"Free" means at least four different things in this category, and the difference matters more than any feature comparison.

Before the list, here's the taxonomy, because most roundups skip it and it's the thing that actually causes buyer's remorse:

1. Genuinely free — no payment, no cap, usually ad-supported or a passion project.
2. Free tier — a permanent, usable free version with paid upgrades. You can stay on it forever.
3. Free trial — full access for a few days, then a subscription. Often presented as "free".
4. Free but capped — free until you hit 5 trips or 20 photos, then a wall.

Type 2 is what most people actually want. Type 3 is what most app store search results give them. We've labelled every app below.

Quick comparison

Checked August 2026. Pricing and tier structures change frequently in this category — verify before installing.

Pin Traveler — free tier with no cap on what you record

Free type: free tier (type 2).

The thing that makes Pin Traveler's free version unusual is that the core function isn't capped. You can pin unlimited cities, countries and U.S. states without paying, get the colour-coded world map, and see your travel statistics — most-visited destination, furthest distance, continent breakdown.

Most apps in this category put a number limit on the free tier precisely because the number is the point. Pin Traveler puts the limit somewhere else: photos, custom pin colours and styles, and saved locations are premium.

That's a reasonable trade. If what you want is a map of everywhere you've been and a percentage to quote at dinner, you never have to pay. If you want the map to be yours — your colours, your photos attached to each pin — that's the upgrade.

What you give up on free: photo uploads. If your mental model of a travel tracker includes attaching pictures to destinations, you'll hit this quickly.

Available on iOS, Android, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, in six languages.

Polarsteps — free route tracking, at a cost that isn't money

Free type: free tier (type 2).

Polarsteps' free version includes the thing it's famous for: automatic GPS route tracking that draws your journey without you doing anything. That's a lot to give away free, and it's why Polarsteps is the default recommendation in most "free travel app" conversations.

What you give up on free: the print products and some advanced features sit behind a subscription ($9.99/month, $34.99/year).

The real cost isn't money. It's background location access and battery. Also worth knowing: Polarsteps leans social, and the sharing defaults are more public than some people expect. Check your privacy settings on day one.

FindPenguins — free automatic journaling

Free type: free tier (type 2).

The closest free equivalent to Polarsteps' feature set, across both iOS and Android. Automatic footprint logging plus trip journals. Less polished visually, more capable functionally.

Wanderlog — free, but it's a planner

Free type: free tier (type 2).

Worth including because a lot of people searching for "free travel tracker" actually want to organise an upcoming trip, not record a past one. Wanderlog's free tier covers itineraries, collaborative planning and shared budgets, which is more than most paid planners offer.

It does not track where you've been. Different job.

Google Maps Timeline — free, but no longer an archive

Free type: genuinely free (type 1).

If you had location history enabled, Google spent years silently recording where you'd been. No app to install, no subscription. For a long time this was the honest answer to "why would I pay for a travel tracker?"

That answer expired. Google discontinued Timeline on the web, moved history from the cloud to your device, and by default kept only the most recent three months — deleting everything older. A separate technical fault in 2025 then erased data belonging to users who had migrated correctly. Timeline still works for recent movement; it is no longer a long-term record of your travel.

And even before that, it wasn't enough for most people: it's a log, not a map you'd show anyone. No "countries visited" count, no percentage, no way to distinguish a city you explored from a petrol station you stopped at. It records location; it doesn't record travel.

Full story, including how to recover what's left, in Google Maps Timeline is gone — how to track your travel history now.

Apple Journal — free, iPhone only, not really a tracker

Free type: genuinely free (type 1).

Apple's built-in journaling app is free and decent for writing about trips. It has no map, no country tracking, no statistics, and doesn't exist on Android. Include it in your setup if you journal; don't expect it to replace a tracker.

The ones where "free" is doing heavy lifting

Been offers a limited free experience and then asks for $4.99 per week or $19.99 per year. The weekly price is the one to watch — it's easy to accept and expensive to forget about. The annual price is genuinely cheap.

Visited caps the free version and prices upgrades at $3.99/month, $34.99/year, or $59.99 lifetime. If you like curated checklists it may be worth it, but it isn't a free app in the sense most people mean.

Neither of these is doing anything wrong. Both are just structured so that the free version demonstrates the product rather than being the product.

What we'd actually recommend

• You want a free map of everywhere you've been, forever: Pin Traveler's free tier.
• You want the route drawn automatically for free: Polarsteps or FindPenguins.
• You want to spend nothing and install nothing: Google Maps Timeline — but only for recent movement, and keep an export.
• You want to plan rather than record: Wanderlog.
• You want to escape subscriptions entirely: Pin Traveler, Visited and Skratch all sell a one-time option. Not free, but paid once and done.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best completely free travel tracker app?

For automatic route tracking, Polarsteps and FindPenguins both have free tiers that include the core feature. For a permanent map of everywhere you have been, Pin Traveler's free tier allows unlimited pins with no cap. Google Maps Timeline needs no installation but no longer retains long-term history.

Are free travel apps safe with my location data?

Any app doing automatic tracking needs background location access. Manual-entry apps like Pin Traveler, Visited and Been don't require it at all, which is the strongest privacy position available in this category. Check each app's sharing defaults after installing — several lean public.

Why do so many "free" travel apps ask for payment immediately?

Weekly and monthly subscription models perform well in app store conversion, so many apps show a paywall on first launch with a short free trial. This is why the distinction between a free tier and a free trial matters. Read the button before tapping it.

Can I track countries visited without a subscription?

Yes. Pin Traveler's free tier covers unlimited country, city and state pins. Skratch is a one-time $9.99 purchase. Google Maps Timeline is free but requires manual interpretation.

Do free travel trackers show ads?

Most in this list don't — they monetise through premium upgrades rather than advertising. MyFitnessPal-style ad-heavy models are more common in adjacent categories than in travel tracking.