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Maps · head to head

ArcGIS Field Maps vs Felt

ArcGIS Field Maps logo

ArcGIS Field Maps

Maps

Esri field data collection that cannot be bought on its own, only with an ArcGIS user type

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Felt logo

Felt

Maps

Collaborative browser mapping with a free non-commercial tier and annual-only paid contracts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Felt has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ArcGIS Field Maps field Maps has no price of its own, so a project budget built from the product page misses the Creator seats, the Mobile Worker seats and the ArcGIS Online credits or Enterprise infrastructure that actually cost money; Felt felt publishes no prices for Professional or Enterprise, so buyers cannot compare against ArcGIS Online or QGIS with hosting without entering a sales process
  • They diverge on capability: ArcGIS Field Maps covers Offline map areas, Felt covers Real-time collaboration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ArcGIS Field Maps and Felt actually diverge.

Attributes where ArcGIS Field Maps and Felt differ
AttributeArcGIS Field MapsFelt
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelIncluded with an ArcGIS user type licencequote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ArcGIS Field Maps

  • Offline map areas
  • Smart forms
  • High-accuracy GNSS
  • Location sharing
  • Assignment dispatch
  • Indoor positioning
  • Direct editing of authoritative data

Only in Felt

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Drag and drop data
  • Unlimited viewers
  • Field app with offline support
  • Dashboards
  • Live cloud sources
  • API and SDK

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ArcGIS Field Maps

  • A water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office GIS runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keysnot Felt
  • A county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync laternot Felt
  • An environmental team needing sub-metre positions from an external GNSS receiver recorded directly against the authoritative datasetnot Felt
  • An organisation consolidating from Collector, Explorer, Tracker and Workforce onto a single app after Esri retired themnot Felt

Felt

  • An environmental consultancy that needs a client to view and comment on survey results without installing GIS softwarenot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • A utility field crew collecting asset condition offline and syncing to the same map the office is looking atnot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • A planning department sharing a proposal map with the public where the viewer count is unpredictable and viewer seats would be uncostednot ArcGIS Field Maps
  • A team of analysts who each hold data in different formats and want one map assembled in an afternoon rather than a weeknot ArcGIS Field Maps

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ArcGIS Field Maps

  • Field Maps has no price of its own, so a project budget built from the product page misses the Creator seats, the Mobile Worker seats and the ArcGIS Online credits or Enterprise infrastructure that actually cost money
  • It only works against Esri feature services, so an organisation whose data is in PostGIS or a database without an ArcGIS layer must publish through Esri first, which is a platform decision rather than an app choice
  • Named user licensing means occasional or seasonal field staff still consume a full annual seat, and organisations with a large pool of infrequent collectors pay for capacity they use a few weeks a year
  • As a forms tool alone it is more rigid and more expensive than dedicated mobile forms products, so its value collapses if you are not already committed to ArcGIS
  • The consolidation of four apps into one changed established workflows, and organisations that had built processes around Collector or Workforce have had to rework them on Esri's timetable rather than their own

Felt

  • Felt publishes no prices for Professional or Enterprise, so buyers cannot compare against ArcGIS Online or QGIS with hosting without entering a sales process
  • Paid tiers are annual contract only with no monthly option, which excludes consultancies that need a tool for a single short engagement and forces them to the free non-commercial tier they are not licensed to use for client work
  • The API, JavaScript SDK and live warehouse connections are enterprise-only, so a mid-sized team that wants programmatic access has to buy the top tier rather than pay for one capability
  • Analytical depth is limited: there is no meaningful geoprocessing, topology checking or model building, so Felt sits beside a real GIS rather than replacing one
  • The Professional tier caps data processing at 25 GB a month and map views at 100,000 a month, which are easy to exceed with raster imagery or a public-facing map, and the overage terms are not published either

Pricing, plan by plan

ArcGIS Field Maps

On request
  • Mobile Worker user type$undefined/year
    • Field editing in Field Maps included with no additional purchase
    • Cannot author maps; requires a Creator seat elsewhere in the organisation
    • Priced per named user per year
  • Creator user type$undefined/year
    • Required to author and publish the maps that field workers use
    • At least one Creator needed before Field Maps can be deployed
    • Includes Field Maps editing as well as authoring
  • ArcGIS Enterprise deployment$undefined/year
    • Field Maps against self-hosted ArcGIS Enterprise instead of ArcGIS Online
    • Server licensing and infrastructure priced separately
    • Quoted through Esri or a distributor

Felt

Free
  • PersonalFree
    • Free forever for non-commercial mapping
    • Map creation, upload and sharing
    • Not licensed for commercial use
  • Professional$undefined/year
    • 10 full-access seats with unlimited viewers
    • 25 GB of data processing per month
    • 100,000 map views per month
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Live cloud sources including Postgres, Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks and S3
    • REST API and JavaScript SDK
    • AI features

Which should you pick?

Choose ArcGIS Field Maps if

  • You need offline map areas.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want smart forms.
ArcGIS Field Maps review

Choose Felt if

  • You need real-time collaboration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want drag and drop data.
Felt review

Questions people ask

Is ArcGIS Field Maps or Felt better?
Neither clearly leads. ArcGIS Field Maps starts at On request and Felt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ArcGIS Field Maps or Felt?
Felt has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ArcGIS Field Maps and Free for Felt.
Does ArcGIS Field Maps or Felt run on more platforms?
ArcGIS Field Maps runs on iOS, Android, Web. Felt runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Felt for free?
Yes. Felt has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ArcGIS Field Maps starts at On request.
What is ArcGIS Field Maps best used for?
ArcGIS Field Maps is most often used for a water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office gis runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keys, a county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync later, an environmental team needing sub-metre positions from an external gnss receiver recorded directly against the authoritative dataset, an organisation consolidating from collector, explorer, tracker and workforce onto a single app after esri retired them. Of those, a water utility whose inspectors update the same asset feature service the office gis runs on, rather than filling in forms that someone re-keys and a county carrying out a sign inventory where crews work in areas without mobile coverage and need offline maps that sync later are not what Felt is typically brought in for.
What can ArcGIS Field Maps do that Felt cannot?
ArcGIS Field Maps covers Offline map areas, Smart forms, High-accuracy GNSS, Location sharing. Felt covers Real-time collaboration, Drag and drop data, Unlimited viewers, Field app with offline support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ArcGIS Field Maps: Can I buy Field Maps on its own?

No. It is included with the Mobile Worker, Creator and GIS Professional user types, and you need at least one Creator in the organisation to author maps.

Felt: What does Felt cost?

Felt does not publish prices for Professional or Enterprise. Personal is free but licensed for non-commercial use only.

ArcGIS Field Maps: What replaced Collector and Workforce?

Field Maps. Esri merged Collector, Explorer, Tracker and Workforce into it and retired the separate apps.

Felt: Can I pay monthly?

No. Paid plans are annual contracts. There is a 7 day trial of Professional.

ArcGIS Field Maps: Does it work offline?

Yes. Map areas are downloaded in advance and edits synchronise when connectivity returns.

Felt: Do viewers cost anything?

No. Viewer access is unlimited on the paid plans, which is the main reason organisations with large map audiences choose it.

ArcGIS Field Maps: Can it write to a non-Esri database?

Not directly. The data must be published as an ArcGIS feature service, which may sit over an enterprise geodatabase you already run.

Felt: Is there a nonprofit discount?

Yes, 30 per cent for verified United States nonprofits, and free access for verified students and classrooms.

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