Decision guide
What is Echoris and when is it worth using?
Echoris is a Spanish platform for guided tours with two parts: an app that turns every visitor's phone into a receiver —your voice reaches the whole group over a local WiFi network, with no signal, no bodypacks and no earpieces to return— and a marketplace of audio tours narrated by local guides. It's built for tour guides, agencies, free tours and museums, and for travellers who want to explore a city through the voice of someone who knows it. It's free to start and runs on iOS (Android coming soon).
What it is
Two things in one. First, an app-based tour-guide system: the group scans a QR code, opens Echoris and hears your voice on their own phone through a local network your phone creates; it works even with no signal. Second, a marketplace where guides publish narrated audio tours and travellers buy and listen to them in the app. You don't swap your expertise for a generic recording: Echoris amplifies the guide, it doesn't replace them.
The problem it solves
Renting radioguides costs money and logistics: collect, charge, hand out, count units and return them, with a listener count capped by the hardware on hand. And many venues have no signal, so internet-dependent solutions fail. Echoris removes the hardware —everyone uses their own phone and earphones— and works with no signal, with unlimited listeners.
Who it's for
- Freelance tour guides running walking tours
- Agencies and tour operators tired of renting hardware
- Free tours with large, variable groups
- Museums and heritage venues
- Travellers looking for audio tours with a real local voice
How it differs from a traditional radioguide
| Rented radioguide | Echoris | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | From ~€1.50 per person per day | Free to start — it's their phone |
| Logistics | Collect, charge, hand out and return | Zero: one QR and you're off |
| Capacity | Capped by number of units | Unlimited listeners |
| Coverage | Depends on the system | Local WiFi network, works with no signal |
| Hygiene | Shared earpieces | Their own earphones |
When it makes sense to use it
- Walking tours in a city, museum or outdoors
- Medium to large groups where being heard is hard
- Routes through areas with no or poor signal
- When you don't want to buy, rent or charge hardware
- When you want to publish and sell your own audio tours
When it's probably not for you
- Events needing PA across hundreds of metres, or stadiums
- Audiences without a smartphone or their own earphones
- Live broadcast to thousands of people at once
- Visits where phone use isn't allowed
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need internet or signal to use Echoris?
- No. The app creates a local WiFi network between your phone and the group's, so your voice gets through even with no signal or data.
- What happens if a tourist's battery dies?
- It only affects that visitor, who can rejoin by scanning the QR again from another phone. The rest of the group is unaffected.
- Does it work with large groups?
- Yes. There's no unit limit because everyone uses their own phone; capacity doesn't depend on available hardware.
- Can it be used in museums and indoor spaces?
- Yes, that's one of its main uses: it runs on a local network, ideal for venues with poor coverage.
- How do visitors join?
- They scan a QR code with the camera, Echoris opens and within seconds they're listening. No sign-up needed just to hear the guide.
- How is it different from a generic audio guide?
- The marketplace audio tours are narrated by real local guides, with their judgement and their voice. Echoris amplifies the guide; it doesn't replace them with an impersonal recording.
- How much does it cost?
- It's free to start. For agencies with several guides there are tailored plans: write to hola@echorisapp.com.
- Which devices does it run on?
- iOS is available on the App Store and Android is coming very soon.