Hiking Apps in the US: Maps, Offline Use, and GPX Compared

On paper the math is easy: the NPS app and the USGS maps cost $0, onX Backcountry Premium is $29.99 a year [1], CalTopo Pro is $50 a year [2], and Gaia GPS Premium bundled with Outside+ is $89.99 a year [3]. But these prices don’t buy the same thing. One is a federal app for park visits, another is a set of map files, a third draws its basemaps from federal land agencies. So let’s sort them on three questions, and only three: which map appears on screen, what can you download to head out without cell service, and what happens to a GPX track you import or export.

Three Criteria, Read From the Publishers’ Pages

A hiking app shows a map, lets you draw or import a route, and puts a dot on it. What sets one apart comes down to three lines of small print: the base map, what downloads for offline use, and access to GPX, the exchange format for tracks [4]. Price comes last, because it only means something once those three lines are read. We stick to the publishers’ own pages, the App Store listings and the National Park Service, read on November 5, 2026 (a few help pages on October 28, 2026). Offers change, so the date matters.

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The NPS App and USGS Maps: Free, With Limits

The National Park Service app is free and lets you download parks before your visit, then use the app when there is no internet [5]. The NPS trip planning guide says the app offers downloadable park maps [6], and the Arches National Park page says to download park maps with the app before you leave cell service [7]. The listing mentions no in-app purchases and no GPX [5].

USGS topoView puts topographic maps in front of the public at no cost, as GeoPDF, GeoTIFF, JPEG and KMZ files. There is no app: you open them in a PDF reader or GIS software [8, 9]. US Topo maps are described as available for free and immediate download as GeoPDF files [10]. The USGS also lists topoBuilder, which delivers free OnDemand Topos in 24 hours to 5 business days [9]. None of these pages lists GPX.

Gaia GPS, onX Backcountry, and CalTopo: Paying for the Offline Map

onX Backcountry says its map data is sourced from USFS, BLM and NPS and offers LiDAR Topo, Satellite and Terrain basemaps [11]. One saved offline map is free, and Premium saves unlimited offline maps [1, 11]. Premium is $29.99 and Elite $99.99, both yearly; the App Store listing also shows Elite at $14.99 a month [1, 12]. onX supports GPX and KML imports, with files under 4 MB through the web map on a computer, and the page read does not mention export [13].

FATMAP was retired on October 1, 2024, app and website, and onX presents Backcountry as the alternative. Nothing on that page says onX bought FATMAP, and it states that importing an existing file is different from recovering data from the retired service [13].

Gaia GPS lists 300+ maps, including NatGeo Trails Illustrated and private lands, on its App Store listing [14]. You can record, track and navigate for free, and offline maps come with Premium [15]. The publisher’s blog gives $89.99 a year for Gaia GPS Premium with Outside+, posted December 1, 2024 [3]. The App Store listing shows Premium at $59.90 without a period, and the Premium and Outside+ pages read show no prices [14, 15]. None of the pages read mentions GPX.

CalTopo offers MapBuilder Topo, which uses OpenStreetMap data, MapBuilder Hybrid and Global Imagery. They can be downloaded for offline use with a Mobile, Pro, Desktop or Team subscription [16]. The plans page lists Pro at $50 a year and Mobile, for offline maps only, at $20 a year; a free account creates and shares maps [2]. The home page says the hassle of downloading and transferring GPX files between apps is in the past, but the pages read do not say which formats or which plan [16, 17].

The gap over three years is $60.03. The plans don’t cover the same ground: onX leans on federal land maps, CalTopo on OpenStreetMap-based topos and imagery, and the choice depends more on the map you want than on that difference.

Komoot and AllTrails: Pay by Region or by Plan

The komoot listing says you choose between single regions, region bundles or the World Pack. It shows the World Pack at $29.99 and Premium lines at $4.99, $7.99 and $59.99, without billing periods; these are the same figures as on the UK listing, in dollars, so check the amount at checkout [18]. GPX export needs the start region to be unlocked [19]. Bending Spoons announced on March 20, 2025 that it had closed the acquisition of komoot [20], which can change offers: reread them before buying.

AllTrails reserves offline maps for its Plus and Peak plans [21]; the US listing shows Plus at $35.99 and Peak at $79.99, without saying for how long [22]. Any member, even on the free plan, can import and download track files [23, 24]. The listing doesn’t name the base map, only topos and trail maps in 3D: check it in the app before paying.

GPX: The Format That Links the Apps

GPX, short for GPS Exchange Format, is a light XML data format designed for exchanging GPS data between applications and web services [4]. It is what lets you prepare a track in one app and send it to another or to a handheld GPS. It carries no map: an imported track appears on the base map of the app that opens it. Our guide to planning the route, the map, and the GPX track sets out what a file contains.

An App Doesn’t Replace the Paper Map or Your Judgment

The National Park Service’s Hike Smart page says not to rely on your cell phone, because there may be no cellular coverage and reception in your park, and to keep the battery fully charged if you use it [25]. Its trip planning guide warns that your phone battery may not last the whole trip and that you could damage or lose the phone, so always carry a backup paper map [6]. The Ten Essentials page says the same: bring a physical map as a backup, pack an extra battery, and know how to use a topographic map, compass or GPS unit before going out [26]. Great Smoky Mountains National Park lists navigation (map, compass and GPS) among its essentials and suggests airplane mode to keep the battery from draining quickly [27].

The rule to keep fits in one sentence: pay for the map you need without service, download it at home, and keep the paper map in your pack.

Julien de Jurquet

Vans, RVs, biking and calculators

Julien de Jurquet writes for Outfarer about camper vans, RVs, biking, and calculators. He reads manuals cover to cover and never lets a number slide without its unit, so your choices rest on math, not promises.

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