Tool profile
Polarsteps: cost, fit and limits
Polarsteps is a travel app made by Polarsteps B.V. that combines an AI Trip Planner with automatic route tracking and trip recaps, aimed at travelers who want to plan a journey, record it as it happens and share it with friends and family.
What to know first
Polarsteps sells one free plan and a Plus plan billed monthly or yearly. The free plan covers planning, tracking, reliving and following trips with up to five Travel Buddies, while Plus adds 3D maps, step statistics and play mode. The AI planner is listed among the app's features, and the privacy policy names Anthropic as the AI provider under a no-training restriction. Prices come from the plus page and vary by region.
Polarsteps at a glance
| Maker | Polarsteps B.V., Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | Free; Plus EUR 8.99 per month or EUR 29.99 per year |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Travel Planning Apps in 2026, rank 1 of 12 |
| Website | polarsteps.com |
Who Polarsteps is best for
Backpackers and road-trippers
Automatic route tracking records the journey while the planner drafts the plan, so one app covers the before and the during of a long trip without manual logging.
Families who share trips with relatives
The free plan lets up to five Travel Buddies follow along, and Plus raises that to ten, which suits grandparents or friends who want to watch a trip unfold.
Travelers who print a keepsake
Travel Books are sold separately, and the yearly Plus plan takes 20 percent off while the membership is active, which rewards people who turn each trip into a book.
Polarsteps plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Planning, tracking, reliving and following trips, with up to 5 Travel Buddies. The AI Trip Planner appears in the feature list of the app. |
| Plus Monthly | EUR 8.99 per month | 3D maps, step statistics, play mode, new map styles and up to 10 Travel Buddies. No discount on Travel Books on the monthly plan. |
| Plus Yearly | EUR 29.99 per year | The same Plus features as the monthly plan, plus 20 percent off Travel Books while the yearly membership is active. In-app prices may vary by region. |
Checked November 2026.
What Polarsteps does
- AI Trip Planner
- The planner is a named entry on the features list and is delivered through an AI provider that the privacy policy lists as a sub-processor. It sits inside the same trip file as the rest of the app.
- Automatic route tracking
- The app logs the route while the trip is under way, so the finished trip shows where the traveler really went rather than only what was planned in advance.
- Trip recap and reliving
- A recap view lets the traveler replay a trip afterward, and the free plan includes reliving trips, which gives the app a second purpose after the planning is done.
- Plus map tools
- Plus adds 3D maps, step statistics, play mode and new map styles. These are presentation upgrades for the trip diary, not changes to how the plan is generated.
How Polarsteps handles your data
Section 3.18 of the privacy policy states that personal data is not used to train AI models, and Anthropic is contractually restricted from training on personal data. Account data is kept for the active account plus 30 days, technical logs for 90 days, support tickets for 2 years after closure and financial data for 7 years. Infrastructure runs on AWS in Europe and the policy says it strives to store personal data within the EEA, with some transfers to Australia, India, Israel, the UK and the US. No security certification is listed; GDPR and CCPA/CPRA compliance are mentioned.
Where Polarsteps falls short in practice
- Discount is for books, not the planner. The 20 percent yearly Plus discount applies to printed Travel Books only. A traveler who never orders a book pays EUR 29.99 for maps and statistics, not for stronger planning.
- Free plan caps companions. Free allows five Travel Buddies, and a larger group needs Plus for ten. The cap counts people who follow the trip, so it matters most to travelers who share widely.
- Planner depth is not documented. The pages list an AI Trip Planner but do not describe its inputs, edit tools or booking links, so how far it goes beyond a suggested route was not checked.
Works with
Alternatives to Polarsteps
Polarsteps: common questions
Does Polarsteps train AI models on my trips?
The privacy policy says in section 3.18 that personal data is not used to train AI models. It also states that Anthropic, the provider behind the AI Trip Planner, is contractually restricted from training on personal data. Other uses of aggregated data were not examined on the pages we read.
How much is Polarsteps Plus?
The plus page shows EUR 8.99 per month or EUR 29.99 per year. The FAQ notes that prices may vary by region and that the in-app price list is authoritative, so check the amount inside the app before you subscribe. The yearly plan adds a 20 percent Travel Book discount.
What does the free Polarsteps plan include?
The free plan covers planning, tracking, reliving and following trips, with up to five Travel Buddies. Plus adds 3D maps, step statistics, play mode and new map styles. The page does not list a cap on the number of trips on the free plan.
Where does Polarsteps keep my data?
The policy says infrastructure is on AWS in Europe and that Polarsteps strives to always store personal data within the EEA. It also lists transfers to Australia, India, Israel, the UK and the US for some processing, so the storage aim is not an absolute guarantee.
How long does Polarsteps keep my account data?
Account data is kept while the account is active and for 30 days afterward. Technical logs are kept 90 days, support tickets 2 years after closure and financial records 7 years. These periods come from the retention table in the privacy policy.