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Maps · head to head

AllTrails vs Lonboard

AllTrails logo

AllTrails

Maps

Discover the best hiking and biking trails

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lonboard logo

Lonboard

Maps

Python map rendering in Jupyter that skips GeoJSON and moves millions of features without choking

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AllTrails the App Store listing shows AllTrails is a free download with an in-app Pro subscription; the visible listing text does not state the Pro price, so the reader must check in-app purchases for the current rate.; Lonboard it is a notebook visualisation library, not a mapping application, so there is no editing, no layout, no map export for print and no sharing beyond distributing the notebook or an HTML file
  • They diverge on capability: AllTrails covers Trail discovery, Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AllTrails and Lonboard actually diverge.

Attributes where AllTrails and Lonboard differ
AttributeAllTrailsLonboard
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsIos, Android, WebLinux, macOS, Windows
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AllTrails

  • Trail discovery
  • Offline maps
  • GPS navigation
  • Activity recording
  • Trail reviews
  • Apple Health
  • Garmin
  • Apple Watch

Only in Lonboard

  • GeoArrow binary transfer
  • GeoPandas input
  • deck.gl layers
  • Jupyter widget
  • Large dataset handling
  • Styling by attribute
  • Open source licence

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AllTrails

  • Trail discoverynot Lonboard
  • Hiking navigationnot Lonboard
  • Outdoor fitness trackingnot Lonboard

Lonboard

  • An analyst exploring a national road or parcel dataset in a notebook where pydeck or ipyleaflet becomes unusable at that sizenot AllTrails
  • A researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processingnot AllTrails
  • A data scientist joining spatial data to model outputs in pandas and needing to see the result immediately without exporting to a GISnot AllTrails
  • A team building an internal analysis pipeline on GeoParquet that wants rendering without a serialisation step in the middlenot AllTrails

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AllTrails

  • The App Store listing shows AllTrails is a free download with an in-app Pro subscription; the visible listing text does not state the Pro price, so the reader must check in-app purchases for the current rate.

Lonboard

  • It is a notebook visualisation library, not a mapping application, so there is no editing, no layout, no map export for print and no sharing beyond distributing the notebook or an HTML file
  • Maintenance sits with Development Seed as an open source side output of a consultancy, so roadmap priorities follow client projects and there is no support contract to buy
  • Layer coverage is a subset of deck.gl, so an analyst needing a less common layer type has to drop to pydeck or write JavaScript rather than staying in Python
  • It expects data already in GeoPandas or Arrow form, which means the performance benefit depends on the rest of your pipeline being Arrow-friendly; reading a large Shapefile is still the slow step
  • Rendering happens in the browser, so very large datasets are ultimately limited by the client machine's memory and GPU rather than by the server, and a laptop will still fail on data a workstation handles

Pricing, plan by plan

AllTrails

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Trail search
    • Community reviews
    • Basic maps
  • AllTrails+$35.99/year
    • Offline maps
    • Real-time navigation
    • Trail conditions

Lonboard

Free
  • LonboardFree
    • Open source, no licence fee
    • No usage limits
    • Installed from PyPI or conda

Which should you pick?

Choose AllTrails if

  • You need trail discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want offline maps.
AllTrails review

Choose Lonboard if

  • You need geoarrow binary transfer.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want geopandas input.
Lonboard review

Questions people ask

Is AllTrails or Lonboard better?
Neither clearly leads. AllTrails starts at Free and Lonboard at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AllTrails or Lonboard?
AllTrails starts at Free and Lonboard at Free.
Does AllTrails or Lonboard run on more platforms?
AllTrails runs on Ios, Android, Web. Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use AllTrails for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AllTrails best used for?
AllTrails is most often used for trail discovery, hiking navigation, outdoor fitness tracking. Of those, trail discovery and hiking navigation are not what Lonboard is typically brought in for.
What can AllTrails do that Lonboard cannot?
AllTrails covers Trail discovery, Offline maps, GPS navigation, Activity recording. Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AllTrails: Is AllTrails free to use?

AllTrails offers both free and paid membership options. The basic free tier allows users to explore trails, see maps, and access core features for discovering hiking and outdoor activities.

Source
Lonboard: Why not just use pydeck?

pydeck serialises geometry to GeoJSON to reach the browser. Lonboard uses a binary GeoArrow pipeline, which is the reason it handles far larger datasets in the same notebook.

AllTrails: Can I create custom routes on AllTrails?

Yes, AllTrails allows users to build and edit custom trails. The platform provides route converter tools and options to print custom maps for your own trail designs.

Source
Lonboard: Who maintains it?

Development Seed, a geospatial engineering consultancy, as an open source project. There is no commercial support offering.

Lonboard: Does it work outside Jupyter?

It is built as a Jupyter widget. Exporting to standalone HTML is possible, but the intended environment is a notebook.

Lonboard: Is it free for commercial use?

Yes, it is open source with no licence fee.

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