Compare
Aventerra and Gaia GPS
for people who love a map catalog.
Gaia GPS is a map library first: hundreds of sources you can layer and take offline with a Premium membership. Aventerra ships one basemap and a focused set of layers, and adds the group safety tools Gaia GPS says it does not have.
Who it is for
Gaia GPS
Gaia GPS suits hikers, overlanders and backcountry skiers who want to pick from hundreds of map sources, layer them, print them, and take almost any of them offline, including Canadian topo and satellite.
Aventerra
Aventerra suits groups who want to see each other on the map without cell service, with slope and daily snow depth free, Quebec motorized networks, and hazard reports from riders who were just there.
Capability
| Capability | Gaia GPS | Aventerra |
|---|---|---|
| Offline mapsAventerra saves satellite at a lower detail ceiling than online. Gaia GPS Free cannot download maps. | Premium only. Any source in the catalog, layered maps included. Mapbox satellite is capped at 160,000 tiles per device. | Every map layer: basemap with places, satellite, topo, slope, land ownership, snow depth, weather and more, Recent Satellite and forest loss on Pro, plus the routing pack. One region on Free, unlimited on Pro. |
| Routing and navigation | Snap-to-trail route planning, with offline routing data downloaded alongside maps. Guide Me gives turn-by-turn on driving, cycling and hiking routes. | On-device turn cards, off-route banner and haptics for foot, bike, car, snowmobile, quad and dirt bike, where the routing graph is published. No voice guidance. |
| Slope angle layer | Yes, Premium overlay. | Yes, free. Draws at zoom 10 to 13, with an on-device slope reading and steepest ground nearby. |
| Snow data | Snow Depth and Snow Forecast overlays and snow stations in Snow Mode. Premium. | Daily snow depth layer from NOAA SNODAS, ECCC HRDPS and GFS, downloadable offline. Free. |
| Weather | Weather overlays such as precipitation forecast in the Premium catalog. | Point forecast with hourly and daily charts, eight weather layers with one time scrubber, NWS and ECCC alerts. |
| 3D terrain | Yes, Premium. The help centre covers the Android app and gaiagps.com. | Yes, with 3D track replay and route flyover. |
| Land ownership | Public Land and Private Land overlays for the United States, Premium. Backroad Mapbooks for Canada. | Quebec only for now: public land zones from the government's land use plans, shown as provincial or conservation land with each zone's name. Downloads with an offline area. |
| Motorized trail networks | MVUM and USFS roads and trails in the United States, Backroad Mapbooks roads and trails for Canada, snowmobile trails in Snow Mode. Premium. | Quebec only: snowmobile, quad and dirt bike networks from the MRNF, FCMQ and FQCQ. |
| Group live location | No. Gaia GPS states it cannot share your live location. You can share a waypoint of where you are when you have cell service. | Friends and group activities on one map. Positions arrive over the internet or over a mesh radio, so it works with no cell service. |
| Mesh or satellite messaging | No. Gaia GPS recommends a dedicated satellite messenger for that. | Meshtastic LoRa radio: encrypted chat, waypoints, hazard reports and SOS over the mesh. No satellite. |
| SOS | None. The help centre says you cannot send an SOS from the app. | Free. Reaches your group, your friends or nearby app users with a responder flow. It does not reach emergency services. |
| Recording and watch | Track recording is free. A standalone Apple Watch app records tracks, marks waypoints and follows routes with offline maps. | Ten activities with auto-pause, records and streaks, GPX export, 3D replay, and a companion watch app for watchOS and Wear OS. |
| Community reports | Public tracks shared by other users. | Hazard reports in about 20 categories with severity, voting, expiry and reporter trust levels, plus trip reports and community trails. |
| Platforms and languages | iOS, Android, gaiagps.com, Apple Watch, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 17 languages on the App Store, including French. | iOS, Android, watchOS, Wear OS and a web app. English and French. |
| Pricing | Free. Premium $59.90 USD per year. Premium with Outside+ $71.99 USD for the first year, the promotional price shown on 2026-10-05. | Free and Pro, one annual Pro plan. Slope and snow depth are free. Pricing is published at launch. |
Verified on
Sources
- Gaia GPS home page (opens in new tab)
- Gaia GPS pricing page (Premium and Outside+) (opens in new tab)
- Help: Membership Options: Free, Premium, and Premium with Outside+ (opens in new tab)
- Help: What maps are included in Gaia GPS? (opens in new tab)
- Help: Does Gaia GPS work offline? (opens in new tab)
- Help: Download Maps for Offline Use (opens in new tab)
- Help: Map Download Limit for Mapbox Layers (opens in new tab)
- Help: Offline Snap-to-Trail Routing (opens in new tab)
- Help: Guide Me turn-by-turn directions (iOS) (opens in new tab)
- Help: Using Adventure Modes on gaiagps.com (opens in new tab)
- Help: Add and Manage Overlays (opens in new tab)
- Help: Map Legends (opens in new tab)
- Help: Public Land Overlay Legend (opens in new tab)
- Help: Popular Canadian Maps (opens in new tab)
- Help: How do I find offroad trails and maps? (opens in new tab)
- Help: Can I share my current location? Can I use Gaia GPS as an emergency beacon? (opens in new tab)
- Help: Gaia GPS on Apple Watch (opens in new tab)
- Help: Using 3D Maps on the Android App (opens in new tab)
- Help: Gaia GPS and Apple CarPlay (opens in new tab)
- Help: Gaia GPS and Android Auto (opens in new tab)
- Help: View and Add Public Tracks to your Account (opens in new tab)
- Gaia GPS on the App Store (opens in new tab)
- Gaia GPS on Google Play (opens in new tab)
Where Gaia GPS wins
- The catalog: 300+ map sources and overlays, including Canadian topo (Toporama, Canada Topo, Backroad Mapbooks), NatGeo, US hunting maps and historic maps. Aventerra ships one basemap and 28 overlays.
- Offline catalog: with Premium almost any of its hundreds of sources downloads, layered together. Aventerra downloads its own set of layers, satellite and topo included.
- Trail data: Gaia GPS describes Gaia Topo as the largest collection of trails and routes, with worldwide coverage, and adds Trailforks with Outside+.
- A standalone Apple Watch app that navigates routes with offline maps without the phone. Aventerra's watch app is a companion to the phone.
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the dash, and 17 languages.
Where Aventerra wins
- Live location of your whole group, over the internet or a mesh radio. Gaia GPS states it cannot share live location.
- SOS and end-to-end encrypted chat over the mesh with no network at all. Gaia GPS points you to a satellite messenger instead.
- Slope angle, daily snow depth and one offline region are free. Gaia GPS puts overlays and offline downloads behind Premium.
- Quebec snowmobile, quad and dirt bike networks from the MRNF, FCMQ and FQCQ, with routing profiles for each.
- Hazard reports with severity, voting, expiry and reporter trust, from riders who were just there.
- Eight weather layers moved together by one time scrubber, plus NWS and ECCC alerts.
Frequently asked
Can I bring my Gaia GPS tracks into Aventerra?
Yes. Aventerra imports GPX and KML files into tracks, routes and waypoints, and exports GPX. Gaia GPS's help centre says it imports GPX and KML too, so your Aventerra recordings can travel the other way.
Which is better for backcountry skiing?
Gaia GPS has a Snow Mode with avalanche forecasts, backcountry ski zones, snow forecasts and slope angle, all on Premium. Aventerra records ski as an activity, shows slope angle and daily snow depth for free, and points you to Avalanche Canada or Avalanche Québec for the bulletin.
Do I need Gaia GPS Premium to go offline?
Yes. Gaia GPS states that Free cannot download maps. Aventerra downloads one region free, with its routing pack, and Pro removes the limit.