Honest comparison · Updated 2026-09-18
Cruxscale vs Mountain Project
Mountain Project, run by Adventure Projects (part of REI), is the largest crowdsourced climbing route database in the world — 4,500+ ratings and route info for hundreds of thousands of climbs. Cruxscale is a narrower tool focused specifically on grade conversion across scales and consensus grading from your own climbing partners.
Dimension-by-dimension
| Dimension | Cruxscale | Mountain Project | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Convert grades across YDS, French, UIAA, British, Ewbank, Saxon, V-Scale, and Fontainebleau, and log routes with consensus grading. | A massive route database — descriptions, photos, GPS, and community grade consensus for hundreds of thousands of routes worldwide. | |
| Grade conversion | Instant conversion across eight major grading scales — its core, focused feature. | Shows the route's grade in its native scale; not built as a cross-scale converter. | |
| Consensus grading | Builds consensus from your own climbing partners' felt-grade feedback on routes you log. | Builds consensus from the entire Mountain Project community across millions of logged ascents. | |
| Route database | You log your own routes with crag, wall, and setter details. | Pre-populated database of virtually every documented route worldwide, with photos and beta. | |
| Focus | A pocket grade-converter and personal log, not a database to browse. | A full route-discovery and trip-planning tool as much as a logbook. | |
| Maturity | New app, small review base. | 4,500+ ratings and one of the most established names in climbing. |
Cruxscale advantage · Mountain Project advantage · roughly equal
Where Cruxscale wins
- Instant multi-scale conversion. No other climbing app converts across all eight major grading systems as its core function — useful the moment you're climbing somewhere that uses a different scale than home.
- Consensus from people you actually climbed with, not an anonymous global average.
Where Mountain Project wins
- The database itself. Mountain Project's route coverage and community scale is something no personal log app can replicate.
- Trip planning. Discovering new routes and crags is core to Mountain Project; Cruxscale assumes you already know where you're climbing.
Pick Cruxscale if…
You climb across regions with different grading conventions and want instant conversion plus a simple personal log with your partners' input.
See CruxscalePick Mountain Project if…
You want to discover new routes and crags and lean on a massive, established community database.
Visit Mountain Project siteMountain Project is where you find the climb; Cruxscale is what you pull out mid-route when someone calls a grade you don't recognize.
Frequently asked questions
What's the main difference between Cruxscale and Mountain Project?+
Mountain Project, run by Adventure Projects (part of REI), is the largest crowdsourced climbing route database in the world — 4,500+ ratings and route info for hundreds of thousands of climbs. Cruxscale is a narrower tool focused specifically on grade conversion across scales and consensus grading from your own climbin
Should I choose Cruxscale or Mountain Project?+
Pick Cruxscale if: You climb across regions with different grading conventions and want instant conversion plus a simple personal log with your partners' input. Pick Mountain Project if: You want to discover new routes and crags and lean on a massive, established community database.
What can Cruxscale do that Mountain Project can't?+
Instant multi-scale conversion. No other climbing app converts across all eight major grading systems as its core function — useful the moment you're climbing somewhere that uses a different scale than home. Consensus from people you actually climbed with, not an anonymous global average.
Where does Mountain Project win over Cruxscale?+
The database itself. Mountain Project's route coverage and community scale is something no personal log app can replicate. Trip planning. Discovering new routes and crags is core to Mountain Project; Cruxscale assumes you already know where you're climbing.