OpenKey vs Known Ground
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OpenKey
Unlock hotel rooms worldwide using your smartphone as a secure digital key. Access your room instantly, share keys with companions, and manage your stay with features like check-out details and hotel information.
- Instant room access
- Digital key sharing
- Contact hotel operations
- View check-out details
- Room number displayed
- Explore hotel amenities
- Request check-out
Read full descriptionHide full description
Introducing the latest release of the OpenKey Guest mobile app! Access hotel rooms worldwide with a secure and convenient digital key directly on your smartphone. With the OpenKey app, you can enjoy the following features: - Instant Room Access: Easily unlock your guest room with a simple touch of a button. No more fumbling with keycards or waiting in line at the front desk. - Key Sharing: Share your digital key with up to 4 other guests, making it easier for your travel companions to access the room. - Contact Hotel: Contact the hotel operations team for any additional needs during your stay, like extra pillows or towels, potential reservation details, and questions that may arise. - Check-Out Details: View your check-out date and time on the mobile key, helping you stay organized and plan your departure effortlessly. - Room Number on Mobile Key: Say goodbye to the hassle of carrying a keycard jacket. Your room number is conveniently displayed on the mobile key, allowing for a streamlined and hassle-free experience. - Hotel Exploration: Discover hotel amenities, dining options, and other features through the app. Get a comprehensive overview of everything your hotel has to offer. - Check-Out Request: Send a check-out request directly from your mobile key screen. Simplify the check-out process and save valuable time.
Known Ground
This app helps you privately document your travels by connecting photos, notes, and routes to specific locations. Create a personal map of places you've visited and want to return to, and easily recall memories.
- Private travel journal
- Photo map of trips
- Connect photos to places
- Record routes and notes
- Save places for future visits
- Search memories by location
- Private sharing options
Read full descriptionHide full description
Remember the places that made the trip. Known Ground is a private travel journal and photo map for your trips, walks and memories. Keep the street you stumbled on, the view you came for, and the details you want to remember, together with the places they belong. KEEP THE TRIP TOGETHER Bring your photos, visits, routes and notes into one trip. Return to a day through the places you explored and the memories you kept. REMEMBER MORE THAN THE VIEW Keep trip photos connected to their places. Add a few words about what you noticed, why you stopped, or what you would do next time. SAVE THE PLACES YOU WOULD GO BACK TO Save places for later, record visits when you go, and keep notes and photos with a particular visit. Build a map of the places you know. KEEP THE WAY YOU WENT Record your explorations with Trip Coverage or a focused Apple Watch walk. Import walking, running, hiking and cycling routes from Apple Health. Health imports and their trip assignments stay on the device where you import them. FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO A MEMORY Search by place, trip, note or photo context. Find Known Ground memories in Spotlight, too. PRIVATE, WITH ROOM FOR YOUR PEOPLE Your library is private unless you choose to share. Invite people to a trip through iCloud, choose which memories to share, and use owner, editor or view-only access. No public profile, social feed, ads or cross-app tracking. For iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. No app-specific account is required. iCloud sync and private trip invitations use your Apple Account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: OpenKey at Free against Known Ground's $9.99. OpenKey also leads on ratings volume (3.1K vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Known Ground's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On ads, in-app purchases 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
OpenKey is free to download; Known Ground costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Known Ground holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OpenKey has 3.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
OpenKey ships an update every 2 months, Known Ground daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OpenKey | Known Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (3.1K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3.1K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 107 MB | 144 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OPENKEY, INC. | Oliver Kawwass |
Customer experience
OpenKey
Known Ground
Bugs and requests
OpenKey
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes frequently
- Fails to unlock doors sometimes
- Issues with updating and reinstalling
Requested features
2 requests- Apple Watch app integration
- Improved error handling and troubleshooting
Known Ground
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
OpenKey
No in-app purchases
Known Ground
No in-app purchases









