maps.earth vs Ascend Maps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
maps.earth
Discover the world with low-stress directions powered by OpenStreetMap. This open-source application prioritizes user privacy by not displaying ads or selling data, focusing solely on providing a pleasant mapping experience.
- World exploration
- Low-stress directions
- OpenStreetMap powered
- Ad-free experience
- Data privacy focused
- Open source
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Explore the world and get low stress directions powered by OpenStreetMap. maps.earth is built on open source. We never show you ads or sell your data. We just want a nice map.
Ascend Maps
This app provides customizable outdoor maps with offline capabilities. It features 3D terrain, track recording, saved places management, and the ability to save map tiles for offline use. Explore the outdoors with detailed, personalized navigation tools.
- Offline search
- 3D terrain
- Track recording and editing
- Saved places management
- Customizable map styles
- Offline map tile saving
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Ascend is an open source app for vector and raster maps. Features include 3D terrain, offline search, track recording and editing, managing saved places, saving map tiles for offline use, and more. CUSTOMIZABLE * Includes a simple, customizable style for OpenStreetMap vector tiles with modes for hiking, biking, and transit. * Overlay customizable hillshading, shaded relief, contour lines, and slope angle shading calculated in real-time over any base map. * Supports plugins for search, routing, map sources and more. * Add new online map sources and combine layers to create new maps. * Generate and import your own vector tiles. COMPREHENSIVE * Offline search * Wikipedia search * Manage saved places * Show geotagged photos from your Photo Library. * Create and edit routes * Record and edit tracks for hiking, fitness, and more * Save map tiles for offline use Learn more at https://github.com/styluslabs/maps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ascend Maps at 5.0 against maps.earth's 3.0. Ascend Maps also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). maps.earth's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ascend Maps holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: maps.earth has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
maps.earth ships an update monthly, Ascend Maps every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | maps.earth | Ascend Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Kirk | Matthew White |
Customer experience
maps.earth
Ascend Maps
In-app purchases
maps.earth
No in-app purchases
Ascend Maps
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is maps.earth free?
Is Ascend Maps free?
Which has better reviews, maps.earth or Ascend Maps?
Do maps.earth or Ascend Maps have ads?
Which is updated more often, maps.earth or Ascend Maps?
Other comparisons
