GRYDXWant classic tile hunting on top of your Strava rides? Squadrats, Statshunters and VeloViewer are the established choices. Statshunters is free, Squadrats has the finest grid and a live app, and VeloViewer has the deepest stats.
Want to ride every road? Pick Wandrer. Want a game that happens while you ride, with live reveals, crews, seasons and loot, and no Strava needed? That's what GRYDX is built for.
Comparison at a glance
| App | What you collect | Where rides come from | Live while riding | Social | Game layer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRYDX | Tiles, revealed out of fog | Own background recording, GPX import | Yes, with haptic tick | Crews of up to 30 on one shared map | Seasons, quests, XP, coins, chests, bike builder |
| Squadrats | Squadrats (zoom 14) and squadratinhos (zoom 17) | Mainly Strava sync | Yes, in the mobile app | Rankings, regional in the paid version | Totals, max square, clusters |
| Statshunters | Explorer tiles | Strava sync | No (website) | Leaderboards | Achievements, heatmaps |
| VeloViewer | Explorer tiles | Strava sync | Only via third-party tools | Leaderboards | Max square, max cluster, deep ride stats |
| Wandrer | Share of roads and paths ridden | Strava sync | Via browser and map overlays | Leaderboards | Points and area percentages |
As of October 2026. Features change, so check each app's own site. GRYDX is in early access and launches on iOS and Android.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Squadrats if…
you already ride with Strava and want serious tile hunting with a very fine grid. The squadratinhos make even city riding count, and the mobile app shows squares live.
Pick Statshunters if…
you want tiles, max square and heatmaps for free, and don't mind checking them on a website after the ride.
Pick VeloViewer if…
you love numbers. VeloViewer started Explorer tiles and pairs them with some of the deepest ride analytics around.
Pick Wandrer if…
your goal is to ride every road, not every square. Wandrer measures how much of each town's street network you've covered.
Pick GRYDX if…
you want exploring to feel like a game while you ride: tiles lighting up live, a crew splitting up the district with you, seasons that give your home loops a fresh start, quests and chests with bike parts. No Strava account required.
The catch nobody mentions: Strava
Most tile tools don't record anything themselves. They read your activities from Strava. That works well, but it has side effects that riders mention again and again in forums:
- You need a Strava account, and some tools need your activities to be visible to them.
- New tiles appear only after the sync, and the first import of a long history can take a long time.
- When Strava's API is busy, for example on a Sunday afternoon, updates can lag.
GRYDX records rides itself, so tiles light up the moment you enter them. Old rides come in as GPX files.
Where GRYDX is different
- It's a game first. Seasons, quests, XP, coins, chests and a bike builder. Tile hunting is the core, not the whole story.
- It happens during the ride. Live reveals with a haptic tick, phone in your pocket.
- It's social by design. Up to 30 riders on one shared map, each in their own colour.
- It never gets old. The all-time map stays, the season map refogs, so the area around you is worth riding again.
Honest note: GRYDX is new and in early access. Squadrats, Statshunters, VeloViewer and Wandrer have years of history and big communities. Plenty of riders use more than one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Squadrats alternative?
It depends on what you want. Statshunters is a free alternative for tiles and heatmaps, VeloViewer offers deep statistics, Wandrer counts roads instead of tiles, and GRYDX turns exploring into a live game with crews and seasons that doesn't need Strava.
Is there a Squadrats alternative without Strava?
Yes. GRYDX records rides itself in the background and reveals tiles live. You can import older rides as GPX files.
Are Squadrats tiles the same as VeloViewer tiles?
The large squadrats use the same zoom-14 grid as VeloViewer Explorer tiles. Squadratinhos are a finer zoom-17 grid.
Can I use GRYDX together with Squadrats or Strava?
Yes. GRYDX records independently, so you can keep using your other apps and tools alongside it.
Is GRYDX free?
Pricing will be announced well before launch, and waitlist riders hear it first.