Scenic Map vs Topographic Maps & Trails
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Topographic Maps & Trails
Access detailed USGS topographic maps and satellite imagery for offline use. Track your hikes with distance, elevation, and calorie data. View various data themes like trails, hydrography, and land cover.
- Offline USGS topographic maps
- Satellite and topo map layers
- Hiking activity tracker
- Track distance, vertical, and time
- Calorie burn estimation
- Color-coded elevation tracks
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DOWNLOAD ALL MAPS FOR OFFLINE USE MAIN FEATURES INCLUDE: - USGS Topographic Maps - Satellite + Topo Maps - Hiking Tracker USGS TOPO MAP USGS Topo is a tile cache base map service that combines the most current data in The National Map (TNM), and other public-domain data, into a multi-scale topographic reference map. TOPO + SATELLITE USGS Imagery Topo is a tile cache base map of orthoimagery in The National Map and US Topo vector data. Orthoimagery data are typically high resolution images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the spatial accuracy and reliability of a planimetric map. Data themes included are Boundaries, Geographic Names, Transportation, Contours, Hydrography, Land Cover, Shaded Relief, Trails, etc. HIKING TRACKER Now you can track all of your hiking stats! - Track total distance, vertical, time - Track calories burned - Keep track of yearly stats - Color coded tracks by elevation - Backup your hike data to iCloud - iOS 14 home screen widget Have questions? Feel free to contact me at support@lwbrandsllc.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Scenic Map at Free against Topographic Maps & Trails's $4.99. Scenic Map also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 58%). Topographic Maps & Trails's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 3). On rating, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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
Scenic Map is free to download; Topographic Maps & Trails costs $4.99 up front. Scenic Map sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Topographic Maps & Trails asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Scenic Map against 4.6 for Topographic Maps & Trails. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Topographic Maps & Trails has 2.8K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Scenic Map's written reviews are positive against 58% of Topographic Maps & Trails's.
Scenic Map ships an update every 3 months, Topographic Maps & Trails every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Scenic Map | Topographic Maps & Trails |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better | 4.6 (2.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 58.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 2.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #45 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | GrangerFX | LW Brands, LLC |
Customer experience
Scenic Map
Topographic Maps & Trails
Bugs and requests
Scenic Map
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Topographic Maps & Trails
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes on older devices
- Offline maps not loading properly
- Distance tracking inaccuracies
- Disappearing map details on zoom
Requested features
5 requests- Add compass and GPS coordinate display
- Improve offline map downloading process
- Enhance zoom and elevation detail
- Integrate with health/fitness apps
- Allow renaming of recorded sessions
In-app purchases
Scenic Map
- Scenic Map Features$4.99
Topographic Maps & Trails
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Scenic Map free?
Is Topographic Maps & Trails free?
Which has better reviews, Scenic Map or Topographic Maps & Trails?
Do Scenic Map or Topographic Maps & Trails have ads?
Which is updated more often, Scenic Map or Topographic Maps & Trails?
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