# EarthViewer vs Soil Explorer

The clearest difference is review sentiment: EarthViewer at 83% against Soil Explorer's 0%. EarthViewer also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months) and rating (4.4 vs 4.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

EarthViewer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: EarthViewer has 101 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of EarthViewer's written reviews are positive against 0% of Soil Explorer's.

EarthViewer ships an update every 2 months, Soil Explorer every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on July 10, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | EarthViewer | Soil Explorer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (101 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430/reviews)** | [4.1 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soil-explorer/id996159565/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **101** | 9 |
| Positive reviews | **83.1% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 108 MB | 172 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.3** | 14.7 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Howard Hughes Medical Institute](https://appshunter.io/developer/411540290) | [Purdue University](https://appshunter.io/developer/371741257) |

## What reviewers say

### EarthViewer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430)

Explore Earth's 4.5 billion-year history with this interactive time machine. See how continents, oceans, and climate have changed over eons, track landmarks and fossils, and visualize scientific data like temperature and biodiversity. Discover the dynamic evolution of our planet.

**Highlights:** Continental reconstructions over billions of years, Sea level and temperature maps, Track landmark and fossil movements, Visualize atmospheric composition and biodiversity, Explore geological eons, eras, and periods, Automated play modes and animations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌍 Comprehensive geological history visualization from 4.6 billion years ago to present
- 📚 Excellent educational resource for teachers and students
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive interface design
- 🆓 Free app with extensive features and data
- 🔄 Smooth continental drift animation and timeline controls

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🚫 Cannot exit app without force-closing or restarting device
- 🐛 App freezes when switching between map projections
- 📱 Not optimized for newer iOS versions
- 🌏 Australia appears incorrectly in ancient Earth viewer
- 🔲 Grid coordinates (lat/lon) not displaying properly

**Reported bugs**

- App cannot be closed normally - requires force quit or device restart
- App freezes when switching from flat map to globe view
- Australia appears in incorrect locations in ancient Earth viewer
- Grid coordinates (latitude/longitude) not displaying
- Globe transparency and image distortion on iPad

**Requested features**

- Add Pangea Proxima/Pangea Ultima supercontinent visualization
- Add Kenorland supercontinent (2500 Mya)
- Include future Earth continental drift predictions (0-250 million years)
- Add Pleistocene ice age details with smaller time increments
- Include ground-level view of Earth with animals and landscapes


### Soil Explorer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soil-explorer/id996159565)

Discover detailed soil property and landscape maps for U.S. states and global soil distributions. Understand how map features relate to real-world observations. This educational tool uses data from USDA and USGS to illustrate complex soil-landscape relationships.

**Highlights:** Detailed soil property maps, Landscape visualizations, Global soil distribution maps, Field observation correlation, USDA NRCS data integration, USGS data integration

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is EarthViewer free?

EarthViewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Soil Explorer free?

Soil Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, EarthViewer or Soil Explorer?

EarthViewer is rated higher. EarthViewer averages 4.4 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while Soil Explorer averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.

### Do EarthViewer or Soil Explorer have ads?

Neither EarthViewer nor Soil Explorer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, EarthViewer or Soil Explorer?

EarthViewer ships an update every 2 months, and Soil Explorer every 11 months. Most recently, EarthViewer was updated on July 10, 2026 and Soil Explorer on September 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*