Audio guide vs app: which should your museum choose?
Handsets, a downloadable app or a browser guide opened by a QR code: what each costs, how many visitors actually use it, what only apps can do and a decision table by size of venue.
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- By Muvo Editorial Team
- Last updated
- 4 min read
- 4 min read
For most museums and heritage sites, a browser audio guide opened by a QR code is a better choice than a downloadable app: it costs less, it reaches far more visitors and you can update it yourself. An app is worth building only when you need something a browser cannot do, such as offline maps across a large estate or features for repeat visitors.
This guide compares the three options side by side, explains why app take-up is so low and ends with a decision table by size of venue.
The three options
| Handsets | App | Browser guide (QR) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How visitors start | Borrow a device at the desk | Find, download and open an app | Scan a code with the camera |
| Time to the first second of audio | A few minutes at the desk | Minutes, if they download at all | A few seconds |
| Who maintains it | You and the supplier | A developer, plus store reviews | You, from a web dashboard |
| Upfront cost | High (devices, racks) | High (design, development) | Low or none |
| Updating a stop | Supplier or studio | New app release | Edit and publish |
Each of these has a place. The rest of this guide explains where.
The 2.47% problem
The biggest weakness of a museum app is not its cost. It is that almost nobody downloads it.
According to Nubart, an audio guide company that studied 175 museum apps on Google Play with estimated iOS downloads (data to August 2025), only 2.47% of visitors download them. It is a vendor's study, not a peer-reviewed one, and Nubart sells browser guides, so read it with that in mind. But the reasons behind the number are easy to recognise:
- Visitors do not want another app for a single visit.
- Downloading over museum Wi-Fi is slow, and storage is often full.
- Many apps ask for an account before they play anything.
- People only discover the app once they are already inside.
A browser guide removes all four obstacles: there is nothing to download and nothing to sign up for.
Take-up also depends on how you offer it. Nubart reports average use of around 48% when the audio guide is included in the ticket, against around 5% when it is sold as a paid extra. Whatever format you choose, including it in the visit makes the biggest difference.
Cost and maintenance
Handsets need to be bought, charged, cleaned and replaced, and someone at the desk has to hand them out and get them back. Musa, an audio guide provider, puts an entry-level hardware system at $50,000 to $120,000.
Apps need design and development, then a developer for every update and a review by the app stores each time. When the operating system changes, the app may need work just to keep running.
Browser guides run on a platform you pay for monthly, yearly or not at all. Changing a stop is a matter of editing the text or the audio and publishing again.
How much does an audio guide cost? breaks down every line, including the costs vendors rarely quote.
What only apps can do
Apps still have real advantages in a few situations:
- Offline use across large areas. A national park or a large archaeological site with no signal may need content stored on the phone in advance.
- Location triggers. Playing a stop automatically when the visitor reaches a spot, using GPS or beacons.
- A loyal audience. Members who visit often, collect content or follow a programme across a season.
- Deep device features. Augmented reality or heavy 3D that needs the phone's full power.
If none of these is central to your project, a browser guide does everything else with less friction.
Accessibility
All three formats can be accessible, but they fail in different ways.
- Handsets are simple to use but often have small buttons and no text for deaf visitors.
- Apps depend on how carefully each screen was built for screen readers.
- Browser guides benefit from the accessibility tools visitors already use on their own phone: their screen reader, their text size, their contrast settings.
Whatever you choose, show the text of each stop on screen and test with VoiceOver and TalkBack. Accessible audio guides explains what to check.
Privacy
An app that asks for an account collects personal data you then have to protect. A browser guide that plays without sign-up does not. For European venues under the GDPR, that is one less risk and one less screen between the visitor and the audio.
Decision table by size of venue
| Your venue | Recommended option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small museum, church, winery | Browser guide | No upfront cost, updated by your own team |
| Mid-size museum or castle | Browser guide, a few handsets for visitors without a phone | Reaches most visitors, keeps a fallback |
| Large museum with high footfall | Browser guide, optionally handsets at the desk | Handsets for groups and visitors who ask; QR for everyone else |
| Large outdoor site with no signal | App or browser guide with Wi-Fi points | Offline content may be essential |
| Walking tour across a town | Browser guide | Works on any phone, no download at the start |
A hybrid approach
Many venues end up with a mix: a QR browser guide for most visitors and a few handsets kept at the desk for people without a smartphone or with a flat battery. Hardware audio guides vs QR guides explains how to run both and how to plan the move away from handsets.
Key takeaways
For most venues, a browser guide opened by a QR code beats a downloadable app.
According to Nubart, only 2.47% of visitors download museum apps.
Including the audio guide in the ticket raises take-up far more than any format.
Apps make sense for offline use across large sites, location triggers or loyal audiences.
A hybrid of QR guides and a few handsets covers visitors without a smartphone.
Frequently asked questions
Does my museum need an app for an audio guide?
Usually not. A browser guide opened by a QR code plays on any recent phone without a download, and far more visitors use it.
Why do so few visitors download museum apps?
They do not want an app for a single visit, downloads are slow on site and many apps ask for an account before playing anything.
What can an app do that a browser guide cannot?
Store content offline across large areas, trigger stops by location and offer features for regular visitors.
Are handsets still worth it?
For high-footfall museums with desk staff, and as a fallback for visitors without a smartphone. For most smaller venues, the cost of devices and staff time outweighs the benefit.
Drafted with AI assistance; researched, edited and fact-checked by the Muvo team.