GPS OS Grid Reference vs GPS Locate
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
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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.
GPS Locate
This app provides a quick and precise method for determining your current geographical coordinates and altitude across multiple systems. View your location within the app, on your Apple Watch, or as a watch face complication for easy access.
- Multiple coordinate systems (UTM, DMS, MGRS, etc.)
- Current location and altitude display
- Apple Watch app support
- Watch face complication for at-a-glance viewing
- HealthKit integration for workout tracking
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GPS Locate gives you a fast and accurate way to find your current location (and altitude) in various different coordinate systems! Your location can be viewed: • Within the app • In the Apple Watch App • As an Apple Watch complication to see at a glance Supports the following coordinate systems: • Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) • British (Ordnance Survey) • Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS) • Irish (Ordnance Survey Ireland) • Latitude and Longitude • Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) The watchOS app uses HealthKit to integrate with the Health app to offer workout tracking. Not only does this allow you to keep track of your walk but this also keeps the app open so you can locate yourself at a glance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: GPS OS Grid Reference at 90% against GPS Locate's 0%. GPS OS Grid Reference also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.4 vs 4.0). GPS Locate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On update cadence and 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
GPS OS Grid Reference is free to download; GPS Locate costs $0.99 up front. GPS OS Grid Reference sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. GPS Locate asks for nothing beyond the download.
GPS OS Grid Reference holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GPS OS Grid Reference has 17 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of GPS OS Grid Reference's written reviews are positive against 0% of GPS Locate's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GPS OS Grid Reference | GPS Locate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (17 ratings) — better | 4.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tomstrails.com | David Southgate |
Customer experience
GPS OS Grid Reference
GPS Locate
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
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- 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
GPS Locate
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
GPS OS Grid Reference
- Premium Features7 Days trial$5.991 Year
- Feature Pack - Compass & sharing features.Free
GPS Locate
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is GPS OS Grid Reference free?
Is GPS Locate free?
Which has better reviews, GPS OS Grid Reference or GPS Locate?
Do GPS OS Grid Reference or GPS Locate have ads?
Which is updated more often, GPS OS Grid Reference or GPS Locate?
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