Comparison

BiomeViewer vs GlobeViewer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

BiomeViewer

Explore Earth's diverse ecosystems and discover climate data, wildlife, and historical changes in human settlement. This app features interactive maps and detailed information on biomes and over 16,000 species.

Highlights
  • Explore Earth's ecosystems
  • View historic climate data
  • Discover wildlife and species
  • Analyze human impact on ecosystems
  • Interactive globe and map views
  • Side-by-side biome comparisons
Features
Read full description

Can you find frogs on Mount Everest? What is the climate like in the Congo Basin in February? Do you have endangered species in your own neighborhood? BiomeViewer lets you explore and discover Earth’s ecosystems with a tap of your finger! Drop a pin to see historic climate data, wildlife, stunning pictures, and more for any terrestrial location on the planet. Discover how patterns of human settlement and agriculture have changed the planet since 1700. Features include: • Descriptions for every major biome on each continent • Biodiversity data for more than 16,000 species of reptiles, amphibians, and mammals • Gridded historical climate data for the entire planet • Global precipitation and temperature maps • Maps of human alteration of ecosystems over the last 300 years • Side-by-side biome comparisons • Fully interactive globe and flat map versions of all datasets • Gridlines and political boundaries • Animated data sets • Educator guide with tips for use in the classroom

About

GlobeViewer

Explore Earth with a high-resolution 3D globe and topography maps. View surface, underwater, and topographical details, with real-time event overlays. Access extensive geographical data for offline use.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D globe
  • High-resolution topography maps
  • Surface and underwater views
  • Real-time event overlays
  • Offline data caching
  • Extensive place names and geographical features
Features
Read full description

GlobeViewer is a high resolution 3D terrestrial globe with topography and surface maps. This app enables a high-quality view of the surface of our blue planet. It is divided into two areas: the rotatable, global view as an interactive globe and a high-resolution 3D map representation of the Earth's topography. - Interactive 3D globe with surface, underwater and topography maps - High-resolution 3D topography map set of the entire Earth's surface - divided into 22,912 individual tiles. You can load 110 different regions onto the interactive globe, which then present the many individual tiles in a meaningful, connected way and reload them automatically. The app initially only contains the textures for the globe in low resolution. All required downloads are automatically loaded from our server. A total of around 105 GB of data is available. The data remains in the cache on your device for offline use, but can be deleted at any time in the main menu. Furthermore, all events recorded by the GDACS, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, etc., are entered on the globe. The 3D topography map is based on the elevation data from the NASA Terra probe, which recorded 83° of the northern and southern hemispheres between 2000 and 2013 - this is the result of the ASTER3-DEM. With version 0.10.0, the map is enriched with around 7.5 million place names from geonames.org. This means that all the towns, mountains, lakes, deserts and many other geographical features entered there are shown on the map. From version 0.12.0, data from OpenStreetMaps (buildings, borders, streets...) is also available on the tiles - but only for the demos and the purchased maps. Use the tutorial in the app to get started quickly or read the manual to find out which functions are included in this app. Since the app is still under development, some functions may still change. We hope you enjoy using GlobeViewer!

Screenshots

GlobeViewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BiomeViewer at 4.6 against GlobeViewer's 3.4. BiomeViewer also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 33%) and in-app purchases (none vs 11). GlobeViewer's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). On price and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. GlobeViewer sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. BiomeViewer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BiomeViewer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of BiomeViewer's written reviews are positive against 33% of GlobeViewer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BiomeViewer ships an update every 3 weeks, GlobeViewer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and August 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
BiomeViewer versus GlobeViewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBiomeViewerGlobeViewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (17 ratings) — better3.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews69.6% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size276 MB236 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHoward Hughes Medical InstituteRAB-Software

Customer experience

BiomeViewer

All ratings17 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive69.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.4%

GlobeViewer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

BiomeViewer

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

GlobeViewer

One-time11
  • 4K & Polar Regions$0.99
  • 4K & South America$2.99
  • 4K & Pacific$2.99
Show 8 more
  • 4K & Japan/Korea/Taiwan$2.99
  • 8K & North America$4.99
  • 8K & Australia$4.99
  • 8K & China$4.99
  • 8K & Russia$4.99
  • 8K & Europe$4.99
  • 8K Pass$8.99
  • Professional Version$14.99

Questions

Is BiomeViewer free?
BiomeViewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GlobeViewer free?
GlobeViewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BiomeViewer or GlobeViewer?
BiomeViewer is rated higher. BiomeViewer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while GlobeViewer averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.
Do BiomeViewer or GlobeViewer have ads?
GlobeViewer shows ads; BiomeViewer does not.
Which is updated more often, BiomeViewer or GlobeViewer?
BiomeViewer ships an update every 3 weeks, and GlobeViewer every 6 weeks. Most recently, BiomeViewer was updated on June 4, 2026 and GlobeViewer on August 14, 2026.

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