Comparison

Outside Maps vs Scenic Map

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

Head to head
About

Outside Maps

View and navigate diverse mapping data on your iPhone or iPad. Access Ordnance Survey maps for Great Britain, worldwide OpenStreetMap, historic maps, and aerial imagery. Features include GPS tracking, compass, and waypoint management.

Highlights
  • View Ordnance Survey maps (Great Britain)
  • Worldwide OpenStreetMap support
  • Historic Ordnance Survey maps
  • Aerial photography
  • Real-time GPS tracking
  • Compass and bearing
  • Waypoint import/export (GPX)
Read full description

*** Please do not use reviews to report bugs or ask for features. I almost never read the reviews and I cannot contact you for additional information! Contact support@outsidemaps.com instead *** Outside Maps is an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch application that enables you to view and navigate a wide variety of mapping data using an easy-to-use touch interface. Outside Maps supports Ordnance Survey mapping for Great Britain at various scales including 1:50000. Outside Maps supports WORLDWIDE coverage for OpenStreetMap, OpenCycleMap and the Stamen and Thunderforest map sources. Outside Maps supports historic 1" Ordnance Survey mapping from 1880-1990 and 1921-1947 courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. Outside Maps supports shaded terrain data for the UK only derived from Ordnance Survey OS Terrain 50. Outside Maps supports shaded terrain data for Scotland only derived from Scottish Government 1m LIDAR. Outside Maps includes ESRI aerial photography courtesy of ESRI. Outside Maps includes the following features: - Intuitive "slippy maps" interface - Native iPad support in both portrait and landscape modes - Current Ordnance Survey mapping is available - OpenStreetMap and derived data is supported at all available resolutions - Historic 1" Ordnance Survey data from 1880-1990 and 1921-1947 - OpenCycleMap support - Thunderforest "Landscape" and "Transport" mapping support - Stamen mapping support - ESRI aerial imagery - Hill-shading mapping for the UK at 50m and selected 1m resolution - Full Ordnance Survey OSTN02 adjustments for highest accuracy (+/- 1m accuracy) - Real-time position tracking via GPS (or WiFi-based positioning) - Compass and bearing (either using GPS and movement tracking or hardware compass if available) - "Lookahead" feature when moving at > 5mph - Waypoints functionality including import and export via GPX format - OS OpenSpace-driven postcode and placename lookup (online only) - Grid reference and latitude/longitude lookup (offline) - what3words support (online only)

About

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.

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

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

Outside Maps3 screens
Scenic Map4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Scenic Map at 4.7 against Outside Maps's 2.0. Outside Maps's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (77% vs 67%). On price, ratings volume, 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 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Outside Maps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scenic Map holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Outside Maps's written reviews are positive against 67% of Scenic Map's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Outside Maps ships an update every 2 months, Scenic Map every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Outside Maps versus Scenic Map: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutside MapsScenic Map
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (2 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.6% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.1
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperReplicade Ltd.GrangerFX

Customer experience

Outside Maps

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral4.7%
Negative18.8%

Scenic Map

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Outside Maps

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Text to select map source invisible (white on white)
  • Tile cache unreliable when offline
  • Waypoints move around map accidentally
  • Map selection window not loading (iOS 8)
  • App crashes consistently (iOS 8)
Show 8 more
  • No iPhone 5 support
  • Not fitting larger iPhone screens
  • Help pages not mobile device friendly
  • Tendency for tiles not to match up
  • Tablecloth design instead of map
  • Opening map shows wrong location
  • Blue gridlines instead of map
  • App will not open (iOS 8)

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add zoom function for desktop version
  • Include a 1960's map
  • Ability to import custom map sources
  • Option for selected map source to remain default
  • Reinstate 'Save Waypoint' feature
Show 4 more
  • Add landscape view
  • Improve help section for mobile devices
  • Update for iPhone 5 screens
  • Sort out threading to prevent locking up

Scenic Map

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Outside Maps

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Scenic Map

One-time1
  • Scenic Map Features$4.99

Questions

Is Outside Maps free?
Outside Maps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scenic Map free?
Scenic Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Outside Maps or Scenic Map?
Scenic Map is rated higher. Outside Maps averages 2.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Scenic Map averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Outside Maps or Scenic Map have ads?
Neither Outside Maps nor Scenic Map shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Outside Maps or Scenic Map?
Outside Maps ships an update every 2 months, and Scenic Map every 3 months. Most recently, Outside Maps was updated on October 2, 2026 and Scenic Map on September 22, 2026.

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