsteps B.V.Co404

Bugs and requests

Polarsteps

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Trouble uploading videos
  • Incorrect time zone and location tracking
  • Steps and photos randomly disappearing
  • Crashes and freezes during usage

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to collaborate on trips with others
  • Option to customize page layouts for travel books
  • Improved video support and integration
  • More flexible map and route editing tools
  • Synchronization across multiple devices

Travel 404

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Polarsteps

Subscriptions3
  • Plus Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Plus Yearly$34.991 Year
  • Plus Yearly$44.991 Year
None

Travel 404

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Polarsteps free?
Polarsteps is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Travel 404 free?
Travel 404 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Polarsteps or Travel 404 have ads?
Neither Polarsteps nor Travel 404 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Polarsteps or Travel 404?
Polarsteps ships an update every 4 days, and Travel 404 fortnightly. Most recently, Polarsteps was updated on November 10, 2026 and Travel 404 on November 5, 2026.

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