Is SW Maps or Transit better?

Neither clearly leads. SW Maps starts at Free and Transit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, SW Maps or Transit?

SW Maps starts at Free and Transit at Free.

Does SW Maps or Transit run on more platforms?

SW Maps runs on Android. Transit runs on iOS, Android, Web.

Can I use SW Maps for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is SW Maps best used for?

SW Maps is most often used for an ngo or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user gis subscriptions, a survey team pairing a low-cost rtk receiver with android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seats, a university field course teaching gnss data collection where every student needs the tool on their own device, a consultant doing a one-off asset inventory who needs shapefile or geopackage output and does not want to start an annual subscription for a three-week job. Of those, an ngo or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user gis subscriptions and a survey team pairing a low-cost rtk receiver with android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seats are not what Transit is typically brought in for.

What can SW Maps do that Transit cannot?

SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, External GNSS support, Offline basemaps, Geospatial PDF layers. Transit covers Real-time arrivals, Multi-modal trip planning, Service alerts, In-app fare payment.

Maps · head to head

SW Maps vs Transit

SW Maps

Maps

Free Android GIS data collector that pairs with external RTK GNSS receivers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Transit

Maps

Public transit trip planning and real-time arrivals for buses, trains and shared bikes and scooters

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: SW Maps android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.; Transit coverage depends entirely on whether the local transit agency publishes a real-time feed, so quality swings sharply between well-funded metro systems and smaller regional operators.
They diverge on capability: SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, Transit covers Real-time arrivals.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SW Maps and Transit actually diverge.

Attributes where SW Maps and Transit differ
Attribute	SW Maps	Transit
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	Free to riders; revenue from agency data and fare-payment transaction fees
Platforms	Android	iOS, Android, Web

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 SW Maps

Custom feature layers
External GNSS support
Offline basemaps
Geospatial PDF layers
Vector import
Photo and media capture
Export formats
NTRIP client

Only in Transit

Real-time arrivals
Multi-modal trip planning
Service alerts
In-app fare payment
Offline schedules
GO transit and micromobility layers

What people use each for

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

SW Maps

An NGO or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user GIS subscriptionsnot Transit
A survey team pairing a low-cost RTK receiver with Android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seatsnot Transit
A university field course teaching GNSS data collection where every student needs the tool on their own devicenot Transit
A consultant doing a one-off asset inventory who needs shapefile or GeoPackage output and does not want to start an annual subscription for a three-week jobnot Transit

Transit

A commuter in a city with a well-maintained GTFS-realtime feed wanting live bus and train arrivalsnot SW Maps
A rider comparing a transit trip against a bike share or scooter leg for the last milenot SW Maps
A visitor needing offline-capable static schedules in a city with patchy data coveragenot SW Maps
Someone wanting to buy a transit fare inside the same app used to plan the trip, in supported citiesnot SW Maps

Where each one falls short

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

SW Maps

Android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.
There is no back end: no user management, no central project sync, no audit trail. Data lives on the device until someone exports it, and a lost tablet is lost data.
No commercial support contract exists, so an organisation with a compliance requirement for vendor support cannot use it for regulated work regardless of technical fit.
It is maintained by a small consultancy as a side product of its own project work, so the roadmap follows Softwel’s needs and a feature you depend on may never be prioritised.
Form logic is basic compared with dedicated survey platforms: no meaningful skip logic, validation or multi-user assignment, so complex questionnaires quickly outgrow it.

Transit

Coverage depends entirely on whether the local transit agency publishes a real-time feed, so quality swings sharply between well-funded metro systems and smaller regional operators.
The company earns its revenue by selling agencies a paid analytics product built from rider trip data, which means the free app functions partly as a data-collection layer for a business customer, not only as a public service.
In-app fare payment is only available in a limited set of cities, so the headline feature is not something most riders can actually use.
Static schedule fallback in low-data cities is only as accurate as the agency last published, and service changes can go unreflected for weeks.
The app has no offline routing without a cached area, so it is not reliable for navigation in areas with poor mobile signal.

Pricing, plan by plan

SW Maps

Free

SW MapsFree
- All features included
- External RTK GNSS support
- Unlimited layers and exports

Transit

Free

Rider appFree
- Real-time arrivals and trip planning
- No ads shown to riders
- In-app fare purchase where supported

Which should you pick?

Choose SW Maps if

You need custom feature layers.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Android.
You also want external gnss support.

SW Maps review

Choose Transit if

You need real-time arrivals.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Web.
You also want multi-modal trip planning.

Transit review

Questions people ask

Is SW Maps or Transit better?: Neither clearly leads. SW Maps starts at Free and Transit at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SW Maps or Transit?: SW Maps starts at Free and Transit at Free.
Does SW Maps or Transit run on more platforms?: SW Maps runs on Android. Transit runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use SW Maps for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is SW Maps best used for?: SW Maps is most often used for an ngo or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user gis subscriptions, a survey team pairing a low-cost rtk receiver with android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seats, a university field course teaching gnss data collection where every student needs the tool on their own device, a consultant doing a one-off asset inventory who needs shapefile or geopackage output and does not want to start an annual subscription for a three-week job. Of those, an ngo or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user gis subscriptions and a survey team pairing a low-cost rtk receiver with android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seats are not what Transit is typically brought in for.
What can SW Maps do that Transit cannot?: SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, External GNSS support, Offline basemaps, Geospatial PDF layers. Transit covers Real-time arrivals, Multi-modal trip planning, Service alerts, In-app fare payment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SW Maps: Is SW Maps really free?

Yes. It is free with no advertising and no paid tier. There is no subscription and no feature paywall.

Transit: Does Transit cost anything to use?

No. The rider app is free with no subscription and no ads; the company earns money separately by selling agencies a paid data and communication platform.

SW Maps: Does it support RTK receivers?

Yes, over Bluetooth or USB serial, with NTRIP correction support, antenna height and per-point fix quality recording.

Transit: Does it work in every city?

No. Coverage depends on whether the local transit agency publishes a GTFS or GTFS-realtime feed; some smaller markets have static schedules only.

SW Maps: Is there an iOS version?

No. Android only.

Transit: Can I buy a bus or train ticket in the app?

Only in cities where the local agency has integrated fare payment; elsewhere you still need the agency app or a physical ticket.

SW Maps: Who maintains it?

Softwel, an engineering consultancy in Kathmandu, Nepal, which built it for its own infrastructure projects.

SW Maps: Can we get support?

Not contractually. There is no commercial support agreement, which is the main reason organisations with compliance obligations choose a paid alternative.

SW Maps vs Transit

SW Maps

Transit

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in SW Maps

Only in Transit

What people use each for

SW Maps

Transit

Where each one falls short

SW Maps

Transit

Pricing, plan by plan

SW Maps

Transit

Which should you pick?

Choose SW Maps if

Choose Transit if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on SW Maps

More on Transit

Keep looking

Other head to heads