Been vs Visited is the first decision most people make when they want to colour in the countries they've been to. They're the two best-known travel map apps on the App Store — Been has a 4.7 average from nearly 10,000 US ratings, Visited a 4.6 from nearly 14,000 — and on day one they look alike: pick countries, watch the map fill, see your percentage of the world. The difference is in what each one does after that.
This is an honest comparison of the two, plus a third option that works the other way round: Map Poster, the travel map we make, which builds the map from where your photos were taken instead of asking you to tick anything.
The core difference: a clean record vs a travel planner
- Been is a record of where you've been, kept deliberately small. You tick countries and US states, add when you visited if you want to, and get the map, a list, and a ratio for each continent. You can share the map or compare it with friends who also use the app. Premium Mode goes deeper on the same idea: regions in 25+ countries, cities and airports, a chronological map, more 3D globe filters, several profiles, and your timeline as a video.
- Visited uses the map as a starting point for the next trip. Alongside countries, states, regions and cities, it has travel lists in more than 150 categories — wine regions, castles, US national parks, F1 circuits — a wishlist, itineraries with dates, hotels and notes, travel stats that show what kind of traveller you are, and journal notes by country. It will also print your map as a glossy poster and ship it to you.
So the question isn't which map is prettier. It's whether you want an app that remembers where you've been, or one that also nudges you towards where to go.
Been vs Visited vs Map Poster at a glance
| Been | Visited | Map Poster | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the map fills | You tick countries and states | You tick places | From where your photos were taken, on device |
| Free version | Countries, US states, dates, map, continent ratios | Country map, with ads | Photo map, check-ins, 25 badges, 4 poster styles, 12-month replay |
| Regions & cities | Regions in 25+ countries, cities, airports (Premium) | Cities map and regional maps (paid) | Every city you've photographed, free |
| Planning the next trip | — | 150+ list categories, wishlist, itineraries | None; posters of any place instead |
| Timeline | Chronological map, timeline video (Premium) | Dates and journal notes by country | Month-by-month replay; full history in Premium |
| Wall poster | — | Printed poster, shipped to you | World Footprint Poster; 4K/8K export (Premium) |
| Ads | — | On free; removed by upgrade | None |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, iPad |
A dash means the app doesn't publish that detail, so we haven't guessed. Details come from each app's App Store listing and website as of October 2026; neither Been nor Visited lists its upgrade price on its site, so check the store page for what it costs in your country.
Where Been wins
If you want the map and nothing else, Been is the calmer app. There's no travel feed and no list of 175 places you haven't been yet — just your countries, your states, the dates, and a clean map you can share. That restraint is the point, and it's why Been has a loyal following among people who simply want a tidy answer to “how many countries?”.
Its Premium Mode is also unusually focused on the record itself: regions in more than 25 countries, cities and airports, a chronological map, separate profiles so a family can keep several maps on one phone, and a video of your timeline to share. Classic Mode brings back the old look if you preferred it.
Where Visited wins
If the map is a to-do list as much as a diary, Visited does far more. The travel lists are its real strength — more than 150 categories, from heritage sites to hot springs — and Visited shows which countries hold the most places on your wishlist, which is a genuinely useful way to pick the next trip. Add itineraries with hotels and notes, travel stats, regional maps for 20+ countries, a choice of map projection, and an option to have your map professionally printed and shipped, and it's the most complete of the three.
Its site also says plainly that it doesn't read your photos' metadata, which some people will prefer. The trade-off is that you fill everything in by hand, and the free version carries ads until you upgrade.
Where a smaller tool wins
Both apps share one assumption: you'll sit down and remember. That's easy for countries. It's much harder for cities — the town you drove through in 2017, the weekend away you've half forgotten — and most people's maps stop at the country level for exactly that reason.
That's the gap Map Poster was built for. It reads where your photos were taken — on your iPhone, never uploaded, and you can share only some photos if you prefer — and lights up every city you've photographed, back to your first trip. You get counts of cities and countries, your progress in each country, a month-by-month replay, and “on this day” from past years. Check in a city and it becomes a map poster; earn badges as the map fills. The free version includes the photo map, check-ins, 25 badges, four poster styles and the last 12 months of the replay. Premium adds the shareable World Footprint Poster, the full replay and Year in Review, all 17 styles, custom shapes and 4K or 8K export for print. There's no account.
The honest limits: it only knows about trips you photographed, it has no wishlist or travel lists, it needs a connection to load map tiles, and it's iPhone and iPad only, so an Android traveller should pick Been or Visited.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Been if you want a clean record of the countries and states you've visited, and you're happy to tick them yourself.
- Choose Visited if the map is also a wishlist — travel lists, itineraries and a printed poster — and you don't mind ads or paying to remove them.
- Choose Map Poster if you'd rather your camera roll did the remembering, down to the city, and you want the result on your wall.
If what you really want is a list of places still to go, our roundup of the best travel bucket list apps covers that side of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Been or Visited better?
Been is the simpler of the two: tick the countries and US states you have been to, add dates if you like, and get a clean world map and a percentage per continent. Visited does more around the map, with travel lists in more than 150 categories, a wishlist, itineraries and the option to order a printed poster, but its free version shows ads. Pick Been for a clean record of where you have been; pick Visited if you also want help deciding where to go next.
Are Been and Visited free?
Both are free to download. Been's free version covers countries, US states, dates, the world map, continent ratios and sharing; Premium Mode adds regions in 25+ countries, cities and airports, a chronological map, multiple profiles and a timeline video. Visited's free version covers your country map, and its paid upgrade adds the cities map, more than 175 travel lists, regional maps, itineraries and removes ads. Neither app publishes its price on its website.
Are Been and Visited on Android?
Yes. Both link to a Google Play version from their websites, so either works for a household that mixes iPhone and Android. Map Poster, the third option in this comparison, is iPhone and iPad only.
Is there a travel map app that fills itself in from my photos?
Map Poster, which we make, reads where your photos were taken on your iPhone, without uploading them, and lights up every city you have photographed, with counts of cities and countries and a month-by-month replay. Lighting up the map, checking in cities, 25 badges and four poster styles are free; Premium adds the shareable World Footprint Poster, the full replay, all 17 styles and 4K or 8K export.
Your camera roll already knows where you've been
Every city you've photographed lights up on your map, then becomes a poster worth hanging. Photos never leave your iPhone.
Download Map Poster on the App Store →Visit Been or Visited. Read the story behind Map Poster. Questions? Email us.
