The best hiking apps in 2026

AllTrails is the hiking app we would install first when the job is finding a trail and following it. It suits day hikers on iPhone or Android who want filters for dog-, kid-, stroller-, or wheelchair-friendly routes, plus recent community reviews and photos before they leave the lot. Free Base covers discovery and on-trail GPS navigation while you have signal. Offline maps, wrong-turn alerts, and ad removal need a paid plan.

Plus is $35.99 a year and Peak is $79.99 a year on alltrails.com in October 2026, yearly only, with a 7-day trial and no monthly plan. US REI members can renew at $24.99 a year for Plus or $49.99 a year for Peak if they opt in again each year. Plus downloads a trail, a park, or a custom area of up to 500 trails for offline use, adds wrong-turn alerts, trail conditions, 3D previews, live location sharing, printable maps, and Garmin or COROS route send. Peak adds in-app custom routes and Outdoor Lens. The same custom route builder is free on the website. Recorded distance can run long, and a downloaded park can show no trails once the phone is offline. Check trail access with the land manager, because published lines can sit on closed or private land. Pick Gaia GPS instead when you go off marked trails.

What AllTrails does best

AllTrails wins on discovery. The catalog is huge, filters cut it down fast, and recent reviews tell you if a trail is muddy, crowded, or closed for the weekend. Free Base already navigates on GPS with a signal, so many people never need to pay for a single popular day hike. When you do pay, Plus is the plan that matches how most hikers use the app: download the area, get wrong-turn alerts, and keep the map when cell bars go away.

What AllTrails costs

There is no monthly plan. Plus is $35.99 a year and Peak is $79.99 a year on alltrails.com in October 2026, each with a 7-day trial. The $2.99 a month figure on some Plus pages is the yearly price divided by 12, not a monthly subscription. US REI members can claim $24.99 a year for Plus or $49.99 a year for Peak, and must reclaim the rate before each renewal. The paid plan stays tied to the account that bought it, so the wrong email looks like a free account.

Who should skip it

Skip AllTrails if you need topo, satellite, public-land, and slope layers you choose yourself. That job belongs to Gaia GPS. Skip Peak if you only want offline maps, because Plus covers downloads and wrong-turn alerts. Skip the paid plans if every hike stays near cell service and ads on Android are fine. A phone is not the only navigation tool you should carry.

Gaia GPS is a map app first. It is for people who leave marked trails, plan multi-day trips, or want topo, satellite, public-land, and slope layers they choose and download. It runs on iPhone, Android, and the web through an Outside account. It takes longer to learn than AllTrails, and that is the trade for control over the map instead of a trail feed.

Free Gaia GPS records tracks and shows a limited set of maps such as Gaia Topo, wildfire, and air-quality layers while online. Premium opens the full set of 250-plus maps and overlays, including satellite, private and public land, and slope angle, plus offline downloads of layered maps. On gaiagps.com in October 2026, Premium was listed at $44.92 for the first year billed yearly ($3.74 a month) or $4.99 month to month, with a 14-day trial. Premium with Outside+ was $67.49 for the first year billed yearly or $7.49 month to month, and adds Outside media, Trailforks Pro, and related perks. Stay on AllTrails for popular day hikes with reviews. Gaia GPS has an Apple Watch app. We did not find a Wear OS app on its support pages.

komoot is for planning your own route on paths and getting voice turn-by-turn on iPhone or Android. It snaps a hike or ride to the path network, so one app covers both hiking and cycling. Coverage and community Highlights are strongest in Europe. In the US, AllTrails still wins when you want recent trail reviews more than a custom line.

Route planning on the free tier is usable, and new accounts get one free map region. Offline maps and voice navigation come with one-time region buys, region bundles, or the World Pack, or with komoot Premium. Premium was about $59.99 a year or $4.99 a month in US pricing reported for 2025 and 2026. Since late February 2025, syncing routes to Garmin, Wahoo, and similar devices needs Premium for accounts that had not bought a maps product before then. Earlier buyers keep the old access. Bending Spoons acquired komoot in March 2025. komoot has Apple Watch and Wear OS apps. Pick AllTrails when the trail already exists and the reviews matter more than drawing your own line.