A free Strava alternative for the mountains.

Strava is the place for training, segments and a huge community, and since June 2026 it does more for hikers too. Traverse is a free app for mountain days in Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range: 3D terrain, slope angles and trip plans. Here is how they differ, and when Strava is the better pick.

Get Traverse free

/ The short answer

Pick by how you go out.

If you train for times, chase segments and want your friends’ activities in one feed, Strava is built for that, and Traverse does not try to be. Since June 2026 Strava also does more for hikers: routes sync to your watch, and subscribers get off-route alerts and offline routes. If you head into the mountains of Kosovo, Albania or the Sharr range and want to read the terrain, see how steep it is and leave a trip plan that texts your emergency contact if you do not check in, Traverse does that for free. Plenty of people will use both.

Feature	Traverse	Strava
Built for	Mountain days in Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range: terrain, local trails and trip plans	Training and the social side of running, riding, hiking and many other sports, worldwide
Free plan	Yes, no ads: the 3D map, the slope-angle layer, unlimited recording, trip plans and SOS	Yes: recording, the feed, kudos, clubs, the top 10 of each segment, the global heatmap, Beacon on your phone and route sync to your watch
Paid plan	Pro €44.99 a year or €6.99 a month, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan (€19.99 a year in Kosovo, Albania and the region)	$79.99 a year or $11.99 a month in the US; Strava sets prices country by country
3D terrain	Free, and the 3D map works worldwide	Interactive 3D map layer with subscription (since 2021–22, rebuilt on FATMAP technology in March 2025). Since June 2026, 3D activity maps in the feed for everyone
Slope angle and aspect	Slope-angle layer free in the app, for Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range only; aspect on the website’s 3D map	Gradient, Avalanche Gradient (25° to 45°+) and Aspect layers in the app, with subscription
Routes	Local routes on the real trail network, plus public trails, peaks and huts from open map data; each route shows distance, climb, an estimated time and a terrain rating	Route Builder (distance, climb and surface as you draw) and Route Discovery from its heatmap, with subscription
Offline maps	3 routes free; whole regions (Rugova, Sharr, the Albanian Alps, all of Kosovo) with Pro	Offline routes, with subscription
Off-route alerts	Not yet	With subscription, since June 2026
Live location	Free, while a trip plan is open	Beacon: free when you record on your phone; from a watch or bike computer with subscription
If you are overdue	Free trip plans: if you do not check in, your emergency contact gets an SMS 30 minutes after your check-in time	Not listed when we checked: Beacon contacts follow your position themselves
SOS	Hold for 3 seconds. The status says only what is true: prepared, sent or acknowledged	Not listed when we checked
Segments and leaderboards	None	Yes: the top 10 free; the full leaderboard, filters and Live Segments with subscription
Training analysis	Pro: compare efforts on the same route, personal records, training trends, heart rate	Advanced training analysis with subscription, far deeper than Traverse
Watches	Routes to Garmin as a FIT course and to other watches as GPX; import of .fit, .gpx and .tcx activities, free. No automatic sync yet	Apple Watch and Wear OS apps; activities upload on their own from Garmin and many other devices; since June 2026 routes sync to Garmin, Apple Watch and COROS for all members, and Apple Watch can follow a route without your phone
Community	Feed, kudos, comments, group outings and clubs, mostly local for now	A very large worldwide community, with clubs and challenges
Platforms	iPhone and Android; the 3D map and GPX viewer also in your browser	iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch and Wear OS

Checked 12 October 2026. Strava facts come from its own help pages and press releases and from recent reviews, including coverage of its June 2026 hiking update (sources below). Prices and plans change often and differ by country. “Not listed when we checked” means we did not find the feature, not that it cannot exist. A partnership with mountain rescue is in progress. Until then, trip plans and SOS alert your emergency contact. Slope angle describes the terrain, not today’s avalanche danger. Check the official bulletin before you go. See all four apps on the comparison page, Traverse’s plans on the pricing page.

/ Where each is strongest

Two good apps, built for different days.

Traverse

Mountain days in the Western Balkans, for free: 3D terrain you can read, a slope-angle layer where we have data, offline regions, local routes with a terrain rating, and trip plans that text your contact if you are late.

Strava

Training and community: segments and leaderboards, detailed training analysis, a feed full of your friends, automatic sync with almost any watch, and maps and routes that work anywhere in the world, now with more for hikers, such as off-route alerts for subscribers.

/ When Strava is the better choice

Stay with Strava if this sounds like you.

We would rather you pick the right app than pick us.

You train for times

Segments, leaderboards, Live Segments and training analysis are what Strava is built around. Traverse has no segments and much lighter stats.

Your people are there

If your club, your friends and your kudos live on Strava, that feed is hard to replace, and Traverse does not try to.

You ride roads or run in town

Strava’s route builder and heatmaps cover roads and paths worldwide. Traverse plans over mountain trails and does not plan road routes.

You go far beyond the Balkans

Traverse’s slope layer, trails and huts cover Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range today. Strava’s maps and layers work wherever you are.

You want off-route alerts

Strava subscribers get an alert when they leave a planned route, anywhere in the world, and can take routes offline. Traverse does not have off-route alerts yet.

You want automatic watch sync

Strava pulls in activities from Garmin and many other devices on its own, and sends routes to Garmin, Apple Watch and COROS. With Traverse you move files by hand for now.

/ Switching from Strava

Bring your trips with you, or use both.

There is nothing to cancel. Keep Strava for training, and use Traverse for the mountains.

Export from StravaOn the Strava website, open an activity, then the ⋯ menu: Export GPX, or Export Original for the file your watch uploaded (often FIT). For everything at once: Settings → My Account → Download your account, and Strava emails you a link to an archive. Files in it that end in .gz need unpacking first. Exports are only on the website, not in the app.
Import into TraverseIn the app: You → Import from watch. Pick the .gpx, .fit or .tcx file and Traverse shows distance, climb, moving time and heart rate. Choose the sport and who sees it, then Save trip. Free, one activity at a time.
Use bothRecord wherever you like. Before a mountain day, leave a trip plan in Traverse; afterwards, import the activity if you want it in your Traverse history. To follow a Traverse route on your watch, use Send to Garmin / watch.

What stays on Strava: segments, kudos, comments and photos. Planned Strava routes have no times, so the importer does not take them yet. Your privacy zones in Traverse apply to imported trips too. You can also look at any GPX track in 3D, without an account, in the free GPX viewer. For trip plans and SOS, read how they work.

Not affiliated. Strava is a trademark of Strava, Inc. Traverse is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Strava; we use the name only to compare. Checked 12 October 2026.

/ Questions

Is there a free alternative to Strava?

For mountain days in Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range, Traverse is free with no ads: the 3D map, the slope-angle layer, unlimited recording, trip plans and SOS. It is not a replacement for Strava’s segments, training analysis or worldwide community. An optional Pro plan adds whole offline regions and deeper stats.

Is Traverse a Strava alternative for Kosovo and Albania?

That is what it is built for: a slope-angle layer for Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range, offline regions such as Rugova and the Albanian Alps, local routes with a terrain rating, and lower Pro prices in the region. Strava works there too, and both draw their trails from OpenStreetMap.

Does Strava have 3D maps and slope angles?

Yes. Subscribers have had a 3D map layer since 2021–22; since March 2025 Strava’s map engine is built on FATMAP technology, and subscribers can turn on Gradient, Avalanche Gradient (25° to 45°+) and Aspect layers. Since June 2026 everyone sees 3D activity maps in the feed. Traverse’s 3D map is free worldwide, and its slope-angle layer is free in the app for Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range; aspect is on the website’s 3D map.

Is Strava good for hiking now?

It does more for hikers since June 2026: routes sync to Garmin, Apple Watch and COROS, Apple Watch can follow a route without your phone, and subscribers get Route Builder, Route Discovery, off-route alerts and offline routes. Traverse is narrower: it is built for the mountains of Kosovo, Albania and the Sharr range, with free 3D terrain, a slope-angle layer and trip plans, and it has no off-route alerts yet.

Can I move my Strava activities to Traverse?

Yes, one at a time. Export the activity from the Strava website (Export GPX or Export Original), then in the Traverse app go to You → Import from watch. Segments, kudos, comments and photos stay on Strava, and there is no automatic sync between the two apps.

Can I use Strava and Traverse together?

Yes. Keep recording in Strava if your training lives there, and leave a Traverse trip plan before a mountain day. Afterwards you can import the activity into Traverse to keep your mountain history in one place.

What happens if I do not come back on time?

With a Traverse trip plan, the app reminds you at your check-in time. If you still have not checked in 30 minutes later, your emergency contact gets an SMS with your plan and your last known position. Traverse does not replace 112: if you can call, call 112. Strava’s Beacon shares your live position with up to three contacts, who follow it themselves.

Does Traverse have segments or leaderboards?

No. Traverse has a feed, kudos, comments, clubs and, with Pro, personal records, but no segments or leaderboards. If those matter to you, Strava is the better choice.

Is Traverse affiliated with Strava?

No. Strava is a trademark of Strava, Inc., named here only to compare. Traverse is an independent app.

/ Sources

Strava is a trademark of Strava, Inc. Traverse is not affiliated with Strava. Coming from FATMAP? See the FATMAP alternative.