ArcGIS Navigator vs Draw Maps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ArcGIS Navigator
Navigate to your destinations with voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions and offline map access. This tool allows field teams to efficiently access and route on custom maps, view asset information, and manage daily work lists. It requires an ArcGIS account and Navigator license to function.
- Voice-guided turn-by-turn directions
- Offline navigation with local data
- Access custom Esri navigation maps
- Search assets and route on roads
- Vehicle-specific travel modes
- Manage daily work lists and stops
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ArcGIS is available on your desktop, in a browser, and now on your iPhone or iPad. Navigate to where you need to be, unlock efficiency, and improve your field workforce reliability. To use Navigator, you must have an ArcGIS account and a Navigator license. Key Features: - Use voice-guided turn-by-turn directions with automatic route recalculation. - Navigate completely offline with locally stored data (even in the background). - Access Esri's navigation maps or use your own maps—search your assets, route on your roads, and view your layers. - Follow shared routes. - Complete stops one at a time, or create a work list for an entire day's work. - View information about your assets. - Use vehicle-specific travel modes. - Receive stops from an email, your own app, or other ArcGIS apps such as Collector for ArcGIS. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Draw Maps
Annotate maps with custom notes, pins, and photos. Use a variety of drawing tools and colors to mark locations, plan events, or record observations. Share your annotated maps with others or archive them for later use.
- Draw and highlight on maps
- Add colored map pins with notes
- Place photos on the map
- Draw and highlight within photos
- 72 color options
- Use stencils for shapes and labels
- Share map images or documents
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Draw Maps gives you color pens and pencils to make sketches and take notes anywhere in the map. Add map pins and photos to note important locations. Think of the whole world as being your sketch pad. Move around and zoom to different scales as you draw. Share your maps with friends. Use Draw Maps at work, school, and play: - Planning your next vacation - Designing landscapes - Detailing event logistics - Noting underground utilities - Reporting storm damage - Recording wildlife sightings - Remembering your favorite fishing holes - Tracing hiking trails - Geocaching and scavenger hunts - Learning geography by tracing borders - Taking field notes - Giving directions to your friend Features: - Draw and highlight in the map - Place colored map pins in the map and add long form notes - Place photos in the map - Draw and highlight in the photos - 72 colors - Use the stencil to draw perfect shapes or labels - Move and zoom the map as needed while you draw - Zoom to your location to take a note where you are - Zoom to other locations using Find - Send images of your map drawings to other people - Send your Draw Maps Document to another Draw Maps user - Archive your Draw Maps Document to online storage - Send KML (Pro feature) - Make as many maps as you like (Pro feature) - Ready for Apple Pencil
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Draw Maps at 62% against ArcGIS Navigator's 17%. Draw Maps also leads on rating (3.3 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 13 months). ArcGIS Navigator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Draw Maps sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. ArcGIS Navigator asks for nothing beyond the download.
Draw Maps holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of ArcGIS Navigator's written reviews are positive against 62% of Draw Maps's.
ArcGIS Navigator ships an update every 13 months, Draw Maps every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 7, 2026.
| Parameter | ArcGIS Navigator | Draw Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (19 ratings) | 3.3 (35 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | 61.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 19 | 35 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.5 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 134 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ESRI | Bluefield GIS, Inc. |
Customer experience
ArcGIS Navigator
Draw Maps
In-app purchases
ArcGIS Navigator
No in-app purchases
Draw Maps
- Pro features$1.991 Month
- Pro features$9.991 Year
- Pro features$24.99
Questions
Is ArcGIS Navigator free?
Is Draw Maps free?
Which has better reviews, ArcGIS Navigator or Draw Maps?
Do ArcGIS Navigator or Draw Maps have ads?
Which is updated more often, ArcGIS Navigator or Draw Maps?
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