iGIS for iPad vs Scenic Map
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iGIS for iPad
This app brings true GIS functionality to your iPad, allowing you to load, view, create, and export spatial data. It supports offline use, multiple data layers, and custom data entry forms, making it ideal for field professionals.
- Load, view, create, and export spatial data
- Offline data access
- ESRI Shapefile support (import/export)
- Support for over 3000 projections
- Multiple layers (points, lines, polygons, imagery)
- Customizable data entry forms
- GPS location display with compass
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iGIS - The world's first and leading iOS GIS. True GIS functionality is now available on the iPad! Your iPad. Your data. Your maps. iGIS represents a new era in mobile GIS solutions by enabling users to load, view, investigate, create and export their own data over a background of map service imagery. Importing data is easy with our unique data import facility supporting Mac, PC and Linux or via the USB cable. ESRI Shapefiles (.shp) are supported at the moment. Great for field work as your spatial data is stored on the iPad, so there is no need for an Internet connection to see your data. We also support over 3000 projections, so there is no need for data re-projection. We include support for multiple layers of points, lines, and polygons and imagery – all styled as you like. Add comments to your maps - A point layer is added with a name and description field. You can add or edit any of your layers - and even define your own data entry forms with dropdown lists for codes, etc. Export your layers to ESRI shapefiles for use back in your enterprise. Other features include: - Great speed, using our multi-threaded map renderer. - Support for large datasets. - Add your own imagery - Import and export of ESRI Shapefiles. - Display current GPS location in your chosen projection ( + compass) - Zoom to current location - Zoom to data extent - Map Pan, zoom in, zoom out - Changeable drawing styles for a layer: size, color, transparency - Set the draw order and visibility of map layers - Set the zoom scale for layers via a simple slider - Select and interrogate feature attributes via point and click This application is designed for GIS professionals and an understanding of some basic GIS concepts such as layers, shapefiles, projections etc, would make using iGIS simpler. Please let us know if concepts in iGIS are unclear. We know there’s a lot more functionality that we haven’t included. Let us know what features you’d like to see added or improved. iGIS can use the GPS in the background. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Thanks for your interest, The Geometry Team
Scenic Map
Explore the world with detailed 3D topographic maps, accessible even offline. Stream and cache global maps for use without cell service. Features include satellite overlays, customizable map styles, and GPS tracking for navigation and route replay.
- Global 3D topographic maps
- Offline map caching
- Satellite image overlays
- Customizable map styles
- GPS tracking and route replay
- GPX track import/export
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A 3D topo map with coverage of the entire world. The map is streamed directly from Apple's servers and cached on your device for use when there is no cell coverage. Use Scenic Map in a car, a boat, a plane or while hiking. It is like having the entire Earth in your pocket. Satellite image overlays add breathtaking detail and realism to the maps (tap preset 2 or 4). 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. To get started, tap the arrow button in the toolbar to begin GPS tracking and center the map at your current location. The spinner in the status bar shows that the map is being loaded. The spinner stops when the map is fully cached at that location. You can scroll around the map or tilt the map with a two finger vertical swipe to see it in 3D. 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. Your 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.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Scenic Map at 4.7 against iGIS for iPad's 3.0. Scenic Map also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). iGIS for iPad's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. iGIS for iPad sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Scenic Map sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Scenic Map holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of iGIS for iPad's written reviews are positive against 67% of Scenic Map's.
iGIS for iPad ships an update monthly, Scenic Map every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iGIS for iPad | Scenic Map |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 66 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Geometry | GrangerFX |
Customer experience
iGIS for iPad
Scenic Map
In-app purchases
iGIS for iPad
- iGIS Pro - 1 month subscription$9.99
- iGIS Pro 1 year subscription$31.99
Scenic Map
- Scenic Map Features$4.99








