A free online map maker for everyone
Most maps we make for ourselves are simple: where the wedding is and where guests can stay, the stops of a road trip, the meeting points of a running club, the shops of a small business, the best cafés in a new city. You want to put pins on a map, give each one a name and a few notes, maybe draw a route, and send the result to other people. This custom map maker does exactly that. It is a map making website free for everyone: it runs in your browser and needs no sign-up.
Pins can have an icon, a colour, an automatic number for a tour, notes with clickable links, a photo and a link button. You can draw routes and lines that show their length, areas that show their size, circles for a radius around a place, and free text labels. Everything goes into groups, such as "Sights", "Food" or "Hotels", each with its own colour, and the groups make the legend. Search any address to drop a pin there, or import the places you already have from a spreadsheet, Google Earth or a GPS.
Sharing is the part I care most about. You do not need an account, and we do not keep your map: the map is compressed into the share link itself, so whoever has the link sees the map, and nobody else ever does. Send it in a chat, put it on an invitation, or embed it on your website as an interactive map with one line of code. You can also print it with a list of all places, or download it as an image, KML, GeoJSON, GPX or CSV.
What this custom map creator can do
Here is every feature, in the order you will meet it.
- Pins with icons and numbers. Click the pin tool and then the map. Choose one of 46 icons (hotel, food, parking, train, camera, star and more), an automatic number for tours and itineraries, or a plain pin. Pick any colour and a pin or dot shape.
- Notes, links and photos. Every pin has a name and notes. Web addresses in the notes become links. Add a link button (website, booking page, menu) and a photo by its web address. A "Directions" button opens the route to the pin in Google Maps on any phone.
- Routes, areas, circles and labels. Draw lines and routes by clicking points; the length is shown in km and miles. Draw areas for a park, a venue, a delivery zone or a plot, with their size in m², hectares or acres. Circles show a radius around a place, and text labels name rivers, districts or anything else.
- Search and place. Type an address or place name and press Enter. Pick a result, and the map flies there with an "Add as pin" button that keeps the full address in the notes.
- Groups and legend. Sort items into groups with their own colour. New items go into the active group and take its colour. Hide a group with one click, recolour all its items, and show the groups as a legend on the map.
- Edit everything. Drag pins and labels, drag the corners of lines and areas, add corners from the midpoints, change a circle with its handles. Undo and redo up to 100 steps. Reorder items to change their numbers.
- Base maps. Choose a street map, a detailed map that goes down to street level, satellite photos, or no base map at all for a clean diagram.
- Share with one link. The Share tab makes a view-only link with a list of places, a link that opens an editable copy, and the code to embed the map on a website. The map lives in the link, never on our server.
- Print and download. It also works as a map generator online for images and handouts: print the map with a numbered list of all places and their notes, or save it as PDF. Download a PNG image of the view, KML for Google Earth and Google My Maps, GeoJSON for GIS, GPX for GPS devices, or CSV for a spreadsheet.
- Import your places. Bring in places from a CSV with latitude and longitude, or from GeoJSON, KML, KMZ and GPX files. Folders and styles from Google Earth become groups and colours.
- Saved as you work. The map you are working on is kept in your browser automatically, so closing the tab does not lose your work.
It is a web map maker in the plain sense: everything runs in your browser. Only a place search goes through this site's search service, and only the words you search for are sent.
How to create a custom map online for free, step by step
A real example: a weekend in Paris with numbered sights, a walking route, food stops and the hotel.
The editor opens with the drawing tools on the left, a search box at the top and the sidebar on the right. Start with a pin, or load the example.
Search for an address or place, press Enter and choose a result. "Add as pin" drops a pin with the full address in its notes.
Give the pin a name, notes, a colour and an icon. The automatic number icon turns a group of pins into a numbered tour.
The line tool draws the walking route and shows its length. The area tool marks the park. Drag the corners to fine-tune the shape.
Sights, food and the hotel are three groups, each with its own colour. The groups make the legend on the map.
In the Map tab, pick a base map, turn the legend and pin names on or off, and save the start view of the shared map.
The Share tab gives you the view-only link, an edit link and the embed code. Copy the link and send it to anyone.
The shared map opens with your title, the legend and a list of places. Tapping a pin shows its notes, link and a Directions button.
What people make with this free map creator
A custom map answers "where?" once, for everybody. People use this custom map generator for all kinds of maps; these are the ones they make most often.
- Weddings and events. The ceremony, the reception, hotels for guests, parking and the shuttle stop on one map. Put the link or the printed map in the invitation, so nobody gets lost.
- Trips and itineraries. Numbered stops for each day, the walking or driving route between them, restaurants and the hotel. Share it with your travel group and open it on your phone on the way.
- Small businesses. An interactive map builder for your own website: your shops, delivery area, pick-up points or service area on one map, embedded on your pages. No developer and no map API key needed.
- Clubs, schools and teams. Meeting points, running routes, field locations or school-bus stops, with notes on times. Update the map and send the new link before each season.
- Real estate and moving. Homes you want to visit, the commute to work, schools and shops nearby, with circles for walking distance. Compare places side by side.
- Field work and volunteering. Survey points, clean-up zones, distribution points or areas to cover, with photos and notes. Export to GPX for a GPS or KML for Google Earth.
- Teaching and storytelling. Historical sites, the route of an expedition, the setting of a novel or a local history walk, with photos and links to sources.
- Personal maps. Places you have lived, favourite cafés, hikes you want to do, or a map of family members around the world, kept private in your own link.
How it works: the share link and the measurements
Two things make this map maker different: the map is stored in the link, and every length and area is measured on the curved Earth, not on the flat screen. Here is exactly how both work.
1. The map lives in the link
When you open the Share tab, the map is written as a compact list, compressed and turned into text that is safe in a web address. It goes after the "#" of the link, the part that browsers never send to a server:
map → compact JSON → deflate compression → base64url text
https://onlinemapmaker.com/custom-map-maker/view/#m=fVVLbuNGEL1K…
└──── the whole map ────┘
example (Paris weekend, 12 items):
compact JSON 1,689 bytes → compressed 907 bytes → link ≈ 1,260 charactersBecause the map is in the link, there is no account, no database and nothing to delete later: the link is the map. The other side of this is that a link never changes. If you edit the map, copy the new link. A view link and an edit link are made from the same data; the edit link just opens the editor instead of the viewer.
2. Keeping the link short
Every item is stored as a short array, colours without the "#", empty fields left out, and coordinates rounded to 6 decimals. Six decimals is about 11 cm on the ground, far more precise than a finger on a phone screen:
pin ["p", group, name, notes, colour, [lat, lng], icon, shape, photo, link] route ["l", group, name, notes, colour, [[lat, lng], …], width, dashed, showLength] 1° of latitude ≈ 111,320 m → 0.000001° ≈ 0.11 m
The Paris example (12 items with notes) makes a link of about 1,260 characters, and a map with 300 pins with short names about 3,200, which every chat app and email program handles. Very large maps (long GPS tracks, hundreds of places) make long links; the tool tells you when a link may be too long for some apps, and you can share a KML or GeoJSON file instead.
3. Measuring routes: the haversine formula
The length of a route is the sum of the great-circle distances between its points. The great-circle distance is the shortest path along the surface of a sphere, computed with the haversine formula and the mean Earth radius:
a = sin²(Δφ/2) + cos φ₁ · cos φ₂ · sin²(Δλ/2) d = 2 · R · asin(√a) R = 6,371,008.8 m example: Eiffel Tower → Louvre φ₁ = 48.85837°, λ₁ = 2.29448° φ₂ = 48.86061°, λ₂ = 2.33764° d ≈ 3.17 km (1.97 mi) in a straight line
For a route with many points, each small segment is measured this way and the results are added. The error of the sphere model compared with the true ellipsoid is below 0.5 %, which is far less than the difference between a drawn route and the real path.
4. Measuring areas on a sphere
An area is measured with the spherical polygon formula (the same one the Turf.js library uses), which accounts for the curve of the Earth. On a flat Web Mercator map, the same polygon would look larger the farther it is from the equator:
A = |Σ (λᵢ₊₁ − λᵢ₋₁) · sin φᵢ| · R² / 2 Web Mercator area scale = 1 / cos² φ at 48.9° (Paris) → areas on screen look 2.3 × too large at 60° (Oslo) → 4 × too large
This is why the areas shown by the map maker are correct everywhere, and why a shape drawn over Scandinavia shows a smaller area than its size on screen suggests. Areas are shown in m², hectares or km², with acres or square miles next to them.
5. Circles
A circle is stored as a centre and a radius in metres, so it keeps its true size at every zoom level. Its area is simply πr². When you export to KML or GeoJSON, which have no circle type, the circle is written as a polygon with 64 points placed along the great circle at that distance:
φ₂ = asin(sin φ₁ · cos δ + cos φ₁ · sin δ · cos θ) λ₂ = λ₁ + atan2(sin θ · sin δ · cos φ₁, cos δ − sin φ₁ · sin φ₂) δ = r / R, θ = 0°, 5.625°, 11.25°, … 360° (64 steps)
Use circles for "everything within walking distance", a delivery radius or a safety zone. The radius handle snaps to the distance on the ground, not to screen pixels.
6. Automatic numbers
Pins with the number icon are numbered in the order they appear in their group: the first numbered pin of a group is 1, the next is 2, and so on. Moving a pin up or down in the list changes its number, and each group counts on its own, so "Day 1" and "Day 2" can both start at 1.
group "Sights": Eiffel Tower 1 · Orsay 2 · Louvre 3 · Notre-Dame 4 · Sacré-Cœur 5 group "Food": plain icons, not numbered
The same numbers appear on the map, in the printed list, in the KML names and in the CSV, so a printed map and a phone always agree.
Share, embed and download your map: the options in detail
What each way of sharing gives you, and which file to choose for which app.
Share link (view only) link
Opens a full-screen map with your title, description, legend and a list of places. Tapping an item shows its notes, photo, link and a Directions button. Viewers can hide groups and open an editable copy, but never change your map.
The best choice for invitations, chats and social media. The link works on every phone and computer, and nothing is stored on a server.
Edit link link
Opens the same map in the editor. The person who opens it can change everything and then share their own new link.
Use it to work on a map together: send the edit link, they make changes and send back their link.
Embed code iframe
One line of HTML that shows the map on your website, blog or online shop, with a small "Open larger map" button. Paste it into any page builder that accepts HTML. A small "Map made with OnlineMapMaker.com" link sits under the map, in your page itself.
The map is inside the code, so it does not change when you edit your draft. Make a new code when you update the map.
PNG image .png
A sharp picture (2× resolution) of the current view with the base map, all visible items, pin names, the title card, the legend and the map credits.
Good for slides, flyers, social media posts and printed invitations.
Print / PDF print
A printable page with the map image, then every group with its items: number, name, notes, coordinates, route lengths and areas. Use "Save as PDF" in the print window for a file.
A handy handout for guests, team members or a trip folder.
KML .kml
One folder per group, with the colours of each item. Opens in Google Earth, and Google My Maps imports it as a layer. Circles become 64-point polygons.
Choose it to move the map into Google tools or to most GIS programs.
GeoJSON .geojson
A standard GIS file with the simplestyle properties (marker-color, stroke, fill) that geojson.io, GitHub and many tools read, plus name, notes, group and icon.
For QGIS, ArcGIS, web developers and anyone who works with geodata. This site's GeoJSON Viewer opens it too.
GPX .gpx
Pins become waypoints and routes become tracks, with names and notes. Areas, circles and labels are not part of GPX and are left out.
For GPS devices, hiking and cycling apps.
CSV .csv
A table of all pins: group, number, name, notes, latitude, longitude, icon, colour, link and photo. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
For lists, mail merges and invitations. The same columns can be imported back.
All files are made in your browser from the map on your screen.
This free map maker and Google My Maps compared
Google My Maps is the best-known tool for custom maps. My take: it is excellent if you already live in Google's tools, and this free map builder is faster when you just want a map and a link, with no account and no setup.
| Feature | This map maker | Google My Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Not needed | Google account needed |
| Where the map is stored | Only in the share link and your browser | In your Google Drive |
| Sharing | Copy one link | Change the sharing settings in Drive first |
| Measurements on the map | Lengths, areas and circles shown on the map | Shown for selected lines and shapes |
| Downloads | PNG, print/PDF, KML, GeoJSON, GPX, CSV | KML/KMZ, print |
| Driving directions layer | Directions button per pin | Built-in directions layer |
| Collaboration | Through edit links | Shared editing with Google accounts |
You can use both: draw here, download KML, and import it into Google My Maps whenever you need its features.
Frequently asked questions
The 20 questions people ask most about making and sharing custom maps.
1. Is this online map maker really free?
Yes. It is a map builder free of accounts, trials and watermarks, with no limit on the number of maps. The tool runs in your browser, so it costs us almost nothing to offer.
2. Do I need to sign up to use this free map maker online?
No. You can use this map maker online free of charge: open the page and start. Your work is kept in your browser automatically, and sharing is done with a link, so there is nothing to log in to.
3. Where is my map saved?
In two places only: in your own browser while you work, and inside the share link when you share it. We never store maps on our server. If you clear your browser data, the draft is gone, but every link you shared still contains the map.
4. Can I change a map after I shared the link?
Yes, but the old link keeps showing the old version, because the map is inside the link. After changing the map, copy the new link and send it again. If you need one fixed address that always shows the latest version, embed the map on your own web page and update the code there.
5. Who can see my map?
Only people who have the link. Maps are not listed anywhere, not indexed by search engines and not stored by us. Anyone who has the link can forward it, so do not put private information such as door codes on a shared map.
6. How do I put a pin at an exact address?
Type the address in the search box at the top of the map and press Enter. Pick the right result and press "Add as pin". You can also click the map with the pin tool and drag the pin to the exact spot.
7. How do I make a numbered tour or itinerary?
Choose the number icon (1·2) for the pins of a group. They are numbered in list order. Use the up and down buttons in the pin editor to change the order. Each group counts from 1, so you can make one group per day.
8. Can I add photos to pins?
Yes, by web address: paste the address of a photo that is already online (for example from your website or a photo-sharing site) into the Photo field. Photos are not uploaded, because the whole map has to fit in the share link.
9. How do I draw a route and see its length?
Choose the line tool, click the points along the route, and double-click or press Finish. The length in km and miles appears on the map. You can make it dashed, change the width, and drag the corners to adjust it.
10. How do I measure an area or a plot?
Choose the area tool and click the corners. Click the first corner again or press Finish to close it. The area is shown in m², hectares or km², plus acres or square miles, measured on the curved Earth.
11. Can I embed an interactive map on my website for free?
Yes, it works as an interactive map maker for any website. In the Share tab, copy the embed code and paste it into your page (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and Shopify accept it as an HTML block). The map shows with a button to open it larger.
12. Can I print the map?
Yes. "Print / PDF" opens a page with the map and a list of every place with its notes. Print it, or choose "Save as PDF" in the print window. For a flyer or slide, use the PNG image.
13. Can I import my places from Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. Save the sheet as CSV with a latitude and a longitude column (names such as "lat" and "lng" work), plus optional name, description and group columns. Import it in the Map tab. If you only have addresses, find their coordinates with this site's address-to-coordinates tool first.
14. Can I move a map from Google My Maps or Google Earth?
Yes. In Google My Maps, use "Export to KML/KMZ"; in Google Earth, save as KML or KMZ. Import the file here: folders become groups and colours are kept.
15. Can I export my map to Google My Maps?
Yes. Download the KML and import it in Google My Maps as a new layer. Names, notes, colours and shapes come along.
16. Why does the street map stop zooming at level 13?
The street map comes from our own vector tiles, which end at that level. Choose "Detailed" or "Satellite" in the Map tab to zoom down to individual streets and buildings (level 19).
17. How many locations can I put on one custom map?
Up to 2,000 items. In practice the link is the limit: maps with up to a few hundred pins share well. The tool warns you when a link gets long, and very large maps can be shared as a file instead.
18. Does it work on a phone?
Yes. You can make and edit maps on phones and tablets, and shared maps are designed for phones: tap a pin for its notes and the Directions button, which opens your phone's maps app.
19. Can several people work on the same map?
Yes, in turns: send the edit link, the other person makes changes and sends back their new link. There is no live shared editing, because there is no server copy of the map.
20. Can I use the maps commercially?
Yes, your maps are yours. The base maps have their own credits, which the image and the shared map show automatically (OpenStreetMap, Protomaps, Esri). Keep them visible when you publish the map.
Map data, software and credits
The map maker is built on open data and open software:
- Leaflet 1.9 · BSD-2-ClauseInteractive map, markers, shapes and popups.
- OpenStreetMap · ODbL 1.0Street map data for the base maps: © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the Open Database License.
- Protomaps (hosted by KONAKTIVE), CARTO · ODbL and provider termsThe default street base map: own vector tiles hosted by KONAKTIVE, with CARTO and OpenStreetMap as fallback.
- Esri World Topo Map and World Imagery · Esri terms of useDetailed (World Topo) and satellite (World Imagery) base maps.
- Turf.js · MITSpherical area calculation.
- JSZip · MITReading KMZ files and their zipped KML.
The link format, the measurement tools, the import and export of every file type, the PNG and print renderer and the shared view were written for this site and run in your browser.
Related map tools
Lengths and areas are measured on a sphere and are accurate to about 0.5 %. Positions from the place search come from OpenStreetMap-based and commercial geocoders and can be off for new or unusual addresses: check important pins on the satellite map. Base maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, Protomaps (hosted by KONAKTIVE), CARTO, Esri.
