What Polarsteps does

Polarsteps B.V. is an Amsterdam-based consumer travel technology company founded in 2015 that operates a mobile-first platform unifying trip planning, automatic GPS route tracking, and post-trip memory preservation for individual travelers worldwide. The core product is the Polarsteps Travel App (iOS, Android, and web), supported by sub-products including the AI Trip Planner (personalized itinerary generation), Travel Tracker (battery-efficient offline GPS recording using ≤4% battery per day), Travel Planner (booking and itinerary organization), Trip Reels (auto-generated multimodal videos with terrain-aware map flyovers), Explore (destination discovery), and physical Travel Books (hardback keepsake photo books). Underlying technology relies on Mapbox for mapping, Google Play Services and Firebase for authentication, location, analytics, and crash reporting, Mixpanel and Rudderstack for product analytics, AppsFlyer for attribution, Airship for push notifications, and Iterate for in-app surveys.

The company operates a freemium, product-led growth model targeting individual consumers and traveling groups directly through app stores and organic channels (content marketing, social, PR). Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) one-time purchases of personalized Travel Books with worldwide shipping, (2) affiliate referral commissions from integrated accommodation partners (Booking.com, Airbnb, Hostelworld), and (3) digital gift cards valid for three years. The platform has reached 20M+ registered users globally, holds a 4.8 rating across 370K reviews, and has been recognized by Apple as one of the top three most-loved travel apps alongside Airbnb and Notion.

Polarsteps achieved profitability with over €10 million in revenue in 2024 while employing 80+ staff. Total disclosed external funding is approximately €5 million across four rounds (2015-2019), led by Inkef, with earlier participation from Silver Point Ventures, Telegraaf Media Groep, and River Venture Partners—making it unusual among scale-stage consumer apps in that it has remained capital-efficient and founder-controlled. The company is GDPR and CCPA compliant and operates globally with no geographic restrictions. Leadership comprises CEO Clare Jones alongside the four co-founders (Koen Droste, Maximiliano Neustadt as CTO, Job Harmsen as Head of Design, and Niek Bokkers).

Name

Polarsteps

Legal name

Polarsteps B.V.

Website

https://polarsteps.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Polarsteps is an Amsterdam-based consumer travel platform that lets 20M+ individual travelers plan, automatically GPS-track, and relive their trips through a freemium mobile app, monetizing via Travel Books, accommodation affiliate referrals, and gift cards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Planning Software

NAICS

Travel Agencies (56151)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Itinerary Management & Trip Collaboration Apps (THALAMAE)

Keywords

• Travel planning app
• Trip tracking software
• Ai itinerary builder
• Offline gps tracking
• Travel photo books

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Travel Books: Users can purchase professionally printed and bound Travel Books of their trips. Books are generated from trip content (photos, stories, route maps) and shipped worldwide with free shipping. Personalized items with 3-5 business days production time.
2. Accommodation Bookings: Affiliate partnerships with Booking.com, Airbnb, and Hostelworld for accommodation recommendations within the app.
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards purchased on the website and redeemed for Travel Books or other products. Valid for three years from purchase date.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Polarsteps operates a mobile and web travel app that lets individual travelers plan trips with an AI-powered itinerary builder, automatically track routes via GPS (including offline), share journeys in real time with friends and family, and convert tracked trips into physical printed Travel Books. The app is offered free with optional paid physical Travel Books and gift cards as the monetization layer.

Product overview

Polarsteps is a unified travel platform that combines planning, tracking, and reliving of trips into a single mobile-first application. The core Polarsteps Travel App serves as the umbrella product, with key sub-products including the AI Trip Planner (generates personalized itineraries), Travel Tracker (automatic route recording), Travel Planner (trip organization), Travel Book (physical keepsake), Trip Reels (auto-generated videos), Explore (destination discovery), and Accommodations Integration (booking via third-party providers). The platform is available on iOS, Android, and web, with all data syncing across devices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polarsteps Travel App Free mobile and web app for individual travelers that combines itinerary building, automatic GPS route tracking (offline-capable), real-time trip sharing, AI-powered personalization, and memory preservation; available on iOS, Android, and web with over 20 million registered users.
• Travel Book

Quantifiable outcome

• 20M+ registered users globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MapboxcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the mapping technology used in the Polarsteps app for displaying routes and locations.
• DynataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts traveler research and surveys for Polarsteps Travel Trends Reports. Surveyed 2,403 adults for the Summer 2026 Travel Trends Report.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wanderlog: AI-powered travel planning app that combines itinerary building, route mapping, booking, and trip collaboration. Most directly comparable to Polarsteps in product surface, target user (independent and group travelers), and freemium model.
• TripIt: Itinerary management app that consolidates bookings into a master trip plan. Directly comparable to Polarsteps' itinerary and trip organization layer, and historically the category-defining product Polarsteps now competes with.
• Roadtrippers: Route-based trip planning platform with map-driven discovery of stops, attractions, and accommodations. Closely comparable to Polarsteps' route tracking and discovery experience, especially for road-trip and overland travelers.

Emerging players

• Mindtrip: AI-first travel planning platform that builds collaborative itineraries from natural-language prompts. Comparable to Polarsteps' AI Trip Planner, but with a more chat-driven, group-collaboration focus.
• Layla: Conversational AI travel planner that builds itineraries through chat. Comparable to Polarsteps' AI Trip Planner as a competing AI-first entry point, but with a narrower discovery and booking funnel.

Broad incumbents

• Hopper: AI-driven travel booking super-app covering flights, hotels, and cars. Comparable to Polarsteps in its AI-led consumer travel positioning, but at a much larger transactional scale and broader offering.
• Booking.com: World's largest online accommodation platform and Polarsteps' primary affiliate partner. Comparable in that it dominates the booking layer that Polarsteps routes users into, and represents a structural dependency.
• Airbnb: Global accommodation marketplace and Polarsteps affiliate partner. Comparable in that it is both a key monetization partner for Polarsteps and a potential competitor as Airbnb expands trip planning and experiences features.
• TripAdvisor: Travel content and review platform with itinerary and trip-planning features. Comparable to Polarsteps' content-and-discovery layer (Explore, Travel Trends Report) and a likely competitor for the pre-trip research stage.
• KAYAK: Meta-search travel platform owned by Booking Holdings. Comparable in that it competes for the same travel-planning mindshare and offers itinerary tools, though it focuses on price comparison rather than trip memory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/polarsteps
• Facebookfacebook.com/polarsteps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polarsteps
• Instagraminstagram.com/teampolarsteps

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Polarsteps