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Meridian Dispatch vs Wanderlog

Wanderlog and Meridian Dispatch both help you plan a trip, so the question is what else you need. Wanderlog is built for planning with other people, with maps, budgets and shared editing. Meridian Dispatch is built for you alone: it plans from your bookings, then writes the trip up as a journal, day by day, as you travel.

Last updated 27 September 2026/Wanderlog details checked 27 September 2026

The short answer

Choose Wanderlog if you are planning with a group, want to edit the itinerary together, split costs and map every stop, or plan on Android or a laptop.

Choose Meridian Dispatch if you plan on your own or as a couple and want the memory as much as the plan: an itinerary from your bookings, then a written journal from your photos, with nothing shared and no location access.

At a glance

Wanderlog details checked 27 September 2026, from its own website and App Store listing.
Feature	Meridian Dispatch	Wanderlog
What it is for	Planning the trip, then keeping it as a journal	Planning trips, especially with friends
Building the plan	Forward booking confirmations and the trip assembles itself into a day-by-day plan	Add places to a map-based itinerary yourself, from guides or an AI assistant. Paste a link to turn it into an itinerary
Reservations	Forward confirmations to your personal inbox address	Forward confirmation emails, or connect Gmail with Pro
Suggestions	Suggestions come with why to go, how long to stay and how far they are from your hotel	Guides from other travellers and an AI assistant. Pro adds route optimisation
Planning together	No. It is private to you	Real-time shared editing with view or edit permissions
Budget	Not included	Set a budget, track expenses and split bills with the group
The journal	Each day written up from your photos while you travel, then a finished journal laid out like a magazine	A Trip Journal where you add photos and notes to the stops from your itinerary, and can share it
Past trips	Trips abroad already in your camera roll are found on day one, the last five years free	Only trips you planned in Wanderlog
Location access	Never requested	Requested. Its App Store listing warns it may use your location when the app is not open
Price	Free for your last five years of trips and one trip in planning. Membership is $19.99 a year	Free, with an optional Pro subscription. Annual plans are listed between $31.99 and $59.99 on the US App Store
Platforms	iPhone, iOS 18 or later	iPhone and iPad (iOS 16.4 or later), Android and the web

How each one works

Wanderlog is a planning workspace. You build the itinerary by adding places, and each one is pinned on a map so you can see how the days fit together. Friends can edit the same plan at the same time, costs can be split between you, and there are guides and an AI assistant for ideas. Reservations come in by forwarding confirmation emails, or by connecting Gmail on Pro.

Meridian Dispatch plans from what you have already booked. Forward the confirmations and the trip assembles itself day by day, with the gaps named so you know what is still unbooked. Suggestions for filling a day come with a verdict: why to go, how long to stay, and how far they are from your hotel.

The two part ways once you are travelling. Wanderlog has a Trip Journal where you add photos and notes to the stops you planned. Meridian Dispatch writes the journal for you from the geotags on your photos, day by day as you go, in real prose, and does the same for the trips abroad already in your camera roll, planned or not.

Privacy

Wanderlog is built around sharing: plans can be edited by others, guides are public, and you can share a journal. It requests location, and its App Store listing carries Apple's warning that it may use your location when the app is not open. Its label lists no data used to track you.

Meridian Dispatch has no sharing layer and never asks for your location. Trip detection runs on your iPhone, your photos are never uploaded, and your trips and journal are stored there. The only way someone else sees a trip is if you export it and send it to them.

What it costs

Wanderlog is free to plan with. Pro adds features such as Gmail scanning, route optimisation and export to Google Maps. Annual Pro plans are listed on the US App Store at several prices between $31.99 and $59.99.

Meridian Dispatch is free for the last five years of your trips and one trip in planning. Membership, $19.99 a year, opens every trip you have ever taken and as many plans as you like. You can cancel anytime from your App Store settings.

Which one is right for you

Choose Wanderlog if

you are planning a group trip and want everyone editing
you want to split costs and track a budget
you want every stop pinned on a map while you plan
you plan on a laptop or use Android

Choose Meridian Dispatch if

you plan alone or as a couple
you would rather forward bookings than build a plan stop by stop
you want each day written up as a journal while you travel
you want your past trips abroad found in your camera roll
you want an app that never asks for your location

Questions

Is Meridian Dispatch a Wanderlog alternative?

For planning on your own, yes, and it goes further once you travel. Meridian Dispatch builds the itinerary from the bookings you forward, suggests what to do with a verdict on each, and writes each day up as a journal from your photos as you travel. For planning with a group, Wanderlog's shared editing and bill splitting are things Meridian Dispatch does not do.

Does Wanderlog have a travel journal?

Yes. Wanderlog's Trip Journal lets you add photos and notes to the stops from your itinerary. Meridian Dispatch writes the journal for you, in prose, from the geotags on your photographs, and also covers trips you never planned in an app.

Is Meridian Dispatch cheaper than Wanderlog Pro?

Meridian Dispatch membership is $19.99 a year. Wanderlog Pro annual plans are listed on the US App Store between $31.99 and $59.99. Both apps have a free tier.

Can I plan a group trip in Meridian Dispatch?

Not together. Meridian Dispatch is private to one person, with no shared editing. You can export a finished trip as a PDF or a short video and send it to anyone.

Does Meridian Dispatch work offline?

Yes, where it counts. The map for your current trip is saved in advance, so it keeps working abroad without a signal, and trip detection runs entirely on your iPhone. Writing each day and naming places need a connection.

Other comparisons

Where the Wanderlog details come from