As tile hunting gains in popularity, new platforms keep popping up. To keep things simple, I will describe the 4 most well-developed and interesting ones at the moment that I have experience with.
Statshunters: The explorer’s dashboard
Statshunters is the Swiss Army knife for cycling analytics, blending tile hunting with a wealth of performance stats, achievements (like mountain summits and points of interest), and heatmap functions. It’s ideal for cyclists who want more than just tiles. Until recently, Statshunters was the only platform offering a browser extension for route planning. And it’s all completely free! My biggest issue is with their clunky map, which is quite slow to load and refresh when zooming in and out.
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Pros:
- Rich in additional stats, achievements, and customisation
- Browser extension for route planning with tiles.
- Completely free.
Cons:
- The map interface is slow and laggy.
- Lacks any sort of leaderboards.
Squadrats: The competitive tile hunter’s arena
Squadrats is the most polished and modern platform for tile hunting at the moment. I really love their fast and responsive map; it just feels smoother than anything else out there. They recently launched a browser extension for route planning, and in my opinion, it works way better than Statshunters’. The platform tracks two tile sizes: the standard Squadrats and the smaller Squadratinhos, which are perfect for tile hunting in cities or on foot.
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Squadrats also include global rankings, where you can compare yourself by total tiles, biggest square or largest cluster. And now, with their new paid version, you can compete in local regions too. Oh, and they just released a mobile app that lets you see tiles pop up live as you ride and collect them. I haven’t tried that feature yet, but it could be a game-changer.
Pros:
- Modern, smooth, and fast interface.
- Global leaderboards that let you see other people’s tiles.
- A new browser extension is superior for route planning.
- Keeps getting new features such as live tile hunting, local leaderboards, etc.
Cons:
- The free version lacks some advanced features (though still powerful).
- Lacks additional stats or achievements.
VeloViewer: The pro cyclist’s analytics hub
VeloViewer is the OG of tile hunting, born in the mid-2010s and still the most established platform for Strava users. It’s packed with leaderboards, advanced stats, and Explorer Tiles, making it perfect for data geeks. It’s used by pro cycling teams mainly for real-time race monitoring, route analysis, and post-race debriefing. It’s a powerful tool with pro-level features, and it gave the world this whole tile hunting phenomenon. Unfortunately, it has one major disadvantage. The free version only sees your last 25 activities, which makes it unusable for tile hunting. Unless you are willing to pay £10 per year to bring in your entire Strava history, you will have to use a different platform.
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Pros:
- Pro-level data, analytics, and live tracking features.
- Global and club-specific leaderboards.
- Browser extension for route planning with tiles.
Cons:
- The free version unusable for tile hunting.
- An older-looking interface and map that responds slowly.
Ride Every Tile: The DIY adventurer’s sandbox
Ride Every Tile is the platform for customisers, offering 17 tile sizes (including hexagons) and manual uploads. It’s niche but powerful, perfect for cyclists who want full control over their tile hunting. They feature leaderboards for each tile size and a global heatmap showing collective progress, which adds a cool community vibe: you’re not just hunting tiles alone, but contributing to a worldwide effort. If you really get into tile hunting and want to be inspired by a passionate community, this may be for you.
Pros:
- 17 different tile sizes.
- Manual uploads, you don’t have to use Strava like with other platforms.
- Leaderboards for each tile size.
Cons:
- Relatively small user base (only a few hundred people).
- No sync button, you have to upload rides manually.
- Older interface and slower reacting map.
Which platform would I recommend?
If you want an easy way to get started with tile hunting and like a responsive modern interface, go for Squadrats. You can sync your entire Strava history with one click, and you get all the features that make tile hunting for free. This is my personal favourite platform because of how fast and responsive it is, and because of their route planning browser extension.
If you’re a performance-focused cyclist who wants tile hunting as part of a broader training toolkit, Statshunters is the better choice. Its additional stats and achievements make it a great all-in-one platform, and it’s fully free. If you don’t mind paying, then VeloViewer is the clear favourite here, offering everything that Statshunters plus leaderboards and much more.
I personally really like the idea of a combined effort to collect all tiles in a given country, region, continent or the world. Ride Every Tile gets close to that, but the need for manual upload is the dealbreaker for me.
Now you probably have your choice. Give it a try, see what your current max cluster or max square is, and come back next time to check out some tips and tricks for maximising your grid.
