# StreetComplete 93 Hacker News commenters recommended StreetComplete and 20 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 0.2 years (3 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** A free app that turns walks into small OpenStreetMap editing quests, praised as simple and beginner friendly, though quest types are limited and some are hard to skip. ## Why people recommend it - Simple, beginner friendly question interface (7 comments): "Beginner-friendly editors are https://MapComplete.org (which has thematic maps; disclaimer: I'm the main dev) and https://streetcomplete.app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49455343)) "it's a very fun way to contribute to OpenStreetMap, and the UI is really well-done, it's totally beginner friendly!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48817317)) "It's very intuitive and makes you learn just how detailed and specific map data can be." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48817380)) - Turns walks into contributions (6 comments): "There's something oddly satisfying about turning a boring loop around the block into "wait, does that bin have a lid?"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48818385)) "Splitting stuff into tiny tasks you can focus on really helps if you're just out on foot in an area." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48491887)) "This is a good way to get outside and do challenges like jogging every single street in your town." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48796859)) - Easy to add details to OSM (4 comments): "it makes it incredibly easy to submit additional data, such as opening hours and road types, to OSM." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49026768)) "StreetComplete helps both with adding the data in the first place and then keeping is current" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49151445)) "I have found it to be a really seamless and easy way to add extra details to OpenStreetMap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49675395)) - Works offline with downloaded data (3 comments): "StreetComplete editing works also fully offline (if data was downloaded first). It also deals with fairly large amounts of data." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49929012)) "it's user-friendly. A thoughtful feature is that it lets you download data in a location on wifi" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48810290)) "it is very useful as you can map when you have no mobile data or it is spotty." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49932554)) ## What people warn about - Limited quest types, no private objects (3 comments): "It's pretty restrictive in what they'll allow as 'quests' to avoid overloading new users" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48824807)) "because of a decision that StreetComplete doesn't want to ask about private objects" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48802723)) "There is a limit to the type of quest you can fit into the mobile app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49921640)) - Hard to skip, dismiss or go back (4 comments): "Well for me not even the back gesture works, I just have to force close the app if I don't want to answer a survey" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920557)) "when you click on an item, you HAVE to set the answer, you cannot go back to seeing all the markers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49924203)) "the app seems to be stuck on that quest and I can't figure out how to get back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49926865)) - Answer choices lack the correct option (2 comments): "If you click even one pixel away from the actual text, you get the chooser with not enough options." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49921743)) "the very first question I was given had three choices and none of them were correct" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49921134)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Google Earth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-earth.md): 31 recommend - [OS9Map](https://hackerapproved.com/p/os9map.md): 9 recommend - [Bing Maps](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bing-maps.md): 5 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "StreetComplete", https://hackerapproved.com/p/streetcomplete/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).