Google Earth

Review by eFreeware

Google Earth is the app I would point to first for anyone who wants to look at the planet rather than just get directions. It is built around high-resolution satellite imagery, so the appeal starts with seeing places from above, and it goes further with 3D views of terrain and city buildings in hundreds of locations, plus Street View's 360-degree perspectives at street level. The developer frames it as a way to examine the planet, and that framing holds up: this is a viewing and map-making tool, not a turn-by-turn navigation app.

The people most likely to want it are travelers planning a route they have never seen, students and teachers working through geography, and anyone who simply enjoys roaming a map. Because it is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases, there is no cost to trying it. It has been installed more than 500 million times and holds a 3.8 average from roughly 2.96 million ratings, which suggests a very large audience with a range of experiences.

What you actually do with it

The core experience is browsing. You move around the globe, zoom into a city, tilt the view to see terrain and buildings in three dimensions, then drop to street level through Street View's 360-degree imagery. That combination covers a lot of ground: a mountain range reads differently in 3D than it does on a flat map, and a neighborhood reads differently again from the street.

Beyond looking, the app is built for making. The developer describes creating and collaborating on immersive, data-driven maps from anywhere, and that phrase matters because it sets the app apart from a plain viewer. You can assemble a map around a subject rather than just visit someone else's. The recent release adds photos taken with your camera to your maps, which makes a personal record of a place possible alongside the satellite view.

Collaboration and maps that travel with you

The collaboration angle is the part I find most interesting. Maps are meant to be worked on with other people rather than kept to yourself, and the developer says the app supports collaborating across devices. The most recent update leans into this directly, with a refreshed look and features for working with others no matter which device they are on.

That has practical uses. A group planning a trip can build one map together instead of trading screenshots. A class can assemble a shared map of a region. A household can mark places that matter to it. None of this requires a special skill set; the app is designed for creating maps on the go, so the work happens wherever you are rather than at a desk.

What the app asks of you

The trade-offs here are mostly about scope rather than cost. What the app demands instead is a reason to open it: it is a tool for exploring and building maps, and the value comes from what you bring to it.

The 3D treatment of terrain and buildings covers hundreds of cities, not every place on earth, so how much depth you get depends on where you look. The 3.8 average rating across a very large number of ratings also suggests that the experience is not uniformly loved, though nothing indicates why opinions vary. The app is rated for Everyone, and it was first released in February 2010, so it has had a long life and a long run of updates, the most recent in October 2026.

A map tool for curious travelers and collaborators

I would recommend Google Earth to people who want to understand a place before they go, or who want to build something out of a map rather than just read one. Travelers researching a destination, teachers and students working with geography, and groups assembling a shared map of a trip or a project all fit what the app is built to do.

If you want satellite imagery, 3D city views, Street View perspectives and the ability to create and share maps in one free app, this covers that ground. The price of entry is nothing, the app carries no ads and no purchases, and the collaboration features give it a purpose beyond browsing. For the right user, it is a straightforward install.

What's new

Thanks for using Google Earth! This release brings a fresh new look, with new features to help you collaborate with others across devices, create maps on the go, and add photos from your camera to your maps.