CoHunt vs HuntStand

CoHunt is built for parties that spread out where phones lose signal: encrypted chat and a live group map that reach miles beyond cell service over Meshtastic radios, plus a ballistics calculator and Garmin and Tractive dog tracking, for $24.99 a year. HuntStand is built for whitetail stand hunting: it syncs cellular photos from Stealth Cam and Muddy cameras through GSM's Command app, and per huntstand.com, Pro ($34.99 a year) adds property boundaries and stand reservations, and Ultimate ($99.99) adds game activity forecasts and rut maps.

Who Makes HuntStand

HuntStand is published by GSM Outdoors, the Irving, Texas company behind Stealth Cam, Muddy and more than 50 outdoor brands in all, owned by Platinum Equity since October 2024. GSM bought TerraStride, HuntStand's developer, in late 2022. HuntStand's free tier shows ads, and an ad-free version is sold in the app. Pro members get 10 to 20% off in the HuntStand Gear Store and Ultimate members 20 to 50%. Its privacy policy (July 31, 2026) allows targeted advertising, which you can switch off in your account profile. CoHunt has no ads and no store, and needs no sign-up.

Quick Comparison Overview

Why Hunters Switch to CoHunt

Your locations stay off our servers

The CoHunt app needs no sign-up, shows no ads and has no usage analytics; it sends anonymous crash reports, which you can switch off. Your locations, tracks and messages stay on your phones and are never stored on our servers. There is no harvest feed, no group newsfeed and no public area for information to leak into. Our privacy policy carries a warrant canary: as of March 11, 2026 we had never received a National Security Letter or a FISA request. This website uses Google Analytics to count visits.

No ads and no gear store

CoHunt is paid by subscription only. The app has no ads and no gear store. $24.99 a year is the whole price.

Works with the trail cameras you already own

CoHunt integrates with Spypoint and Tactacam Reveal cameras, with AI-powered species detection for Spypoint, a camera dashboard (battery, signal, temperature), photo and video galleries, time-of-day filtering and camera placement on your map. Tactacam support covers Reveal cell cameras like the Reveal X, Reveal X Pro, Reveal SK and the Reveal 3.0 series. HuntStand syncs Stealth Cam and Muddy cameras, both GSM brands, through GSM's Command app, and takes other brands' photos by SD-card upload on its website. If your cameras are Spypoint or Tactacam Reveal, CoHunt shows their photos in the app.

Encrypted messages that are never stored on a server

HuntStand has in-app messaging. CoHunt's messages are end-to-end encrypted and never stored on a server. They go phone to phone when they can; otherwise they pass, still encrypted, through relay and notification servers that cannot read them. Your coordination with your hunting party stays between you.

Off-grid messaging that keeps working

We found no way to message or share positions in HuntStand without a data connection, and across much of the backcountry that connection isn't there. CoHunt was built off-grid first:

• Offline maps download fully and run with no signal
• Meshtastic LoRa radio integration: small, inexpensive LoRa radios carry messages and positions miles beyond cell service, each radio relaying for the others, with no infrastructure, and range depends on the radios and the terrain. As of October 2026 we know of no other hunting map app with Meshtastic built in. General navigation tools such as ATAK and CalTopo can show Meshtastic radios too.
• Bluetooth mesh between nearby phones when no radio is around, with no cell, WiFi or internet

A built-in ballistics calculator

HuntStand has no ballistics calculator at any tier. CoHunt includes a full one: any caliber, automatic correction for wind, temperature, humidity, altitude and atmospheric pressure, plus DOPE card PDF export, so you need no separate ballistics app. It even rides on your Garmin watch: link a compatible Garmin watch and the CoHunt Connect IQ app shows the range to your target, drop, drift and time of flight on your wrist, plus the DOPE table.

75% less than HuntStand Ultimate

CoHunt is $24.99 a year. HuntStand Ultimate is $99.99, a $375 difference per hunter over five years, and HuntStand Pro is $34.99 a year on huntstand.com. CoHunt includes Meshtastic LoRa radio messaging, Bluetooth mesh, ballistics and Garmin and Tractive dog tracking, which HuntStand doesn't offer at any price.

Dog tracking

HuntStand does not integrate with any dog GPS collar system. CoHunt shows the dogs from a Garmin Alpha or Astro on the shared map, relayed through a Garmin watch with no connection needed, and supports Tractive GPS trackers in real time. The entire hunting group sees the dogs, which matters for bird hunters and hound hunters.

What HuntStand Still Has

Being straight about what HuntStand offers that CoHunt doesn't, from its plan page and App Store listing, checked October 17, 2026:

• HuntZone wind forecasting: hour-by-hour scent forecasts up to 72 hours ahead.
• 15-day game activity forecasts and exclusive rut maps for whitetail, elk, mule deer and blacktail, plus a whitetail habitat map and Western game unit maps, in the Ultimate tier.
• Stand reservations and shared Group Hunt Areas, for leases and hunting clubs that plan who sits where.
• Stealth Cam and Muddy cellular camera sync through GSM's Command app, if those are the cameras you already own.
• Property data for most of Canada, which CoHunt does not cover.

CoHunt is built for the part these leave out: keeping your party in touch where phones lose signal, for $75 a year less than HuntStand Ultimate. If you rely on HuntStand's forecasts, keep them and run CoHunt alongside it.

Common Questions

Which trail cameras work with HuntStand?

HuntStand syncs cellular photos from Stealth Cam and Muddy cameras, both GSM Outdoors brands, through GSM's Command app. Photos from other brands can be uploaded from the camera's SD card on HuntStand's website. CoHunt syncs Spypoint and Tactacam Reveal cellular cameras in the app.

Can I use CoHunt without creating an account?

Yes. CoHunt needs no sign-up: no name, email or phone number. You can sign in with email, Google or Apple if you want to restore your account on a new phone. Your contacts are paired by scanning a QR code, not by uploading a contact list. HuntStand needs an account, made with an email address or Apple or Google sign-in.

Can I import my existing waypoints and tracks from HuntStand?

Yes, if you can export them as GPX. CoHunt supports standard GPX import and export, so waypoints, tracks and hunt areas in GPX files carry straight over.

What about the HuntStand social features?

HuntStand has shared Group Hunt Areas and in-app messaging, and what you share is stored on HuntStand's servers for the people you add. Its privacy policy notes that "the information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Application." CoHunt has no social network, no public feed, no harvest sharing and no "discover other hunters" component. Your hunting stays within your group.

How does CoHunt compare to HuntStand for remote-area safety?

We found no way to message or share positions in HuntStand without a data connection. In mountain valleys, deep timber, swamp bottoms or any backcountry without a signal, that leaves the group out of touch. CoHunt's Meshtastic radios keep your team in touch across miles with no cellular infrastructure at all, and phones near each other also connect over Bluetooth. For group hunts where the team spreads out across rough country, that is a real safety upgrade.

Does HuntStand show ads?

HuntStand's free tier shows ads, and an ad-free version is sold in the app. Its privacy policy, dated July 31, 2026, allows targeted advertising, which you can switch off in your account profile, and says "we have sold personal information about some customers". The CoHunt app shows no ads and has no usage analytics.

How to Switch

1. Save your HuntStand waypoints, tracks and hunt areas as GPX if you can export them, and keep a local copy.
2. Install CoHunt from the App Store or Google Play; the app needs no sign-up. Or start with the free 7-day trial on the web.
3. Import your GPX files. Property boundaries appear automatically.
4. Pre-download offline maps for your hunting grounds.
5. Pair your hunting party via QR contact share. Group tracking, encrypted chat and waypoint sharing come on automatically.
6. If you run Meshtastic LoRa radios, pair each one with a phone over Bluetooth for off-grid messaging.
7. Cancel HuntStand at the end of your billing period if CoHunt covers what you need. Against Ultimate, that is $75 a year per hunter.

The Bottom Line

HuntStand is a strong whitetail app, with HuntZone wind forecasts, rut maps, stand reservations and Stealth Cam and Muddy camera sync. Pro is $34.99 a year on huntstand.com and Ultimate $99.99. CoHunt costs $24.99 a year, needs no sign-up and shows no ads, and keeps your party connected miles beyond cell service: encrypted chat and a live group map over Meshtastic radios, plus a ballistics calculator, Garmin and Tractive dog tracking and property lines in 11 countries.

If your party needs to stay in touch where phones lose signal, take CoHunt on your next hunt, and keep HuntStand for its forecasts if you rely on them.