A key part of being prepared in the outdoors is bringing along navigation, and outdoor apps have made it easier than ever to have a map at your fingertips. However, there are almost too many apps to choose from. If you’re looking to purchase a subscription (which is typically required to download offline maps), how do you know if you should go with AllTrails, onX, or another of the many brands out there?
Consider this your flow chart for picking the right app for you, with details on pricing, features, and more. And of course, don’t forget to still bring along an old-school compass and map, just in case.
Best App for Day Hikers: AllTrails
AllTrails is the Yelp of the outdoor world. This app excels if you’re visiting a national or state park, and trying to figure out which trail you should choose. It’s full of reviews, with folks commenting on the difficulty, conditions, and waymarking of trails. Its premium version, called “Plus,” includes unlimited offline downloads, which is all you really need if you’re a day hiker. It also offers “off-trail alerts,” where it’ll notify you if you take a wrong turn.
Cost: Plus costs $36/year.
Best App for Hunters: onX Hunt
OnX is consistently the most popular app among hunters, with key features that help them navigate the backcountry with confidence. The app’s core utility is displaying accurate boundaries between private and public lands, but the app is loaded with features and layers.
Lidar and 3D mapping allows you “to easily see nuanced terrain features. On top of that, highly recent, low-resolution imagery gives you an up-to-date look at the ground and vegetation across the country,” the brand explains on its website.
OnX also has satellite imagery and a 1:24k topographic map, custom mapping tools, and trail camera integration. It’s easy to share waypoints with other hunters and set up hunting party location-sharing through the app.
Cost: The Elite plan (which covers all 50 states and Canada) costs $99/year or $15/month.
Best App for Thru-Hikers: FarOut
FarOut started back in 2012 as a way to navigate on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and, over a decade later, it’s stayed true to its thru-hiking identity. It works a bit differently from subscription-based apps. Instead of paying a monthly fee, the app itself is free, and then you buy trail guides individually.
The guide, which you then download offline, covers waypoints, water sources, campsites, and guides on trail towns. The app gathers info from trusted sources to keep everything as up to date as possible.
Cost: Guides vary in price from around $10 for all the trails in a single national park to $60 for a long-distance trail like the PCT. The app also offers guides for popular international hikes like the Camino de Santiago, Tour du Mont Blanc, and El Camino de Costa Rica.
Best App for Multiple Users: CalTopo
Search-and-rescue teams use CalTopo for a reason. It allows multiple users to edit the same map in real time simultaneously, enabling first responders to coordinate on rescue missions. That feature can also be helpful if you tend to go on group backpacking or outdoor trips. You can share your planned route, record your mobile tracks on the map and, if you have a data connection, people you shared the map with can see your location in real time.
Cost: The basic mobile version costs $20/year. The pro-level version, which comes with 3D visualization and advanced planning tools, costs $50/year.
Best App for Use in Europe: outdooractive
If you’ve got an outdoor adventure planned in Europe, your U.S. mapping app might not work, so it’s worth checking out this app. It’s got maps for a variety of activities, including hiking, mountaineering, skiing, and cycling. Each route description includes info on difficulty, public transportation to trailheads, type of track, rest stops, and more, all in English.
Cost: The Pro plan, which includes offline downloads and a “buddy beacon” to share your location, costs $3/month. The Pro+ version adds 3D maps, premium routes, and info on snow depths for $5.90/month.
