ArcGIS vs. Google Maps API

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ArcGIS
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Esri in Redlands, California offers ArcGIS, a geographic information system.
$100
per year
Google Maps API
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Google Maps APIs allow developers to integrate Google Maps into a website or retrieve information from Google Maps.N/A
Pricing
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Editions & Modules
Viewer
$100
per year
ArcGIS for Personal Use
$100
per year
ArcGIS for Student Use
$100
per year
Editor
$200
per year
Field Worker
$350
per year
Creator
$500
per year
GIS Professional Basic
$700
per year
GIS Professional Basic
2,750
per year
GIS Professional Advanced
3,800
per year
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Considered Both Products
ArcGIS
Chose ArcGIS
To be honest, there isn't really any competition to ArcGIS, while there are smaller applications such as QGIS, they are not enterprise. Meaning that they might do onething well, but not at a enterprise level. Other applications such as Google Maps API, and Mapbox, is just …
Chose ArcGIS
My students love the "drop" feature in Google Maps, but besides that it truly doesn't compare. I love that you can add, delete, or change layers to this map to better understand its larger affect. There are many more ways to manipulate maps on ArcGIS than on Google Maps. I can …
Chose ArcGIS
There's really no competitor to ArcGIS. The software was really the first to get into advanced geographic analysis and has kept that lead through today. The software does everything that any other geographic analytics tool attempts to do and then some. Some tools offer …
Google Maps API

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Small Businesses
Google Maps API
Google Maps API
Score 8.8 out of 10
ArcGIS
ArcGIS
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Google Maps API
Google Maps API
Score 8.8 out of 10
ArcGIS
ArcGIS
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Google Maps API
Google Maps API
Score 8.8 out of 10
ArcGIS
ArcGIS
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(39 ratings)
9.4
(7 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(12 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
ArcGISGoogle Maps API
Likelihood to Recommend
Esri
We utilize ArcGIS for each of our units. For example, we just completed our unit on the Middle Ages and are starting our unit on the Renaissance. There is a GeoInquiry that has students manipulate a map to not only see but understand the spread of the plague. They can toggle on and off different layers and icons to see how deadly the plague truly was, and how it led to the rebirth of Europe
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Google
It is most suited for someone who has a physical office, particularly a retail store which helps them to promote the business locally. I would suggest businessmen should use this tool for promoting their business in a more effective way. It is of least important if you are promoting your business digitally and don't have a physical location.
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Pros
Esri
  • Enterprise GIS - multi-user, multi-versioned geodatabase access through a host of apps and web tools really help people stay connected to data.
  • Cartography - fantastic control and customization available with the ability to automate workflows.
  • Training - tons of training videos, seminars, and other learning materials are easily accessed. The help documentation is superb.
  • Ability to manage an organization through dashboards is extremely helpful.
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Google
  • Very simple UI, easy to use.
  • You can send your live location to a person who wants to meet you.
  • You can mark and pin the locations you are travelling regularly.
  • You can get the code of iframe for any location and embed it into your organization's website also.
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Cons
Esri
  • There is a steep learning curve for ArcGIS users.
  • It takes a lot of computing power for ArcGIS, as it can't be installed on every computer.
  • At times, tools can be outdated and there are many similar competitors making more web-based tools that can replace ArcGIS.
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Google
  • Offline location required for some certain locations
  • Needs to reduce updates as it is comes from most of the updates.
  • Maps needs to be accurate in small areas in order to find destination.
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Likelihood to Renew
Esri
Simply because the program deserves it. It seems to me that it is a fundamental tool for the storage, analysis, and interpretation of medium and large-scale phenomena, unmanageable with traditional engineering software. Its versatility in the handling of the different "layers" with which the data is handled and interpolation tools, make this software a powerful ally both for companies and for the educational part of the universities.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Usability
Esri
Once set up, the tools are extremely easy to use. I had a staff member develop a tool for field data collection, that included an external and internal dashboards to monitor progress in days. The field workers that collected the data, barely knew how to use a computer, and within minutes they could use the application that was configured for them.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Esri
Unlike other platforms (ex: EMSI), there is no "help desk" new users can easily call into for troubleshooting or errors, and so you have to spend LOTS of time trying workarounds. This is also because the help center blog posts are usually pretty confusing, and many times do not include images or videos to help you along. Any such changes would be immensely useful!
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Google
It does everything I need it to do and hasn't let me down yet. It has been a lifesaver for my roofing accounts. Most of my clients for the roofing belong to an Amish community with no computers and so forth. So being able to search the maps and look at the rooftops is imperative for those campaigns.
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Alternatives Considered
Esri
ArcGIS and QGIS have a lot of similarities between their products. Where ArcGIS stands out is with their online version of their software. ArcGIS's online solution will pair up with your on-prem solution to offer a fully synchronized system. I wasn't able to duplicate the efforts with QGIS's products and it also requires other 3rd party applications to offer something "somewhat" comparable.
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Google
Google MAP API is one of the prominent ones as compared to others. In the selection process also we are [complete] with the API provider by Google MAP as it is quite stable.No doubt it is one of the best methods to implement or integrate as compared to any others which is available in the competition.
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Return on Investment
Esri
  • ArcGIS is almost assuredly a positive ROI. The software is nicely packaged with a large user base. If you plan on doing geographic analysis and think there could be a boost to your bottom-line by doing geographic analysis, ArcGIS is the first tool I would turn to.
  • For some analysts that just want to geocode addresses and plot city, county, or country boundaries, ArcGIS is a negative ROI. There are lots of other tools (free ones) that will accomplish these tasks without investing lots of time and money in ArcGIS. If that's all you're looking for, ArcGIS will turn out to be a negative ROI.
  • ArcGIS has been a positive ROI for cases involving customer analytics. The software is great for geofencing customers and finding the most optimal targeting of customers.
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Google
  • Definitely it gives optimum ROI to my organization which is positive sign.
  • My company overall business showed a positive growth rate.
  • I now get more no of people visiting my office .
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