Comparison

Scenic Map Grand Canyon vs Topo Reader

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

Head to head
About

Scenic Map Grand Canyon

Explore detailed 3D topographic maps of the Grand Canyon and Arizona offline. Features include satellite overlays, customizable map styles, and GPS tracking with route replay. Expand coverage globally with an in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Offline 3D topographic maps
  • Satellite image overlays
  • GPS tracking and route replay
  • Customizable map styles
  • Joystick flight simulator mode
  • GPX track import/export
Features
Read full description

Explore the rich landscapes around the Grand Canyon and Arizona while you discover Scenic Map, the best 3D topo map for the iPad and iPhone. The vector map data is contained within the app and can be used without an internet connection. Use it in a car, a boat, a plane or while hiking. Online satellite image overlays add breathtaking detail and realism to the maps (tap preset 2 or 4 when Online Map is enabled). You can use them as you travel to see what is hidden from view at ground level. This takes moving maps to a whole new level. With an in-app purchase you can expand the coverage to the entire world via the Scenic Map online map and cache the data for offline use. Use the two finger vertical swipe gesture to tilt the map for a 3D view. Scroll like a map or fly like a flight simulator. Enable Joystick Gestures in the Settings menu and then fly around the terrain using a virtual joystick. Prefer only 2D maps? Enable the 2D Map option in the Settings menu. Scenic Map is simply the best 3D topo map available for a mobile device. You will see incredible detail while scrolling, rotating and zooming perfectly smoothly. You will see every road even if you zoom out to the altitude of a satellite. As you zoom in, you will see every small bump and hollow of the Earth and terrain features as small as ten meters. Unlike old fashioned topo maps, Scenic Map’s roads and trails are up to date thanks to OpenStreetMap.org. It contains polygons for urban areas, shopping malls, an ever growing number of buildings and many other features, The best lake, pond, stream and rivers from the USGS and Canadian public databases are also included. Tap the GPS center button to begin tracking your location. As you move, you will generate a track file. Tracks can be replayed with video like controls to speed up, slow down, pause, restart or skip to the end. You can display existing tracks while recording another if you want to retrace your route. When online, you can automatically create a route from your current GPS location to any other point on the map. Tracks can be received from or sent to other apps in GPX format. GPS recording stops automatically after you have remained stationary for some time or you can choose to manually stop tracking by tapping on the top track in the Tracks view. Never before have maps been this customizable. For example, you can turn on or off the roads. You can change the lighting direction or remove terrain shading entirely. You can display contour lines even over satellite images. There are five presets which let you quickly switch between map styles. Use Metric, English or Nautical units and choose one of four different coordinate displays including UTM. Want to learn more about a map feature? Tap the target icon and center the feature under the compass rose to display its name, type, urban area, county, state, elevation and coordinates. You will also see a bearing line back to your current GPS location or from your location to a selected waypoint. The status bar shows the bearing direction and distance along with the map and GPS elevation, the track length, and your current speed and direction of travel. In-app documentation is provided in the Help section at the top of the Settings menu. Links are provided in the documentation to detailed coverage maps, tutorial videos, installation guide and blog at ScenicMap.com Map data © OpenStreetMap and contributors under the Open Database License Scenic Map supports GPS tracking while the app is in the background. Caution: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Topo Reader

Access and use detailed USGS topographical maps offline, even historical versions. Import your own geospatial PDF maps for navigation, route planning, and distance measurement. Ideal for outdoor adventures and geographical exploration.

Highlights
  • Download USGS topographical maps offline
  • Import geospatial PDF maps
  • Offline GPS usage on downloaded maps
  • Dual mode ruler for distance measurement
  • Route creation and GPS track recording
  • Augmented Reality waypoints
Features
Read full description

Download all available USGS topographic maps and import Geospatial PDF maps for off-line use at full undistorted resolution. Topo Reader is designed for road trips, camping, hiking, exploration and geographical history. Map images are accurately center aligned regardless of datum and placed on top of Apple's map kit for easy referencing and intuitive touch navigation. This software utilizes the latest capabilities of IOS with a fast start up, map rotating, unbeatable full detail resolution. Map downloads dispatch in the background so you can continue using the app. Topo Reader can install for use 422,664 U.S. Geological Survey current and historical topographical maps describing the topography of every region and island territories of the United States of America. Historical versions date as far back as year 1879. Install a map quad by pressing and holding a point on the reference map and discover the maps available at that location and the unique names given to every quad by the cartographers. Import geospatial PDF maps from the web, AirDrop, Finder, iTunes and email. Even at trailheads there are QRCode for maps that copy and install onto this app! Local and national park services offer PDF maps from their web sites. Even aeronautical sectional maps with embedded geospatial metadata that you can download in installed into Topo Reader. Easy see all your installed maps by zooming out and they all become a colorful violet and partially transparent so you can spot your map. Installed maps are managed in a table format which can be sorted by name, distance, and scale. Multiple versions of the same map can be stacked on top of one another and made visible or hidden using two finger swipes. Planning a hike somewhere and want to know the distance of your jaunt. Download the map and use the dual mode ruler to measure the path distance. Select the create Route option and draw and record your planned route. Purchase a subscription for unlimited map downloading. A subscription stops ads and doesn't auto-renew. The first few map download are complementary.‡ Features: • No need for cellular service to use • Use the GPS on downloaded topo maps while offline* • Dual mode ruler with orthographic line and path measuring • Waypoints with Augmented Reality finder • Routes path creation • Tracks/bread-crumb GPS location recording* • Full app usability while maps download in the background • Displays footprint grid and quad names • Aligns map datums to WGS84 (GPS) coordinates • Dynamic map stitching • Cropping of map margins for one big map grid • Automatic USGS topographic map download for your current location • Uses GPS location service to identify your location on a topo map* • Miles, Feet, Kilometers, Meters, Nautical Miles units • MGRS, UTM, and geodetic latitude and longitude coordinates • Import geospatial PDF maps downloaded from the USGS and other sources in zip or regular file formats • Enter coordinates in decimal, minutes and second formats • Map rotation and orients map to follow your heading • Imports GPX file formats waypoints • Email, AirDrop and SMS text waypoints, tracks and routes as GPX files (one subscription purchase required to permanently enable). Not currently supported: Geo TIFF; OCG layer selection used in current USTopo USGS maps. Not all geospatial metadata formats and datums are supported for imported PDF maps. Limited KML features supported. * Not preloaded with maps. WiFi recommended. Downloading queue does cap at around 36 maps. ** Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Location feature may not function on iPod and wifi-only iPad devices without GPS hardware. ‡ After a subscription period expires, advertisement may resume from usage of the import features.

Screenshots

Scenic Map Grand Canyon4 screens
Topo Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Scenic Map Grand Canyon at free against Topo Reader's subscription. Scenic Map Grand Canyon also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Topo Reader's advantage is ratings volume (181 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Scenic Map Grand Canyon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Topo Reader sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scenic Map Grand Canyon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Topo Reader has 181 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 50% and 50% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scenic Map Grand Canyon ships an update every 6 months, Topo Reader every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Scenic Map Grand Canyon versus Topo Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScenic Map Grand CanyonTopo Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.6 (181 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2181 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB29 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperGrangerFXDelcartes LLC

Customer experience

Scenic Map Grand Canyon

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Topo Reader

All ratings177 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral14.3%
Negative35.7%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Scenic Map Grand Canyon

One-time1
  • Whole World Map Coverage$4.99
3 purchases

Topo Reader

One-time3
  • 90 Day$2.99
  • 1 Year$5.99
  • Lifetime$23.99

Questions

Is Scenic Map Grand Canyon free?
Scenic Map Grand Canyon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Topo Reader free?
Topo Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scenic Map Grand Canyon or Topo Reader?
Scenic Map Grand Canyon is rated higher. Scenic Map Grand Canyon averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Topo Reader averages 4.6 from 181 ratings.
Do Scenic Map Grand Canyon or Topo Reader have ads?
Neither Scenic Map Grand Canyon nor Topo Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scenic Map Grand Canyon or Topo Reader?
Scenic Map Grand Canyon ships an update every 6 months, and Topo Reader every 3 months. Most recently, Scenic Map Grand Canyon was updated on November 1, 2026 and Topo Reader on November 1, 2026.

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