GPS OS Grid Reference vs Tomstrails GPS UTM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GPS OS Grid Reference
This app accurately pinpoints your location on Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain and Ireland, even without a phone signal. It offers precise grid references, waypoint creation, and navigation features. The display is designed for clarity in all lighting conditions, and it optimizes battery usage.
- Offline map location
- Accurate grid references
- Waypoint creation and management
- High-contrast display
- Battery optimization
- Share waypoints
Read full descriptionHide full description
GPS OS provides a fast and accurate way to locate your position on an Ordnance Survey map, both in Great Britain and Ireland. • No phone signal required - works in the most remote locations. • OSTN15 transform data for high conversion accuracy (better than 1m). • 6, 8 and 10 figure grid references. • A large, clear, high contrast display ensures you can easily read your position in any light conditions. • Optimises the frequency of position updates depending on battery charge and speed of travel to make sure you can always make calls at the end of the day. • Create waypoints from a map, your current location or manually enter Ordnance Survey coordinates. • Explore waypoints and get directions in Apple Maps. • Share waypoints with other apps or users. • No adverts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Includes OSTN15 transform data licensed with permission. Copyright and database rights Ordnance Survey Limited 2016, ©Crown copyright and database rights Land and Property Services 2016 and/or ©Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2016. All rights reserved.
Tomstrails GPS UTM
This app provides precise UTM grid references and displays your location on topographic maps. It works offline, supports various regional datums, and offers multiple coordinate formats for easy sharing and use in other applications.
- Fast and accurate UTM grid reference
- Locate position on topographic maps
- Works without phone signal
- Supports regional datums (e.g., ED50)
- Multiple coordinate formats (1m, 10m, 100m)
- Share coordinates with other apps
- High contrast display for readability
Read full descriptionHide full description
GPS UTM displays a fast and accurate UTM grid reference. Locate your position on topographic maps. GPS UTM supports many of the regional datums used around the world including ED50. ∙ No phone signal required - works in the most remote locations. ∙ 1 metre, 10 metre and 100 metre formats. ∙ Paste your coordinate into other apps or share with other people. ∙ A large, clear, high contrast display ensures you can easily read your position in any light conditions. ∙ Optimal battery use based on speed of travel and current charge level ensures all day use. ∙ No Adverts. GPS UTM - know where you are.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Tomstrails GPS UTM at 4.8 against GPS OS Grid Reference's 4.4. Tomstrails GPS UTM also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 17) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. GPS OS Grid Reference sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year and Tomstrails GPS UTM sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Tomstrails GPS UTM holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tomstrails GPS UTM has 1.6K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 90% of GPS OS Grid Reference's written reviews are positive against 84% of Tomstrails GPS UTM's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
GPS OS Grid Reference ships an update every 3 months, Tomstrails GPS UTM every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GPS OS Grid Reference | Tomstrails GPS UTM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (17 ratings) | 4.8 (1.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.9% of reviews — better | 83.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 1.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tomstrails.com | Tomstrails.com |
Customer experience
GPS OS Grid Reference
Tomstrails GPS UTM
User reviews
GPS OS Grid Reference
From 17 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🎯 Accurate grid references
- 🚀 Fast and quick updates
- 💡 Works without phone signal
- 🗺️ Useful for navigation and backup
Room to improve
- 🐛 Blurry satellite maps
- 🧭 Compass not accurate
- 📉 Accuracy dropped recently
- 🗺️ No map data included
- 🚫 Cannot search locations
Tomstrails GPS UTM
From 1.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Simple and free
- 👍 Works well
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Accurate and reliable
- 👍 Great for hiking and emergencies
Room to improve
- 🐛 Doesn't do anything
- 🐛 Coordinates not always accurate
- 💰 Requires payment for some features
Bugs and requests
GPS OS Grid Reference
Reported bugs
5 issues- Waypoint finder satellite view is blurry
- Compass is not accurate
- Accuracy has dropped recently
- Location services permanently dimmed off (iOS)
- App does not work for users not in England
Requested features
10 requests- Add map data and search functionality
- Improve satellite map clarity
- Add ability to view location on a map
- Enable navigation from point to point
- Add Apple Watch equivalent app
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Display latitude and longitude
- Add a dynamic display for accuracy improvement
- Implement time averaging for accuracy
- Allow copying grid reference to clipboard
- Add facility to store and recall reference information
Tomstrails GPS UTM
Reported bugs
2 issues- Stopped working after iOS update
- UTM grids were off initially, required setting changes
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Morocco coordinate system
- Add option to average readings and hold the result
- Add option to reduce coordinate display to 6 digits for emergency use
- Bring back previous features like degrees/minutes display and ability to edit messages
In-app purchases
GPS OS Grid Reference
- Premium Features7 Days trial$5.991 Year
- Feature Pack - Compass & sharing features.Free
Tomstrails GPS UTM
- Feature PackFree
Questions
Is GPS OS Grid Reference free?
Is Tomstrails GPS UTM free?
Which has better reviews, GPS OS Grid Reference or Tomstrails GPS UTM?
Do GPS OS Grid Reference or Tomstrails GPS UTM have ads?
Which is updated more often, GPS OS Grid Reference or Tomstrails GPS UTM?
Other comparisons
