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Curio vs SmartGuide
SmartGuide and Curio are both pocket tour guides, built from different material. SmartGuide plays tours published by tourist boards, attractions and local guides, triggered by GPS as you walk. Curio writes a guide to any place you pick, for you, in your language, from sources it lists with the date. Looking for a SmartGuide alternative? Here is how they compare.
Facts checked on November 14, 2026 · We make Curio: everything about SmartGuide here comes from its own pages, listed at the bottom.
Curio and SmartGuide side by side
| Criterion | Curio | SmartGuide |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI tour guide for any place | GPS audio tours from tourism partners and local guides |
| Places | Any monument, museum, church, ruin or public artwork on the map, worldwide | 1,600+ destinations, 100,000+ places (its own figures) |
| On the spot | Pick any place around you: no route to follow | Follow a tour: stories play as you reach each sight |
| Who writes it | AI, from web sources it reads when you ask | Tourism partners, local contributors and its team, partly with AI |
| Audio | Every guide read aloud, also with the screen locked | Human or AI voices, depending on the tour |
| Made for you | 3 detail levels, your language, your interests | Suggestions by your interests |
| Questions | Yes: typed, dictated or from a photo | An AI chat, with Premium |
| Sources and date | Listed under every guide, with the date it was written | Author named on places; no list of sources or date seen |
| Plan your day | A day in visiting order, opening hours checked, the way between stops | An AI itinerary, with Premium |
| Offline | Downloaded guides, with their photos and audio | Downloaded tours; its store text ties offline use to Premium |
| Languages | 13 | App in 13 languages; guides in 30+, depending on the place |
| Price | Free to explore; guides with a 48-hour, 7-day or 30-day pass, never renewed | Free app, most guides free; Premium about €7.49 a month or €19.99 a year |
The main difference
SmartGuide is a platform for tours: tourist boards, museums, tour operators and local guides publish them, and SmartGuide's own team fills the gaps, partly with AI. You follow a tour and its stories play as you reach each sight. Its strength is official content where a destination has made it, often for free.
Curio doesn't depend on someone having made a tour: it shows the places worth knowing around you and writes about the one you pick, at the length you choose, in your language, listing the sources it read and the date. You can ask about what you see, even from a photo, and have your day planned around you.
SmartGuide is the better pick if…
- The destination you visit publishes its official tours on SmartGuide.
- You like following a set tour, with stories that start on their own as you walk.
- You want free guides first, with a Premium option for more.
Curio is the better pick if…
- No tour covers the place in front of you, or its tours aren't in your language.
- You want a guide written for you, at your length, with its sources and the date.
- You'd rather not subscribe: a Curio Pass covers your trip and never renews.
Can you use both?
Yes: SmartGuide where a destination has published a good tour, Curio for every other place on your way, and for your questions.
Questions
SmartGuide or Curio?
Is SmartGuide free?
The app is free and, its FAQ says, most guides are too. Some premium guides need a purchase or SmartGuide Premium, about €7.49 a month or €19.99 a year, which also adds the AI chat and the itinerary planner.
What's a good SmartGuide alternative?
Where no tour exists, Curio: it writes a guide to any place around you, in 13 languages, read aloud like an audio guide, with the sources it used. For recorded walks, VoiceMap or Rick Steves Audio Europe.
Does SmartGuide use AI?
Partly: some place texts are written by AI and labelled "SmartGuide AI", some tours use AI voices, and Premium adds an AI chat and planner. Curio's guides are written by AI for each traveller, and each lists the sources it was written from, with the date.
Do they work offline?
Both, once downloaded: SmartGuide's tours (its store listing ties offline use to Premium), Curio's guides with their photos and audio.
Where these facts come from
Checked on November 14, 2026 on SmartGuide's own pages and store listings. Apps change: if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.Report an error
- smartguide.app/faq
- smartguide.app/for-travelers
- app.smartguide.app/en/destinations/588d9cd8-14b6-4678-96f5-0500a3bcb6b3/prague/places/627603bd-439a-4573-82cd-459238d07f67/prague-castle
- apps.apple.com/us/app/smartguide-travel-guide-map/id318062323
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.smart_guide.smartguide.T_00007
Your next walk will never look the same.
Curio is now on iPhone and Android.
