Comparison

Scenic Map vs CartoLake

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

Head to head
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
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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.

About

CartoLake

Create and georeference maps with various file formats. Supports imagery, scanned maps, and export options. Ideal for generating custom mapping content.

Highlights
  • Georeference imagery and scanned maps
  • Import Shapefile, KML, mbtiles, GeoJSON, PNG
  • Create simple maps
  • Export maps to various formats
  • Create ForeFlight Content Packs
  • Publish georeferenced imagery
Features
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CartoLake is a general purpose mapping for creating maps and georeferencing files. Features include: * GeoReference imagery and scanned maps * Importing and viewing various file formats: Shapefile, KML, mbtiles, GeoJSON and PNG Images * Creation of simple maps * Maps can be exported to various formats * Ability to create ForeFlight Content Packs * Publish Georef imagery End User License Agreement: https://www.cartolake.com/about/terms

Screenshots

Scenic Map4 screens
CartoLake4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Scenic Map at none against CartoLake's shown. Scenic Map also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). CartoLake's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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 and CartoLake sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CartoLake holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scenic Map ships an update every 3 months, CartoLake weekly. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Scenic Map versus CartoLake: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScenic MapCartoLake
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGrangerFXCartoLake, LLC

Customer experience

Scenic Map

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

CartoLake

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Scenic Map

One-time1
  • Scenic Map Features$4.99
3 purchases

CartoLake

Subscriptions3
  • FAA Sectionals7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Basic Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Topographic Base Map7 Days trial$9.991 Month

Questions

Is Scenic Map free?
Scenic Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CartoLake free?
CartoLake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scenic Map or CartoLake?
CartoLake is rated higher. Scenic Map averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while CartoLake averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Scenic Map or CartoLake have ads?
CartoLake shows ads; Scenic Map does not.
Which is updated more often, Scenic Map or CartoLake?
Scenic Map ships an update every 3 months, and CartoLake weekly. Most recently, Scenic Map was updated on August 28, 2026 and CartoLake on June 4, 2026.

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