Spyglass
An app that turns your phone into a compass and GPS toolkit.
What Spyglass does
Spyglass is an iPhone compass and GPS toolkit from an indie developer. It packs a compass, gyrocompass, altimeter, speedometer, rangefinder and inclinometer into one app, adds an augmented reality view for waypoints, and works with offline maps. The base app is free.
Spyglass has been around since the early iPhone days, and it still feels like a Swiss Army knife for getting your bearings. Point your camera and you see a heads-up display with your heading, waypoints and the sun, moon and stars layered over the real world.
Inside you get a compass and gyrocompass, a GPS readout with speed and altitude, plus a rangefinder, sextant and inclinometer. You can save waypoints and follow them, track your route, and use offline maps for hikes and off-road trips. A camera mode stamps GPS and direction data onto your photos.
The base app is free. Spyglass Plus adds more map sources for hiking, cycling and skiing, and there's a one-time Pro option. It's iPhone and iPad only, and the last update was in mid 2025, so it's stable rather than fast-moving.
Alternatives to Spyglass
Who it's for
Skip it if: Android phones.
Pricing
Free planThe base app is free. Spyglass Plus is $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year and adds more map sources. Spyglass Pro is $39.99 as a one-time purchase.
Prices can vary by country. Checked 19 Oct 2026.
What people like
- Lots of tools in one free app
- Works offline
- One-time Pro purchase available
- Long-running indie app
Watch out for
- iPhone and iPad only
- Interface packs in a lot
- Updates are infrequent
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Questions people ask
Is Spyglass free?
Yes, the base app is free. Plus and Pro add more map sources and features.
Does Spyglass work offline?
Yes. The compass and GPS tools work without signal, and it supports offline maps.
Is Spyglass on Android?
We could only find it on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.