No paywall
Free motorcycle ride tracker apps with no subscription (2026)
Every rider I know has the same complaint. You download a ride tracker, you record two rides, and on the third one a screen pops up asking for $40 a year to keep doing the thing your phone's GPS was already doing. I build Rippin', and I will be upfront that we have a paid tier too. But the free tier question is a fair one, so here is what is actually free in each app as of September 2026, no spin.
What "free" means in each app
Most of these apps are freemium. The question is where the line sits. For some, the free tier is a demo. For others, it is most of the product. This table is the honest version.
| App | Free without a subscription | Behind the paywall | Paid price |
|---|---|---|---|
| REVER | Ride recording, basic planning, sharing, following riders | Turn-by-turn, offline maps, Butler Maps, live sharing | Pro $39.99/yr |
| Calimoto | Route planning | Navigation, and most of what you would use on the bike | Premium $39.99 to $79.99/yr |
| Kurviger | Route planning on web and app | Navigation, recording, offline maps | Tourer $12.99/yr, Tourer+ $24.99/yr |
| Cardo Ride | Basic tracking and the social feed | Pro feature set; check the listing for the current split | Pro $59.99/yr or $8.99/mo |
| Scenic | Limited, iPhone only | Navigation and the full feature set | $4.99/mo billed annually |
| Rippin' | Recording, squads, group rides, events, segments, Turf Wars, poker runs, points, AI planner | Conveniences like auto-start recording and extras; organizer tools | Plus $4.99/mo, Organizer Pro $8.99/mo |
REVER: the most generous free nav app
Credit where it is due. REVER's free tier is the most generous among the navigation-first apps. You can record rides, plan routes, share them, and follow riders without paying. What you do not get is turn-by-turn, offline maps, Butler Maps, or live sharing. Those are Pro at $39.99 a year.
The honest caveats: REVER reviews have complained about background crashes and lost rides for multiple years, plus forced re-logins, and the iOS app had not been updated since September 2024 as of this writing. A free tracker that drops your ride is not free, it is expensive in a different way. Also note that REVER is owned by Comoto (RevZilla and Cycle Gear), so the app is partly a channel for their retail business. That is not a bad thing, just worth knowing.
Calimoto: free to plan, paid to ride
Calimoto is upfront about its model: plan free, pay to navigate. If you only want a ride tracker and have no interest in paying, Calimoto is not your app. Premium is $39.99 to $79.99 a year in the US App Store. The most common paywall complaint in Calimoto reviews is not the price, it is auto-renew billing catching people off guard. If you try it, set a reminder.
Kurviger: the cheapest paid tracker, and free planning
Kurviger's planner is free and it is excellent, especially on a laptop. Recording and navigation need Tourer ($12.99 a year) or Tourer+ ($24.99 a year for offline maps). That is the cheapest paid tier on this list by a wide margin. If your objection is to $40 to $80 a year rather than to paying at all, Kurviger is a fair compromise. No social layer, no game, and a UI that takes some learning.
Cardo Ride: free basics, expensive Pro
Cardo Ride (formerly RISER) lets you track rides and post to a feed for free. The app has achievements, levels, seasonal sponsored challenges, and PackRide group rides; which of those sit behind Pro has shifted since the rebrand, so check the listing. Pro is the priciest subscription here at $59.99 a year or $8.99 a month. Reviews complain about the price, about navigation stopping in dead zones, about tracking eating a battery in about two hours, and about there not being enough riders nearby. The free tier works as a plain tracker where the community is dense.
Scenic: cheap, but not free, and iPhone only
Scenic is $4.99 a month billed annually, which makes it inexpensive, but it is not a free tracker and it is iPhone only. It uses Kurviger's routing engine, so the routes are good. If you are an Android rider, skip it.
Rippin': the free tier is the app
Here is the part where I tell you about my own app, and you can decide how much salt to add. Rippin' is on iPhone and Android, and the following is free, with no trial that expires:
- Ride recording with route, distance, moving time, and a shareable ride card.
- Squads and live group rides with chat and RSVPs.
- A meets and bike-night calendar (hundreds of events in Southern California).
- Segments with KOM leaderboards, see the rides guides for examples.
- Turf Wars: claim map territory by riding a loop.
- Poker runs at real bars, dealers, and cafes.
- Points, XP, 25 rider levels, a points shop, and giveaways.
- An AI trip planner.
Rippin' Plus is $4.99 a month. It adds conveniences like auto-start recording and other extras. Organizer Pro is $8.99 a month and is for people who run rides and events for a group, not for regular riders. Nothing in the list above moves behind a paywall after a trial period.
The honest limitation is not the paywall, it is geography. The events calendar and the poker-run stops are dense in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles, with Austin launching. Recording, squads, segments, and turf work anywhere, but if you are in Ohio the calendar will be quiet until riders there fill it in. The App Store rating is 5.0, but on 78 ratings, so treat that as early.
Why we kept recording free
Because charging for GPS recording is charging for something your phone already does. The value in a ride app is what happens around the recording: the crew, the events, the game, the leaderboard. We think riders will pay for extras once the core is worth using. If that turns out to be wrong, we will say so. But we are not going to hit you with a paywall on ride three.
Verdict
If you refuse to subscribe and you need navigation, REVER's free tier is the best of the nav apps, with the reliability caveats above. If you will pay a little, Kurviger at $12.99 a year is the cheapest reliable tracker. If you want a tracker plus a community plus a game and want all of it free, Rippin' is the one where the free tier is actually the product. Whichever you choose, read the renewal terms before you tap subscribe.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free motorcycle ride tracker?
Rippin' offers free ride recording, group rides, events, segments, Turf Wars, and poker runs with no expiring trial. REVER's free tier also records and plans rides but locks navigation and offline maps behind Pro. Calimoto and Scenic require a subscription to navigate.
Is REVER free to use?
REVER has a free tier that records rides, plans routes, and shares them. Turn-by-turn navigation, offline maps, Butler Maps, and live sharing require REVER Pro at $39.99 per year as of September 2026.
What is the cheapest motorcycle navigation app?
Kurviger is the cheapest paid navigation on this list: Tourer is $12.99 per year and Tourer+ with offline maps is $24.99 per year. Scenic is $4.99 per month billed annually but is iPhone only.
What does Rippin' Plus cost and what is free?
Rippin' Plus is $4.99 per month and adds conveniences like auto-start recording and extras. Ride recording, squads, group rides, the events calendar, segments, Turf Wars, poker runs, points, and the AI trip planner are free.
Does Cardo Ride have a free version?
Yes. Cardo Ride, formerly RISER, has free basic tracking and a social feed. Cardo Ride Pro costs $59.99 per year or $8.99 per month as of September 2026.
Which free motorcycle tracker works on Android?
REVER, Calimoto, Kurviger, Cardo Ride, and Rippin' all have Android apps. Scenic is iPhone only.