These are the best geocaching apps available for iOS and Android.
Most people use the Geocaching application to geocache. There are many other apps that might be better than the official one, or have cheaper features.
Below are the top geocaching apps. Some of them are free, while others require payment. Most of them work in the same way. Log in to your Geocaching.com account and use the app for finding caches. Geocaching.com is accessible by every app. This means that all caches will appear on the same map regardless of which app you use.
Some apps offer features that are not available in other apps. One app may allow you to download maps so you can access caches without having an internet connection. This is great for geocaching in remote locations. One app might allow you to easily filter caches to hide or highlight those you don’t want or you haven’t placed.
Unless you upgrade Geocaching premium, most apps won’t display detailed information for more than three caches in a 24-hour time period. This means that if you see the details for three caches within a day, you will have to wait another day before you can view three more. While you can still see basic information and navigate to them from the cache, not all of the information will be available.
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Geocaching
What We Like
- It is simple and easy to understand.
- It is easy to find caches that have not been found on the map.
- Compatible with both iOS and Android devices
- With a different GPS app, you can navigate to the cache.
What we don’t like
- This app does not offer free features that are found in other apps.
- You can’t submit geocaches via the app.
Geocaching, the official geocaching app, is a popular choice. It can be used to search for geocaches and log whether you found any caches.
The free version is limited because of the premium version. Geocaching can be used to locate geocaches in a variety of locations, even if you don’t want the premium features.
Geocaching’s free version lets you search for geocaches based on location, geocache type ( Classic or Eventonly), tracking codes, and GeoTours. You can view the difficulty and terrain ratings of a geocache as well as the description and contact information.
Geocaching Premium can be downloaded through the app. It allows you to access all geocaches types, download offline maps, use Trails maps for off road geocaching, perform better searches for geocaches and much more.
The premium version can be purchased for $29.99 ($2.50/month), or $5.99/month.
This app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
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Cachly
What We Like
- It is very similar to the official Geocaching app.
- There is no monthly payment requirement.
- With templates, it is simple to log caches.
- You can hide certain types of caches with filtering options.
- Compatible with Apple Watch
What we don’t like
- The app is not free.
- No Android version.
Although this is not a free geocaching app like the one above, you only need to pay once for features such as offline vector maps and lists.
You can access the menu button from Cachly to search for caches near you, once you have viewed a cache. This feature is very useful to quickly search for other caches within a reasonable distance of the one you are working on.
Cachly allows you to hide geocaches that you have already found, so they don’t get confused with the new ones. Cachly can hide hidden geocaches and remove them from the map. It also allows you to exclude caches that aren’t being used, delete inactive geocaches from the map, as well as remove geocaches that have been archived.
When you are creating a list geocaches to locate, another feature that is worth noting is the ability to handpick caches. Not only can you handpick caches and add them into a list, but you also have the option to search for geocaches and filter them. Finally, you can save all visible caches in a list. It is easy to add caches to a bulk list.
You can add notes to a cache, highlight caches to make them stand out in the list view or map, sync with Apple Watch for cache finding without having to pull out your phone. It supports importing and exporting GPX (saved GPS data) files, and access templates to log caches faster.
Geocaching Premium subscribers have access to more features through the Geocaching app or website.
The app costs $4.99 and can be used on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
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iOS 03of 05
c:geo
What We Like
- You can save maps and caches for offline use.
- It is possible to log caches even without an internet connection.
- You can log caches faster and easier with a signature template.
- To locate the cache, you can use your favorite GPS navigation app.
- It is free to use. There are no monthly fees.
What we don’t like
- It doesn’t support iOS.
Although this Android geocaching app for Android is not the most beautiful, it has many of useful features that aren’t available in the official Geocaching app.
You can use c:geo to create a local list and handpick the caches you wish to pursue. Then, you can view only those caches on your map without having an internet connection. Filter them by type, distance, terrain, difficulty and attributes.
Offline logging allows you to log offline even though you are using downloaded caches or offline maps. Once you are connected to the internet you can access your saved log and log it for real.
Variables can be used when setting up a signature template. For example, you can auto-insert current date and hour, terrain level, owner’s name and many other details to create a signature that changes for each cache log you write.
c:geo lets you pick a primary and a secondary navigation method, like a compass, an external map app, Google Maps (walking/bike/transit/driving), or Maps.me. Advanced settings such as hardware acceleration, low power mode, orientation sensor, database storage location and GPX import/export directories can be altered.
You’ll also find other features in the app, such as the ability to search for caches by address and longitude, user, keywords and trackable, a nearby cache option, list caches you’ve viewed, a “Go To” option to instantly navigate to any coordinates from other coordinatess, a cache filter to show all cache types, or just traditional caches, multicaches and mystery caches and many others, a waypoint extractor, and sharing caches with others via email or other sharing; an option that allows you to keep information about the caches for you can see it;
This app is only compatible with Android.
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Android 04of 05
GeoCaches
What We Like
- Because there are not many options, there isn’t much clutter.
- You can filter the map to show only certain items.
- It is much easier than other geocaching apps.
What we don’t like
- Only compatible with iPhones and iPads
- It can’t be customized as well as the apps on this list.
- You must manually set the option to be notified when a cache is near you.
GeoCaches is much easier than any of the other geocaching apps on this list. It is very easy to use, and does not have many settings. This makes it easy to choose how to use. It’s also very simple so you won’t have many customization options. But that could be a good thing.
You can tap on a cache to see its D, and T pop-up boxes. These numbers indicate the difficulty level, size, and terrain. The smaller number means that the cache is easier to find or is less difficult to locate. To view more information, tap on the cache to display the log book and any hints.
There aren’t many settings available in this app. The only thing you can change is the map type (satellite or terrain). You can show/hide caches you have already found, hide caches that are inactive, filter results by size, difficulty, terrain level, and more.
The downside to this geocaching app? You can’t turn off notifications for all caches with a global setting. Instead, you will need to go into the information box for a specific cache and toggle Notify Me in 300m Zone.
We don’t like that this app doesn’t allow you to use in-app navigation. Instead, you can use your navigation app. To send the coordinates to Apple Maps, simply open the cache details and tap Export.
GeoCaches can be installed on iOS devices, so it’s possible to use your iPhone and iPad with GeoCaches.
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iOS 05of 05
Geocache Placer
What We Like
- Can keep track of multiple caches.
- This chart shows the minimum distance between caches.
What we don’t like
- It doesn’t display caches that are already in use, but only those you have placed through this app.
- Only works on Android
- It is difficult to learn at first.
This app is not meant to find geocaches. It’s designed for creating your own. It’s easy to create a geocache, but it is important that the coordinates are correct so users can find it accurately through the app.
Geocache Placer allows you to save multiple locations using their coordinates, not an address like many navigation apps. Once you have the coordinates of the place(s) that you wish to add to Geocaching, you can use the places button. This will allow you to search for all the locations and then open them. You can also share them with others using the built-in sharing button (e.g. Send the coordinates to an email address so you can access them from a computer.
The 161m/528ft circular overlay that you can place on the map is another feature worth noting. Geocaching.com can’t allow caches to be placed more than 161m away from another cache. The circle allows you to see the distance between your cache and another cache so they don’t get rejected.
Geocaching apps can also export and import places to GPX files. You can also edit advanced settings such as more or less precise positioning, changing the delay between measurements, changing the map style (satellite/hybrid, terrain), etc. You can also adjust the format of coordinates.
This works only for Android devices.
