The 10 Best Survival Apps for Preppers

One of the most versatile tools for survival is right in your pocket. With internet access giving you unlimited information at your fingertips, rapid communication through messaging, and robust integrated tools like a gyroscope and camera, your smartphone is a powerhouse. You can make it even more powerful by downloading and getting to know a select suite of survival apps.

There are only a handful of survival-specific apps worth considering- but you shouldn’t limit your survival choices to those. Below, we list out the best survival apps regardless of their original or intended use, and how best to use them.

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Contents (Jump to a Section)

This ranking of the Best Survival Apps has been updated for 2025 after another year of using and testing various phone apps with survival in mind. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Disclosure»

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Top 10 Survival Apps

A survival app is any application that you can use in an emergency, disaster, or survival situation. We considered some free and some paid versions, plus survival manuals converted to apps.

Below, we list out the top 10 survival apps in order of usefulness, with a few editor’s picks to highlight my personal favorites.

If you travel, Google Translate can certainly be useful. It can also be useful if you can communicate long distances to gather information. You can download translation files ahead of time so that the app works without a data connection. Common languages are always a good idea to store, plus any that you may encounter while traveling.

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It used to take an entire bookshelf to hold this much knowledge, but we got that down to a USB stick, and now it’s just an app in your pocket on your smartphone.

When you download a compressed Wikipedia, you lose some of the media, but that’s a small trade-off for such a huge, portable knowledge bank. The app works well as an interface for it all and is a survival essential.

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Scanners can cost a pretty penny, but your phone can do it all the same with a reliable data connection. This app is useful for urban preppers who may need to monitor things in the neighborhood or civil unrest.

The amount of data going over scanners can be a bit overwhelming, but most scanner apps have code dictionaries built in. Don’t get too sucked into listening to it like a vigilante or Cops fanboy- stick to using it to stay informed in specific situations.

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You could just memorize the top 10 survival knots, but then what? There are a few types of knot apps available, but this one does practical knots best- focusing on the application of the knots rather than difficulty, beauty, and other factors we’re less concerned with.

The organization of the knots is military-related, which isn’t always useful when you are using them for prepping and survival, but at least you know what to expect.

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Seek is a plant/animal identification app with some gamification tweaks. You can build and catalog your observations, meet challenges, and earn achievements, but the real power of the app is just in the identification itself.

One minor complaint you’ll see is that it can’t always identify what you show it, but I would rather the app admit that than turn up false information like some competitor apps do. It’s not a substitute for a foraging guide, but it is a great tool to learn what you are working with quickly.

The gamification element of the app, where you can collect new plant/animal pictures, is better than I expected. My kids have always liked finding new animals, but this app gets them excited about flora, too.

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Signal is a private messaging app with end-to-end encryption. As long as you don’t approve spam messages or join weird groups, it’s one of the best ways to communicate on your phone.

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Compress and access a huge range of informational resources. You can use Kiwix to download Wikipedia, in its entirety, which bumped the native app down the list since Kiwix does the same thing and more.

Some of our readers like downloading the WikiMed Medical Encyclopedia or just novels for entertainment. It’s a powerful app that helps you manage information storage, so it’s worth having on your phone.

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The original SAS Survival Guide persists at the top of our best survival guide list every year, and the full app is pretty much the same information in an easy-to-navigate format. The downside is that the full app is about $6- only the Lite version is free, and that version does not include all of the information.

Apple users have the option to download the free Lite version to check out before shelling out the six bucks for the whole package.

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With downloadable maps and route tracking, this app is perfect for anyone bugging out any distance on foot. While Google Maps is irreplaceable for most on-road transit, this app is ideal for those venturing into the wilderness or away from cell signal.

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With the wide range of things that can go wrong with the human body, it’s nice to have a first aid manual on hand to tackle any issue thoughtfully. Even with training, some injuries and sicknesses can cause us to not think straight, so following guides and checklists is helpful.

The American Red Cross first aid solution in app form does the job great and is completely free. Download it and get familiar with it today so you can get used to the menus and swing into action when needed.

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Honorable Mention

There are a few more apps to look out for that are worth considering, but didn’t make our top 10 for some reason or other. Also, some readers have left their favorites in the comment section below. We download the mentioned apps to test them out before we update the top 10 each year.

• BUNKERS – I recently exchanged data with Marijn, sending him approval to use our compiled 2,000+ fallout shelter locations, so he could upload them into his app. He sent us his bunker locations for Europe, so we’ll be adding those to our maps in the near future. It’s a niche app for an unlikely scenario, but you can check it out for free and find the fallout shelters closest to you.
• Preppr – I tried out this app based on a suggestion, but I don’t think it’s a replacement for the SAS app. The inventory feature is nice, but I just use Google Sheets for that, which still works offline. I don’t need A.I. pictures of my gear. It’s free to try, though, so find out for yourself.

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What to Look For in a Survival App

One key consideration is whether the app can work when the phone cannot reach the internet. Sometimes you’ll need to download additional files for this to work, which may also make the app no longer free.

Value is the next consideration- if the app is a paid app, does it earn its keep? Many times this is the case. For some reason, many people (including me) have trouble justifying $3.99 on an app even if it’s lifesaving. It can be helpful to clear this mental hurdle for big upgrades in some cases.

The last consideration is the file size. Most apps are much less than a GB, but they can start to climb when you download files for offline use. Depending on your phone storage, this may or may not make sense.

Your phone, camera, and messaging service are all critical during emergencies, but those all come standard with smartphones.

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Other Survival Apps to Consider

We mentioned it before, but don’t underestimate the power of the pre-installed apps on your phone.

• Phone – One of the quickest ways to share information, pick up the phone and make a call to find out the situation.
• SMS – One of the few communication methods your phone uses that doesn’t require a ‘handshake’ at the cell tower. When you send a message and it has an error, you can keep sending it until it goes through. Messaging also uses less power than other applications or calls.
• Camera – Documenting situations, locations, people, and belongings with photos and video is useful in a wide range of emergencies.
• Payment Apps – If you become separated from your wallet, you’ll still want to be able to function and pay your way. Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Wallet are all widely accepted.
• Weather – we’ll start a never-ending fight if we advocate for a specific app, but generally, any weather app with forecast models can get the job done.

Some other apps I’ve found useful include:

• Robinhood – This makes it easy to diversify my financial preparedness and lets me keep tabs on it in real time.
• Trackers – I used to use Tile but switched over to Apple Tags and have been pleased with their performance. They integrate well into the Find My app, and the best use I’ve had is using them in wristbands on my young kids whenever we go to crowded areas.
• Health – There are plenty of health and fitness apps that are great, but the simple health app that displays emergency health information on my lock screen has been a great addition.
• Google Sheets – Using this for checklists, plans, budget tracking, and even conversations has been helpful over the years. I also use this app to record testing data.

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Apps I Use to Test Survival Gear

I use a lot of testing equipment to test survival gear, and plenty of phone apps help me out, too. Besides Google Sheets, which I mentioned before, here are the ones I use the most:

• FLIR ONE – Used with a thermal camera attachment, this is handy for checking the thermal output of equipment. I also use it around the house to check for hot spots where more insulation may be needed.
• Decibel X – A handy app for testing the loudness of various equipment and tools. My emergency whistle review maxed out the microphone capabilities, which is the only downside. I really like how it identifies tone frequency, too, which was useful in some of my testing.
• Camera – Yep, most of the pictures you see on this site are taken with my phone camera.
• Camera Remote – A basic remote app on my watch that lets me control my camera. A lifesaver when I have my hands full testing.
• Measure – When I need an approximate distance and don’t want to grab a tape, I use this app. It is much more accurate than I expected.
• Specific Equipment Apps – Whether it’s security cameras, power stations, or freeze dryers… I have all of the apps downloaded for UX testing.

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The Final Word

Survival apps can turn that little brick in your pocket into a powerhouse. Using technology to your advantage in survival situations just makes sense, and most of the apps we’ve highlighted are free.

Here are some other guides our subscribers have found helpful:

• Best Survival Watch | Reviews & Buying Guide
• Prepper Color Coding | How To Get Organized
• Everyday Carry List | 25 EDC Essentials

If you have any favorite survival apps that we may have missed or chosen not to rank, weigh in below in the comment section. We’ll take the time to review it before our next roundup and see where it stacks up.

See more of our expert-written guides, resources, and reviews in your search results – add TruePrepper as a preferred source.

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