GIS · Base maps
Offline base map options, side by side
An offline GIS system is only as useful as the map underneath it. Switch between the four ways to build that base map and see what each one shows on a real coastal town, from free open data to licensed 30–50 cm imagery. Use Full screen or Maximize to look closely.
Free · Recommended
Option 2 · Free hybrid
Free · RecommendedEverything in Option 1 laid over real satellite imagery at 10 m, refreshed every few days by Sentinel-2. Any aerial, drone or 1 m government imagery you already hold slots in as an extra layer.
What it includes
- Everything in Option 1
- Sentinel-2 true-colour imagery at 10 m, from a recent cloud-free pass
- Your own aerial or drone imagery, or 1 m national imagery, where available
- Best for
- The best real view of the area without buying imagery.
- Limit
- At 10 m, town blocks and roads are clear but individual houses are not.
- Licence cost
- None
- Storage
- 1–3 GB, plus any aerial imagery
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026 · plus everything in Option 1
All options at a glance
| Licence cost | None | None | Imagery licence | None, but illegal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real view of the ground | No | 10 m everywhere | 30–50 cm in priority areas | ≈ 30–50 cm everywhere |
| Individual buildings | Outlines | Outlines, photos where held | Outlines plus photos in priority areas | Photos, unlicensed |
| New construction | Only if users add it | Large changes visible | Visible in priority areas | Depends on unknown dates |
| Storage | < 1 GB | 1–3 GB | 5–20 GB | Varies |
| Legal for offline use | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Why imagery matters
Records, routes and plans are placed on top of the base map. At 10 m a town block is a single blur; at 30–50 cm individual houses, walls and vehicles are visible. The screen-detail figure under the map shows what each pixel covers at the current zoom.
Offline is the hard part
Online map services licence their imagery for viewing over the internet only. A system that runs on a laptop with no connection needs imagery that is owned or bought under an offline licence, which is why the options look the way they do.
Same software, any mix
The options only change the data underneath. Each one can be upgraded to the next later as an extra layer, with no rework, so starting free and adding detail where it matters is usually the right path.
Example area: Gwadar, Pakistan. Sentinel-2 imagery from 3 October 2026 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), processed into map tiles for this page. Street map © OpenStreetMap contributors. Building outlines: Google Open Buildings (CC BY 4.0), Microsoft Building Footprints (ODbL) and OpenStreetMap, via the Overture Maps Foundation. 30–50 cm preview and terrain shading: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community, streamed online. Imagery prices are indicative. Need an offline map system built? Get in touch.