The base maps of military maps are mostly topographic maps, so the annotation of topographic information is more accurate, while civilian maps are generally geographical maps. For the convenience of people, different civilian maps also have different emphases, such as traffic maps focusing on the drawing and annotation of roads, and tourist maps focusing on the drawing and annotation of scenic spots and hotels.

Map scales are different: most military maps are large-scale topographic maps. Large-scale topographic maps in China are inaccessible to ordinary people because of their different scales and different safety levels. Civil maps are generally small-scale topographic maps or large-scale geographical maps, and it is impossible to have large-scale topographic maps.

The geographical features of surveying and mapping areas are different: for example, the height difference of tens of meters is irrelevant in mountainous areas, but more important in plain areas. It is unnecessary to draw elevation difference on civilian maps, because it has little influence on the theme drawn, but military maps must be drawn.

Graphic restrictions are different: military maps and civilian maps display different contents, so their maps are certainly different, and there are many differences in symbols, colors, specifications, brightness differences and so on.

Different data quality: the type, characteristics, quality, accuracy, integrity, reliability and status quo of data used in military maps are incomparable to those used in civilian maps.