Comparison

Surveying Leveling Field Notes vs SW Maps

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

Head to head
About

Surveying Leveling Field Notes

This app automates calculations and checks for the Height of Instrument method in surveying. Users can customize column titles and easily share their field notes as CSV files.

Highlights
  • Height of Instrument method calculation
  • Automatic checking of calculations
  • Editable column titles
  • Share as CSV file
Features
Read full description

Supports automatic calculation and checking of the Height of Instrument method. You can edit column titles. You can share your document as a '.csv' file.

About

SW Maps

This app allows users to collect, present, and share geographic information. It supports recording points, lines, polygons, and associated data like photos and audio. High-accuracy GPS surveys are possible with external receivers, and data can be shared in various standard formats.

Highlights
  • Collect points, lines, and polygons
  • Attach custom attributes (text, photo, audio, video)
  • High-accuracy GPS surveys with external receivers
  • Offline map support
  • Export data in multiple formats (Shapefile, GeoPackage, CSV)
  • Create and share project templates
Features
Read full description

SW Maps is a free GIS and mobile mapping app for collecting, presenting and sharing geographic information. Whether you are conducting a full scale GNSS survey with high precision instruments, need to collect large amount of location based data using nothing but your phone, or just need to view a few shapefiles with labels over a background map on the go, SW Maps has it all covered. Record points, lines, polygons and even photos and have them displayed over your choice of background map, and attach custom attribute data to any feature. Attribute types include text, numbers, an option from a predefined set of choices, photos, audio clips and videos. Conduct high accuracy GPS surveys using external RTK capable receivers over Bluetooth LE. Draw features on the map by adding markers, and measure distance and area. Reuse the layers and attributes of a previous project for another survey, or create templates and share them with other users. Share the collected data with other users as Geopackages, KMZ or shapefiles, or export them to your device storage. Also share and export recorded data as Spreadsheets or CSV files. All data is recorded and exported in the standard WGS84 Geographic coordinate system (EPSG:4326). Features -Online Base maps: Apple Maps or Open Street Map -Support for multiple mbtiles and KML overlays -Shapefile and Geopackage layers, with attribute categorized styling. View shapefiles in any coordinate system supported by the PROJ.4 library. -Add multiple online WMTS, TMS, XYZ or WMS layers and cache tiles for offline use. -Connect to external GPS receivers using Bluetooth for high accuracy surveying using RTK with built-in NTRIP client. Also record data from external receiver for post processing. -Define multiple number of feature layers, each with a set of custom attributes Feature Types: Point, Line, Polygon Attribute Types:Text, Numeric, Drop down Options, Photos, Audio, Video Save as Template for re-use or sharing -Record GPS tracks, with distance measurement -Label features based on attribute values. -Import feature layers from templates or existing projects. -Share or export collected data as KMZ (with embedded photographs) , shapefiles, GeoJSON, Geopackage (GPKG), XLS/ODS spreadsheets or csv files. -Share templates or projects with other users -Supports use of GTX geoid files. To use custom geoids, prepare a GTX file with offsets in meters from WGS84. This product is made in Nepal and is FREE (no Ads). If you find this useful, please let your friends know that you have used a product from Nepal. Spare sometime to visit this wonderful country and know the Nepali people.

Screenshots

Surveying Leveling Field Notes4 screens
SW Maps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Surveying Leveling Field Notes at 100% against SW Maps's 30%. Surveying Leveling Field Notes also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.8). SW Maps's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Surveying Leveling Field Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SW Maps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Surveying Leveling Field Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SW Maps has 25 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Surveying Leveling Field Notes's written reviews are positive against 30% of SW Maps's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surveying Leveling Field Notes ships an update every 5 months, SW Maps every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and August 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Surveying Leveling Field Notes versus SW Maps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurveying Leveling Field NotesSW Maps
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better3.8 (25 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better30.0% of reviews
Number of ratings425 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHFX LabAviyaan Tech

Customer experience

Surveying Leveling Field Notes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SW Maps

All ratings25 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral35.0%
Negative35.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Surveying Leveling Field Notes

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99
None

SW Maps

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surveying Leveling Field Notes free?
Surveying Leveling Field Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SW Maps free?
SW Maps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surveying Leveling Field Notes or SW Maps?
Surveying Leveling Field Notes is rated higher. Surveying Leveling Field Notes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while SW Maps averages 3.8 from 25 ratings.
Do Surveying Leveling Field Notes or SW Maps have ads?
Surveying Leveling Field Notes shows ads; SW Maps does not.
Which is updated more often, Surveying Leveling Field Notes or SW Maps?
Surveying Leveling Field Notes ships an update every 5 months, and SW Maps every 2 months. Most recently, Surveying Leveling Field Notes was updated on September 22, 2026 and SW Maps on August 8, 2026.

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