mult.dev alternative
One makes videos. One remembers your trips.
These two get compared because both animate a route on a map. They are not actually the same product, and picking wrong wastes your time — so here is the difference before the feature table.
Which one you actually want
Use mult.dev if
- You need a finished video file to publish — high resolution, no watermark, ready for Instagram or YouTube.
- Your route already exists as a GPX, KML or GeoJSON file, or in Google Maps.
- You are making a one-off video for a trip you never intend to log anywhere.
- You want control over the output: colours, music, resolution, frame rate.
Use Stadu if
- You want the trip recorded, not just rendered — stops, dates, photos and transport modes kept as a memory.
- You do not want to produce a file at all, just watch the journey play back.
- You want it free and unlimited, with no per-video pack and no watermark.
- You want the trip to sit on a timeline alongside the rest of your year.
Stadu vs mult.dev
| Stadu | mult.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A life tracker whose trips can replay on a map | A dedicated map-animation tool |
| Exports a video file | No — in-app playback only; controls fade so it screen-records cleanly | Yes — that is the product |
| Where the route comes from | The trip stops you logged; routed automatically | You supply it — built by hand, imported from GPX/KML/GeoJSON or Google Maps |
| Keeps a record of the trip | Yes — dates, stops, photos, transport modes, on your Lifeline | No — it is a video tool, not a travel journal |
| Transport modes | Car, train, plane, ferry as 3D models, per leg | 2D and 3D transport icons, land and sea routes |
| Editable routes | Yes — ferry legs in particular can be corrected by hand | Yes — full manual route control |
| Real road-following routes | Free for every mode: drives, walks and rides on real roads, flights as arcs, trains approximated on the road network, ferries along a line you draw | Free tier is airplane-only, straight lines. Real road/rail/sea routing for every other mode requires Pro |
| Price | Free, unlimited, no watermark | Limited watermarked free tier; paid video packs and a subscription option |
| Platforms | Android (iOS planned) | Web, iOS and Android |
Competitor details checked against their own sites in September 2026. Prices and limits change — follow the links before deciding.
The difference in one sentence
mult.dev turns a route into a video. Stadu turns a trip you logged into something you can watch.
That sounds like a distinction without a difference until you notice what each one asks of you. mult.dev needs a route — you draw it, or you export a GPX from somewhere and import it. Stadu needs a trip, which you entered because you wanted to remember it; the animation is a thing the record can do, not the reason the record exists.
Where mult.dev is simply better
If the goal is a video, use the video tool. mult.dev exports an actual file at high resolution without a watermark on its paid tiers, imports GPX, KML, GeoJSON and Google Maps routes, and gives you control over colours, music and frame rate.
Stadu does not export video at all. The replay is a full-screen animated playback inside the app. It is built so a screen recording comes out clean — one tap and every control fades away — but a screen recording is not a rendered export, and pretending otherwise would waste your afternoon.
Two things worth correcting, since both get repeated: mult.dev is not web-only (it ships iOS and Android apps too), and it is not purely a one-time purchase (there is a subscription option alongside the video packs).
The free tier draws straight lines
Here's the part worth knowing before you sign up: mult.dev's own documentation states its free tier only animates airplane routes as straight lines. Every other transport mode — car, train, boat, motorcycle, walking — needs real road, rail or sea geometry to look right, and that real-routing is a Pro feature. Reviewers on Google Play specifically call out non-flight transport as the point where the paywall bites.
In Stadu, drives, walks and bike rides follow real roads for free, and flights get a proper arc, because there is no separate tier to unlock. Two honest caveats: trains follow the road network as an approximation, since there is no open rail-routing service, and ferries follow a line you draw yourself. If your trip was mostly by car, this is the practical difference you'll run into.
Where Stadu is better
Everything around the animation. A trip in Stadu is a real record: multi-stop, with dates, a transport mode per leg, photos, and a cover the app generates from your own pictures or a map of the route. It sits on your Lifeline in the year it happened, next to the films and gigs from that same summer.
Come back in three years and the trip is still there. A video you exported once is a file in a folder; a logged trip is part of a timeline you can scroll.
It is also free and unlimited. No video packs, no watermark, no cap on how many trips you replay.
Can you use both?
Sensibly, yes. Log trips in Stadu because that is where the memory lives, and reach for a dedicated animator on the rare occasion you need a polished, publishable video of one particular journey.
For most people the honest answer is that the screen recording is enough — but if you are making something for an audience, use the tool built for that.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to mult.dev for animated route videos?
Does Stadu export a route animation as a video?
Is mult.dev web-only?
Does mult.dev use a subscription or a one-time purchase?
Do I need a GPX file to use Stadu’s replay?
Does mult.dev’s free tier animate real routes for car and train trips?
Can I correct a route that is drawn wrong?
Log the trip. Watch it back.
Free, unlimited replays of journeys you actually took.
Available now on Android. iOS coming later.