Citymapper is an excellent transit app primarily designed for daily commuters in major cities. CityNav is built specifically for tourists — adding AR walking navigation, SOS emergency alerts, full driving directions, and offline transit data that works when you're off the beaten path.
Try CityNav Free →| Feature | CityNav | Citymapper |
|---|---|---|
| AR walking navigation | ✅ Camera-overlay with live compass arrows | ❌ Not available |
| CityNav uses your camera to display live directional arrows. | ||
| SOS emergency button | ✅ Sends GPS location via SMS | ❌ Not available |
| Essential safety feature for solo travellers in unfamiliar cities. | ||
| Driving navigation | ✅ Full turn-by-turn with maneuver icons | ❌ No driving mode |
| CityNav covers driving, transit, and walking in one app. | ||
| Offline transit data | ✅ 28 cities, no data required | ⚠️ Requires connectivity for most features |
| CityNav's offline mode is designed for international travellers. | ||
| City coverage | ✅ 28 major global cities | ✅ 100+ cities (wider coverage) |
| Citymapper covers more cities; CityNav goes deeper with tourist data. | ||
| Tourist pass tips | ✅ Best pass recommendations per city | ❌ Not provided |
| CityNav tells you which pass saves most money as a tourist. | ||
| Transit directions | ✅ Step-by-step multi-modal routing | ✅ Excellent transit UI, real-time disruptions |
| Free to use | ✅ Core free; premium from £1.99 | ✅ Free with optional paid tier |
Walking directions, driving navigation, offline transit maps for 28 cities, and an SOS emergency button — all in one tourist-focused app. No download required.
Open CityNav — Free →CityNav is purpose-built for tourists, adding features Citymapper does not have: AR walking navigation, an SOS emergency button, full driving directions, and tourist-specific transit pass recommendations. Citymapper has broader city coverage and is excellent for commuters; CityNav prioritises the needs of visitors exploring an unfamiliar city.
Yes. CityNav includes fully offline transit data for all 28 supported cities, with no mobile data required. This makes it especially useful for international travellers using a foreign SIM or avoiding roaming charges.
Yes. CityNav has a dedicated SOS emergency button that sends your live GPS location via SMS to up to three emergency contacts. This feature is unique to CityNav and is not available in Citymapper.