Comparison

Mapsarch vs Acarta

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

Head to head
About

Mapsarch

Discover architectural marvels and connect with industry professionals. Share your experiences, add buildings and notes, and foster communication within a vibrant community.

Highlights
  • Discover architectural realizations
  • Interactive community platform
  • Add buildings and notes
  • Share user experiences
  • Connect with professionals and companies
Features
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MapsArch is a global architecture map, professional network, and creative community in one app. Explore architecture Discover buildings, projects, firms, and studios around the world through an interactive map. Search by location, explore nearby places, and uncover the people and stories behind the built environment. Share your work Create a professional profile, publish projects, notes, events, and stories, and build a portfolio that becomes part of a growing global architecture archive. Connect with the community Follow architects, designers, students, construction professionals, and companies. React to projects, exchange ideas, send messages, and grow your professional network. Find opportunities Explore jobs, collaborations, open calls, and industry opportunities shared across the architecture community. Save what inspires you Organize buildings, firms, projects, and posts into folders so your references are always within reach. Whether you are an architect, student, photographer, traveler, construction professional, or simply curious about the spaces around you, MapsArch helps you discover, document, and connect with architecture. Key features: • Interactive global architecture map • Buildings, projects, firms, and professional profiles • Personal portfolios and user-generated content • Stories, notes, events, and community feed • Jobs and professional opportunities • Messaging and networking • Saved folders and collections • Nearby architecture discovery Explore the built world. Share your perspective. Join MapsArch.

About

Acarta

Features
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Your architectural field guide. Who designed the building you are standing in front of? When, and why does it look the way it does? Acarta is a field guide to architecture, public art, and landscape architecture: 16,000+ places, with photographs and the story behind the facade. Know what to look at next Open the app and there is already something to go see. Buildings near you, themes to follow, walking tours ready to start. Each suggestion says why it is there: because you like functionalism, because it is ten minutes away. Read the building in front of you Tap a pin: architect, year, style, story. One place leads to the next. A water tower in Oxelösund gets as much room as an opera house in Paris. Walks and road trips Follow curated architecture walks stop by stop. Put your own places on a map and Acarta draws the route. Driving somewhere? See what is worth a stop along the way. Log the places you visit Check in where you stand, or backdate last summer's trip. Photographs, notes, badges for the styles and cities you cover. Over the years it becomes a map of everything you have seen. 7,500+ architects and artists Their works, and the places where you can stand in front of them. Follow an architect the way you would follow a director. Bring your friends Their check-ins and photographs land in your feed. Follow a friend before a trip, come home with their map of what they loved. A living field guide Users add places, refine dates, upload photographs. Every contribution is credited. The guide gets better every week because of people who look closely. Free to read. Every description, photograph and biography, for everyone. Free to check in and to follow friends, too. With Acarta Pro you also get whole cities offline and unlimited maps of your own, and you help us improve the guide. Terms: https://acarta.app/terms Privacy: https://acarta.app/privacy

Screenshots

Mapsarch4 screens
Acarta4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mapsarch at none against Acarta's 2. Acarta's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads, 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. Acarta sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Mapsarch asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mapsarch ships an update every 5 weeks, Acarta every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
Mapsarch versus Acarta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMapsarchAcarta
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB110 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMapsarch SaVäder AB

In-app purchases

None

Mapsarch

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Acarta

Subscriptions2
  • Acarta Pro$7.997 Days
  • Acarta Pro7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Mapsarch free?
Mapsarch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Acarta free?
Acarta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mapsarch or Acarta have ads?
Neither Mapsarch nor Acarta shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mapsarch or Acarta?
Mapsarch ships an update every 5 weeks, and Acarta every 2 days. Most recently, Mapsarch was updated on October 10, 2026 and Acarta on October 20, 2026.

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