Two maps, two purposes
Mercator preserves local angles. Equal Earth preserves relative area. Neither turns a spherical planet into a flat sheet without distortion, because that is mathematically impossible.
Where Mercator is useful
For its original navigational purpose, Mercator has a valuable property: a constant compass bearing appears as a straight line. It is also familiar and works conveniently in tiled web maps, although modern web mapping normally stops before the poles where its scale tends toward infinity.
Where Equal Earth is useful
Equal Earth is designed for world maps where relative size matters: education, thematic data, global comparisons and communication about people or environments. A population or forest map can be especially misleading when large-looking high-latitude land dominates the picture without actually covering that share of Earth's surface.
The honest question to ask
Do not ask which projection is universally best. Ask which property the map needs to preserve. For EqualAtlas, consistent area is the starting point because the product is built around country footprint and global data comparisons.
Explore the evidence
Sources and further reading
Continue with the Equal Earth projection guide, try the interactive map, or review our methodology.