Magic Earth vs Organic Maps

Compare Magic Earth and Organic Maps on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

Both listed as alternatives to: Google Maps

Magic Earth

Netherlands· Maps & Navigation

Needs review

Shortlist Magic Earth when you want a Dutch-published freemium OSM navigator with offline Premium packs, multi-modal routing, and dashboard integrations without a Google account. Skip when you need open-source clients, a published B2B DPA/subprocessor schedule, or Google-grade live transit and commercial POI density everywhere—consider Google Maps for coverage, or open OSM clients (Organic Maps/OsmAnd) for fully free offline-first use.

NL-operatedOffline maps (Premium)OSM-based mapsMulti-modal routingFreemiumClosed source

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Organic Maps

Estonia· Offline Navigation Software

Needs review

Shortlist Organic Maps when you need free, Apache-licensed, offline-first OpenStreetMap navigation with strong privacy defaults and an Estonian operator—especially for hiking, cycling, and no-signal travel. Skip when you need live traffic, mature multi-modal public transport, enterprise certifications/DPA, or white-label map CDN rights; consider HERE WeGo or Mapy.com for commercial stacks, Magic Earth for freemium offline navigation, or komoot for sport-tour communities.

EU-operated (EE)Open source (Apache 2.0)Offline-firstNo ads / no trackers (claimed)OpenStreetMap dataF-Droid available

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Highlighted rows differ between the two products.

Magic Earth vs Organic Maps: Snapshot
Feature	Magic Earth	Organic Maps
Country of origin	Netherlands	Estonia
Category	Maps & Navigation	Offline Navigation Software
Open source	No	Yes
Self-hosted	No	No
Headquarters	Netherlands	Estonia
Legal entity	Magic Lane International B.V. (Amsterdam; Play Store lists Narva-eiland 52, 1014 ZJ)	Organic Maps OÜ (registry code 16225385, Tallinn)
Governing law	Netherlands / EU GDPR context (consumer privacy policy; not legal advice)	Estonia / EU (entity under Republic of Estonia; confirm contracts per use)
US parent / control	No known US parent	No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	Medium	Medium
Hosting / residency	Consumer online services on Magic Earth hostnames (e.g. magicearthsdk.com service domains per vendor data inventory). Primary cloud host and EU/non-EU regions not publicly listed. Weather aggregated on vendor servers from external providers. Premium iOS cloud backup host unknown. Billing often via Apple App Store / Google Play (US-group platforms). No public consumer subprocessor schedule found.	Offline-first client (on-device maps). Map download/update servers publicly sponsored by Mythic Beasts (UK) with London and Amsterdam capacity and by 44+ Technologies for Vietnam/SE Asia. Public website observed behind Cloudflare (US). Android beta via Firebase App Distribution (Google). No full public subprocessor schedule.
Summary	Privacy-oriented freemium maps and turn-by-turn navigation from Magic Lane International B.V. (Amsterdam): OSM-based maps, offline Premium packs, multi-modal routing, and CarPlay/Android Auto.	Estonian open-source offline maps and GPS navigation (Organic Maps OÜ): OpenStreetMap-based hiking, cycling, and driving guidance with no ads or tracking.
Tags	maps navigation offline-maps openstreetmap privacy freemium netherlands carplay android-auto magic-lane	maps navigation offline-maps openstreetmap privacy open-source hiking cycling gps android ios estonia donation-funded fdroid

At a glance: Magic Earth vs Organic Maps
At a glance	Magic Earth	Organic Maps
HQ	Amsterdam, Netherlands (Brasov, RO site also listed)	Tallinn, Estonia (Organic Maps OÜ)
Legal entity	Magic Lane International B.V.	Not listed
Product type	Consumer iOS/Android navigation app	Not listed
Map data	OpenStreetMap-based + vendor layers	OpenStreetMap (+ elevation/other open sources in packages)
Commercial model	Freemium Essential + Premium (web/store)	Free app; donation-funded; grants (e.g. NLnet)
Open source	No (closed source)	Not listed
Self-host	No	Not listed
Registry	Not listed	EE 16225385
License	Not listed	Apache 2.0 (app); separate binary map data license
Clients	Not listed	Android, iOS, desktop/Linux builds; CarPlay/Android Auto

Key capabilities: Magic Earth vs Organic Maps
Key capabilities	Magic Earth	Organic Maps
NL-operated	Yes	Yes
Offline maps (Premium)	Yes	Not listed
OSM-based maps	Yes	Not listed
Multi-modal routing	Yes	Not listed
Freemium	Yes	Not listed
Closed source	Yes	Not listed
Open source (Apache 2.0)	Not listed	Yes
Offline-first	Not listed	Yes
No ads / no trackers (claimed)	Not listed	Yes
OpenStreetMap data	Not listed	Yes
F-Droid available	Not listed	Yes

Magic Earth

OpenStreetMap-based maps with offline Premium packs
Worldwide map browsing uses OSM-derived data with Magic Lane enrichment. Premium unlocks offline map downloads and offline voice guidance for 200+ countries/regions (vendor claim: 233), reducing reliance on mobile data while travelling.
Multi-modal turn-by-turn routing
Essential includes basic car, bicycle, pedestrian, and truck routing with multi-stop plans, lane assistance, and head-up display. Premium deepens profiles (e.g. bike terrain/e-bike, truck dimensions) and traffic-aware re-routing.
CarPlay, Android Auto, and Apple Watch (Premium)
Dashboard and wearable integrations are Premium features for in-vehicle and on-wrist guidance—useful when phone-only navigation is impractical, with vendor notes that coverage can vary by region.
Crowd traffic, cameras, and safety reports
Premium emphasises real-time traffic optimisation; Essential still surfaces camera alerts and community hazard-style reports. Traffic contribution telemetry uses a rotating sensor id per the vendor data inventory rather than a permanent user account graph.
Freemium model without ads as monetisation
Essential remains free for core map and basic navigation. Premium is sold via web licenses and store subscriptions with trials; vendor messaging rejects advertising and sale of personal data as the funding model.

Organic Maps

Fully offline maps, search, and turn-by-turn navigation
Download country/region map packages once, then search, plan, and navigate without a live connection. Supports walking, cycling, and car guidance with voice prompts. Ideal for remote travel and roaming control; map updates and first-time downloads still need network access to project servers.
Outdoor cartography: trails, contours, and elevation
OpenStreetMap-based hiking and cycling routes, walking paths, contour lines, elevation profiles, peaks, and slopes—useful where commercial basemaps under-represent trail detail. Quality depends on local OSM completeness; missing paths need community edits, not a paid editorial team.
CarPlay, Android Auto, and multi-store distribution
In-car display support via CarPlay and Android Auto is listed on the official product page. Apps ship on App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, F-Droid, Accrescent, and GitHub releases—important for MDM or store-policy constraints.
Bookmarks and tracks with open file formats
Import and export bookmarks and tracks in KML/KMZ, GPX, and GeoJSON so field teams can move routes between Organic Maps and other GIS or outdoor tools without proprietary lock-in.
In-app OpenStreetMap POI editing
After signing into an OSM account in settings, users can add places or fix POI details (name, hours, website) from the device. Limited to POIs—not roads or complex geometry—so advanced mapping still needs iD/JOSM or other OSM editors.
No ads or known third-party trackers in the client
Official privacy policy claims no tracking, ads, or data collection. Exodus Privacy’s public static analysis of the Google Play build reported zero known tracker signatures (latest report sampled in research). This is not a substitute for a formal security audit or organisational threat model.

Assurance & compliance: Magic Earth vs Organic Maps
Assurance & compliance	Magic Earth	Organic Maps
Independent security / no-logs audit	Not found Vendor privacy claims and internal data inventory PDF; no public independent audit PDF located.	Partial Exodus Privacy / TrackerControl static tracker scans public; no independent no-logs or penetration-test report found for Organic Maps OÜ.
ISO 27001	Not found Not found on Magic Earth / Magic Lane consumer product pages in this research pass.	Not found No public ISO 27001 certificate located for Organic Maps OÜ.
SOC 2 / SOC 3	Not found	Not found No public SOC 2/3 report located.
GDPR / EU data protection	Vendor claimed EU (NL) controller entity; privacy policy + data inventory published; confirm DPA/residencies for B2B use.	Partial EU (Estonian) controller; privacy policy claims no collection/tracking. No detailed GDPR processing record or DPA package published. Confirm for organisational use.
US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	Partial NL BV, no known US parent; no public hosting/subprocessor list; Apple/Google store billing and possible third-party location/ID sharing (Play Data safety) prevent a clean low assessment. Not legal advice.	Partial Estonian OÜ, no known US parent, offline-first client. Map CDN on UK/NL (Mythic Beasts) and VN; website Cloudflare; Android beta Firebase. Assessment: medium exposure residual via US CDN/beta paths—not a clean bill. Not legal advice.
Data processing agreement (B2B)	Not found Consumer app privacy contacts published; no standard public B2B DPA download found for Magic Earth.	Not found No self-serve B2B DPA found; consumer/donation project. White-label/legal inquiries: legal@organicmaps.app.
EU AI Act	Not applicable Consumer navigation app; not marketed as an AI system product in this research pass.	Not applicable Offline maps/navigation client; not marketed as an AI system product.

Considerations & known limitations: Magic Earth vs Organic Maps
Considerations & known limitations	Magic Earth	Organic Maps
Marketing privacy claims vs telemetry inventory	Medium Homepage claims (no personal data collection / no tracking) are stronger than the privacy policy, data inventory PDF (anonymous retention of some routing/search/traffic classes), and Google Play Data safety labels (possible third-party sharing of location and device IDs). Diligence should use the inventory and store labels, not marketing alone.	Not listed
No public hosting / subprocessor schedule	Medium Primary cloud providers and data-region commitments for consumer backends are not published. Blocks clean EU-only / low CLOUD Act statements until the vendor supplies a schedule.	Not listed
Essential vs Premium feature matrix can change	Low Offline maps, traffic, and dashboard integrations are Premium on the current pricing page. Packaging has moved from free-first toward freemium/subscription—re-check before relying on a specific free capability.	Not listed
Closed-source consumer app, not enterprise MDM kit	Low No self-host path and limited public enterprise assurance artifacts. Fleet or regulated deployments need Magic Lane B2B contracts, not the store listing alone.	Not listed
Feature availability varies by country	Low Vendor and store notes state some features (e.g. cameras, transit depth, traffic) are not available everywhere; validate on feature-availability pages for target countries.	Not listed
Donation-funded sustainability	Not listed	Medium Free forever depends on donations and grants; project materials have historically stressed that voluntary funding may not fully cover long-term development. Plan for possible slower feature velocity or community forks.
Incomplete public hosting inventory	Not listed	Medium Sponsors (Mythic Beasts, 44+) are named, but there is no enterprise subprocessor register. Cloudflare and Firebase appear in the distribution path. High-assurance buyers must ask legal@organicmaps.app for a current infrastructure list.
OSM completeness varies by region	Not listed	Medium Routing and POI quality track OpenStreetMap coverage. Rural or poorly mapped areas may lack roads, turn restrictions, or businesses that commercial maps show.
Limited live traffic and public transport	Not listed	Medium Not a substitute for Google/HERE live traffic or mature door-to-door PT. Bus-stop details improved in 2025; full multi-modal PT remains a common request.
Map package redistribution constraints	Not listed	Low Apache covers source; .mwm binaries require attribution and restrict white-label use without permission—relevant for embedders, not typical end users.
Community governance and forks	Not listed	Low A small founder board governs the project. 2025 community discussions and the CoMaps fork illustrate OSS governance risk; verify active maintainership before long-term standardisation.

Fit

Magic Earth

Best fit when

Drivers and travellers who want offline map packs and turn-by-turn guidance without a Google Maps account
Cyclists, hikers, and truck drivers who need mode-specific or dimension-aware routing profiles
Privacy-minded consumers evaluating European-published navigation with freemium Essential access
Users who need CarPlay or Android Auto navigation on a non-Google map stack (Premium)
Teams piloting a consumer app first before considering Magic Lane B2B SDKs for embedded mobility

Poor fit when

Organisations requiring a signed B2B DPA, named EU hosting regions, and a public subprocessor list before pilot
Buyers who need fully open-source map clients and community map editing workflows
Operations that depend on the densest commercial POI and live transit coverage in every city
Deployments that must treat Google Play Data safety third-party location/ID sharing as a hard blocker without vendor clarification

Consider instead when

When: You need maximum real-time traffic, transit density, and commercial POI coverage with deep Android/Google ecosystem integration
Consider: Google Maps
Different privacy and account model; usually stronger live data breadth.
When: You want fully free offline OSM navigation without a freemium paywall or proprietary backend
Consider: Organic Maps or OsmAnd (community OSM clients; not currently in this catalog)
Trade vendor live traffic and dashboard polish for open/offline-first clients.
When: You need embeddable maps/routing for fleets, micromobility, or automotive products under contract
Consider: Magic Lane developer platform / SDK (same vendor, different product)
Do not assume the consumer Magic Earth app is the enterprise SKU.

Organic Maps

Best fit when

Hikers, cyclists, and travellers who must navigate without mobile data after pre-downloading regions
Privacy-conscious users who want a tracker-free client verified by Exodus/TrackerControl-style scans
Teams recommending a Google Maps alternative for BYOD travel with an EU legal entity (Organic Maps OÜ)
OSM contributors who want simple on-device POI editing that uploads to OpenStreetMap
Organisations that prefer F-Droid or sideload channels alongside major app stores

Poor fit when

Requirements for live traffic, dense commercial POI graphs, or full multi-modal public-transport planning
Procurement that mandates public ISO 27001/SOC 2, a signed B2B DPA, or a complete subprocessor register before shortlist
White-label or OEM embedding of official .mwm packages without a written license from Organic Maps
Fleet/commercial navigation needing SLA, telematics integration, or paid enterprise support contracts

Consider instead when

When: You need commercial map stack offline multi-modal navigation under a Dutch controller with published cloud subprocessors
Consider: HERE WeGo
HERE WeGo is freemium consumer on HERE data; different ownership and AWS/Azure exposure
When: You want Czech-operated outdoor layers, freemium offline packs, and a map REST API
Consider: Mapy.com
Mapy (Seznam) is not OSS; stronger CZ editorial cartography and API product
When: You want a commercial freemium offline navigator from a Dutch map-engine company
Consider: Magic Earth
Magic Earth / Magic Lane; compare store data-safety disclosures and licensing
When: You primarily need sport-specific tour planning and outdoor community features
Consider: komoot
komoot is outdoor-community first, not a general offline OSM navigator
When: You need maximum global POI density, live traffic, and default OS integration
Consider: Google Maps
US Big Tech default; opposite privacy and offline posture

Open questions for due diligence

Magic Earth

What cloud providers and regions host Magic Earth online services and Premium iOS cloud backup?
Will Magic Lane sign a B2B DPA and publish a consumer-app subprocessor list for organisational pilots?
Which third parties receive location or device IDs under Google Play Data safety, and under what legal bases?
Is there an independent security assessment or ISO/SOC roadmap for the Magic Earth stack?
How current is OSM enrichment versus Google/Apple POI freshness in our primary cities and truck corridors?

Organic Maps

Will Organic Maps OÜ sign a B2B DPA and provide a current subprocessor/hosting inventory for organisational recommendations?
What is the full list of map CDN endpoints, backup hosts, and analytics/CDN providers beyond Mythic Beasts, 44+, Cloudflare, and Firebase beta?
Is there any roadmap for independent security audit publication or formal certifications?
What contractual path exists for white-label or high-volume redistribution of .mwm packages?
How should organisations treat CoMaps vs Organic Maps when both appear in app stores for the same use case?