Exploring Microsoft Bing Maps 3D (Virtual Earth 3D): A Beginner’s Guide

Comparing Bing Maps 3D (Virtual Earth 3D) to Other 3D Mapping PlatformsIntroduction

Three-dimensional mapping has become a core component of modern geospatial services, powering applications from urban planning and simulation to immersive tourism and gaming. Microsoft’s Bing Maps 3D (historically known as Virtual Earth 3D) was an early mover in consumer-accessible 3D mapping, offering realistic building models, terrain, and photorealistic imagery. Today, multiple platforms provide 3D mapping capabilities—each with different strengths around data fidelity, developer tooling, integration, licensing, and real-time features. This article compares Bing Maps 3D (Virtual Earth 3D) with several prominent 3D mapping platforms: Google Earth/Maps 3D, Cesium, Mapbox, HERE Technologies, and Apple Maps. The goal is to give planners, developers, and decision-makers a clear view of trade-offs and best-use scenarios.

Scope and criteria for comparison

This comparison focuses on functional and practical aspects that matter for real-world projects:

Data fidelity: accuracy, resolution, and photorealism of 3D geometry and imagery
Coverage and scale: global vs. regional availability, and urban object detail
Developer ecosystem: APIs, SDKs, supported languages, examples, and learning curve
Performance and rendering: real-time rendering, level-of-detail (LOD), streaming, and WebGL or native support
Integration and interoperability: standard formats (glTF, COLLADA, KML), GIS compatibility, and plugins
Licensing, cost, and commercial terms: free tiers, enterprise pricing, and data usage restrictions
Specialized features: time-dynamic data, analytics, routing on 3D surfaces, textured photogrammetry, and AR/VR support
Community and support: documentation quality, community libraries, and vendor responsiveness

Overview of platforms

Microsoft Bing Maps 3D (Virtual Earth 3D)

Bing Maps 3D began as Microsoft Virtual Earth’s 3D mode and evolved into a set of 3D services integrated within Bing Maps and the Bing Maps SDKs. Historically notable for early adoption of 3D building models and integration into desktop and web experiences, Bing offered textured 3D models, elevation and terrain, and tiled imagery. Microsoft has since shifted many mapping investments into Azure Maps and integration points with Bing Maps APIs; however, the Bing Maps platform and its 3D capabilities remain relevant for enterprises that depend on Microsoft services and Azure ecosystem integration.

Google Earth / Google Maps 3D

Google Earth popularized consumer 3D as a realistic globe with photorealistic terrain and textured 3D buildings generated through photogrammetry. Google Maps also includes 3D capabilities in many urban areas. Strengths include high-fidelity photogrammetry in major cities, seamless integration with Google’s POI data, Street View, and robust mobile and web SDKs. Google’s geodata and imagery coverage are among the most complete globally.

Cesium

Cesium is an open-source geospatial 3D mapping platform built around high-precision, streaming 3D tiling for global-scale visualization. CesiumJS (WebGL) and Cesium ion (cloud-hosted tiling, imagery, and 3D tiles) focus on interoperability (3D Tiles format), high-performance streaming, and support for large-scale temporal and analytic datasets. Cesium is widely used in defense, simulation, and digital twin applications.

Mapbox

Mapbox provides developer-focused mapping with strong vector-tile styling and 3D extrusion capabilities. Mapbox GL JS/Native supports 3D buildings and terrain with good performance for web and mobile. Mapbox emphasizes custom styling and integration with creative applications, though its photorealistic 3D coverage is more limited than Google’s photogrammetry or Cesium’s tiled 3D models.

HERE Technologies

HERE offers enterprise-grade mapping, route planning, and location services, with 3D building and terrain data useful for navigation and automotive applications. HERE focuses on precise routing and mapping for logistics and automotive industries, and provides SDKs tailored for in-vehicle systems and fleet management.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps incorporated 3D city models in select cities (called Look Around/3D landmarks) and tightly integrates with iOS/macOS platforms. Apple’s 3D views are optimized for consumer navigation and aesthetic consistency within Apple’s ecosystem. Access to data for third-party developers is more constrained compared to open platforms.

Data fidelity and photorealism

Bing Maps 3D: Good textured building models and terrain in many urban centers, especially where Microsoft invested in imaging. Not consistently photogrammetric at the level of Google’s recent city models; fidelity varies by region.
Google Earth: Industry-leading photorealism in many cities due to large-scale aerial photogrammetry and frequent updates. Excellent terrain and global imagery quality.
Cesium: High fidelity when using high-resolution 3D Tiles or photogrammetry datasets, but depends on user-supplied datasets or Cesium ion-hosted assets. Cesium enables near-lossless display of high-detail models if you provide or source them.
Mapbox: Stylized 3D with high-quality vector rendering and extrusions; photorealistic textured 3D is limited compared to Google or Cesium with custom assets.
HERE: Accurate, precision-focused 3D for navigation, less emphasis on consumer photorealism; strong in modeling for automotive use-cases.
Apple Maps: High-quality 3D in selected cities, with a polished visual style optimized for Apple devices.

Coverage, scale, and urban detail

Bing: Broad coverage of imagery and 3D building footprints; urban detail varies.
Google: Extensive global coverage with dense photogrammetry in major metros.
Cesium: Global capability depends on datasets; with 3D Tiles and streaming, Cesium can scale from a single model to planetary datasets.
Mapbox: Good global vector data and terrain; 3D building detail typically uses extruded footprints rather than full photogrammetric meshes.
HERE: Strong in transportation corridors and cities important for automotive customers; dataset licensing targets enterprise use.
Apple: Focused coverage for visually-rich 3D in priority cities.

Developer ecosystem and APIs

Bing Maps 3D: Provides Bing Maps REST APIs and SDKs (Web/V8, Native) and ties into Azure services; easier integration for Microsoft-centric stacks (Azure AD, Azure Storage). Documentation exists but some advanced 3D features are less prominent than native Cesium tooling.
Google: Extensive SDKs (Maps JavaScript API, Maps SDKs for Android/iOS, Earth Engine) and vast developer samples. Strong support for mobile and web.
Cesium: CesiumJS is developer-friendly for custom 3D visualizations; strong tooling for 3D Tiles, glTF, and temporal visualization. Cesium ion offers asset hosting and tiling services.
Mapbox: Excellent SDKs and styling tools for web and mobile; strong documentation and community libraries for custom maps.
HERE: Enterprise SDKs specialized for navigation, telematics, and high-precision location services.
Apple: Developer APIs integrated into iOS/macOS SDKs; limited cross-platform support.

Performance, rendering, and scalability

Bing: Solid web performance using tiled imagery and LOD for 3D models; integration with Microsoft cloud allows scalable tile serving.
Google: Optimized native clients and WebGL-based web clients; aggressive LOD and streaming for photogrammetry.
Cesium: Built for streaming large-scale 3D data via 3D Tiles; excels at high-performance visualization of complex scenes.
Mapbox: Efficient vector-tile rendering and GPU-accelerated extrusions; great for stylized, interactive maps.
HERE: Engineered for low-latency, reliable delivery in automotive applications.
Apple: Highly optimized on Apple hardware, offering smooth rendering on iOS devices.

Interoperability and formats

Cesium leads with standardized 3D Tiles and strong glTF support.
Bing, Google, Mapbox, and HERE support common GIS formats and have their own tiling/hosting ecosystems; conversion tools are often needed to move assets between systems.
Apple’s formats are optimized for Apple platforms; third-party ingestion is more restricted.

Licensing, costs, and commercial terms

Bing Maps: Enterprise-friendly licensing; free tiers exist but advanced/enterprise usage typically requires paid licenses, especially for high-volume or commercial applications.
Google Maps/Earth: Generous features but fairly strict commercial pricing and usage quotas; commercial projects can become costly at scale.
Cesium: Open-source CesiumJS is free; Cesium ion and hosted services have metered pricing; self-hosting of 3D Tiles is an option to control costs.
Mapbox: Usage-based pricing with tiers; flexible for developers but can become expensive at scale.
HERE: Enterprise pricing tailored to automotive and logistics customers.
Apple: For end-user apps on Apple platforms, usage is typically embedded in the OS and developer APIs; commercial licensing for data at scale may have constraints—contact Apple for enterprise terms.

Specialized features and advanced use-cases

Temporal/dynamic data: Cesium has strong support for time-dynamic visualization (e.g., moving vehicles, changing sensor feeds).
Simulation and digital twins: Cesium and custom Bing/Azure combinations are common choices; Cesium’s 3D Tiles and glTF workflows simplify large-city twins.
AR/VR: Mapbox, Cesium, and platform SDKs (ARKit/ARCore) are commonly used for mixed-reality experiences. Bing Maps can integrate with Azure spatial services for AR/VR pipelines.
Routing in 3D: HERE and Bing/Maps platforms provide routing optimized for vehicle navigation; Cesium is more visualization-focused and can be combined with routing engines for analytic workflows.

Ease of migration and hybrid architectures

Hybrid approaches are common: use Cesium for rendering 3D Tiles while sourcing imagery and POI from Bing/Google/HERE.
Migrating photogrammetry between Google’s proprietary models and open 3D Tiles can be restricted; prefer open, self-hosted datasets (glTF/3D Tiles) for portability.
Enterprises tied to Azure will find Bing Maps and Azure Maps easier to integrate; those seeking vendor neutrality often choose Cesium plus cloud storage.

When to choose each platform — short guidance

Choose Bing Maps 3D if you need: strong Microsoft/Azure integration, reliable enterprise licensing, and decent 3D building/imagery coverage for business apps.
Choose Google Earth/Maps 3D if you need: the most photorealistic city models, broad global coverage, and integrated POI and Street View data.
Choose Cesium if you need: high-performance streaming of large 3D datasets, open standards (3D Tiles/glTF), and advanced temporal/digital twin capabilities.
Choose Mapbox if you need: flexible styling, vector performance, and custom-branded 3D visualizations across web and mobile.
Choose HERE if you need: automotive-grade mapping, precise routing, and enterprise telematics.
Choose Apple Maps if you need: tightly integrated, high-quality 3D experiences on Apple platforms.

Example comparison table

Platform	Photorealism	Developer tooling	Best for	Licensing/Cost
Bing Maps 3D	Good (varies)	Bing SDKs, Azure integration	Microsoft-centric enterprise apps	Enterprise licenses; paid tiers
Google Earth/Maps	Excellent (photogrammetry)	Extensive SDKs and APIs	Consumer apps, high-fidelity visuals	Usage-based commercial pricing
Cesium	Depends on data (can be very high)	CesiumJS, 3D Tiles, Cesium ion	Digital twins, simulations	Open-source + hosted paid services
Mapbox	Stylized 3D extrusions	Mapbox GL JS/Native	Custom-styled web/mobile maps	Usage-based tiers
HERE	Accurate, navigation-focused	Automotive/enterprise SDKs	Routing, logistics, automotive	Enterprise pricing
Apple Maps	High in select cities	iOS/macOS SDKs	Apple ecosystem consumer apps	Platform-integrated; enterprise constraints

Limitations and considerations

Data freshness: photogrammetry and aerial imagery require frequent updates; verify update schedules for critical projects.
Legal/usage restrictions: some providers restrict commercial redistribution or re-hosting of imagery and photogrammetry.
Platform lock-in: heavy use of provider-specific formats/SDKs increases migration cost. Favor open formats (glTF, 3D Tiles) when portability matters.
Privacy and compliance: enterprise projects should confirm data handling, user privacy, and regulatory compliance with each vendor.

Conclusion

Bing Maps 3D (Virtual Earth 3D) remains a viable option for organizations that value Microsoft ecosystem integration and enterprise-grade licensing. For the highest photorealism and consumer-facing visual richness, Google Earth leads; for open standards, scalability, and advanced digital-twin workflows, Cesium is often the best fit. Mapbox, HERE, and Apple each occupy slots where styling flexibility, automotive-grade routing, or tight platform integration matter most. The right choice depends on priorities: fidelity vs. cost, cloud integration vs. vendor neutrality, and whether the project needs heavy customization, real-time simulation, or simply an embedded 3D map for users.