Best speed camera apps

Trapster
Rating:★★★
Price: Free
Comprehensive Trapster can be set to read out alerts on the move, or display them on a map, and drivers can stream music from their iPhone or iPod without shutting down the app. There’s traffic data, too. Trouble is, the software doesn’t deliver on its promise. It doesn’t track your position, and the extra features appear to slow performance – searching takes time and the overspeed warnings came too late to be of any use.

CamerAlert
Rating:★★★★★
Price: £0.59

BEST BUY CamerAlert is a bargain at 59p. The screen rotates automatically, while the app found our position, tracked us and gave accurate camera info – even alerting us only to those traps on our side of the road. You can see the warnings as a list or view them on Google Maps, add cams to the database and even record data from your drive. Noise alerts, clear buttons and an in-app music controller seal the win.

Speed Cameras
Rating:★★★
Price: £1.79

No mucking about with maps here; Speed Cameras makes your iPhone resemble a standalone detector. The display comprises three elements: your speed, the limit and whether there’s a camera coming up or not. You get voice and on-screen overspeed warnings, and the settings can be easily adjusted. Unlike Speedwatch, though, it picked up cameras facing the other way, and costs £1.79, so it loses out to CamerAlert as well.

New Speed Cameras UK
Rating:★★
Price: £0.59

Promised so much, but this failed to deliver. It didn’t show our route on the map, and although SPECs, bus lane and red light cameras are all displayed, on top of Gatsos, the on-screen alert isn’t very clear. You get warnings when there is a camera in a certain radius, not purely on your route, which includes those facing in the other direction. There’s no music control, either. Same price as CamerAlert, but doesn’t work nearly as well.

iSpeedCam Free
Rating:★★★
Price: Free

iSpeedCam disappoints as there are no audio warnings until you pay an extra £1.79 as an in-app purchase. The company behind the app – Codespring – has been developing software for 10 years, and it shows. Maps are quick to load and crammed with information. It can even track your driving, and plot your route. But the app is complicated to use and, unlike its rivals, it doesn’t have many features that you will use day-to-day.

Speedwatch
Rating:★★★★
Price: £1.79/month

RECOMMENDED Simple interface on Speedwatch replaces a map with two clear dials. The smaller displays the limit; the other shows your speed. It’s super accurate: it wasn’t fooled by any of our one-way cameras, and gave loud and visible alerts as we neared a camera or edged close the limit. But once the 30-day free trial ends, it will cost £17.99 for a year, or £1.79 for a month, which makes it costly compared to rivals here.