Not every mapping project needs satellite data. For many jobs, open aerial imagery is sharper, easier to use, and free.

Start with national programs. In the United States, the National Agriculture Imagery Program provides nationwide aerial imagery. In several European countries, national mapping agencies publish orthophotos far sharper than free satellite data.

OpenStreetMap is the next stop. Its editors trace features from aerial imagery, and community imagery platforms let volunteers contribute geotagged photos that can fill gaps where official imagery is old or coarse.

For day-to-day use, web map services are the most practical route. Many open imagery sources are published as WMS or WMTS services you can add directly to QGIS as a background layer without downloading anything.

Licenses vary, and open does not always mean unrestricted. Some national imagery is fully open, while other sources require attribution or restrict commercial use. Read the license for each source you use.

Choosing between aerial and satellite data comes down to the job. Aerial imagery wins on sharpness and local detail; satellite data wins on coverage, consistency, and repeat visits over time.

One more check matters with aerial imagery: the capture date. Aerial surveys are flown every few years in most regions, not continuously, so the imagery you find may predate a new road, a housing estate, or a harvested field. Always look for the survey date in the source metadata and note it on your map, especially if the map will inform a decision. Seasonal differences matter too: a summer image and a winter image of the same place can look like different landscapes, with leaf-on trees hiding features that leaf-off imagery reveals.