What MapChart does

MapChart is a privately held, bootstrapped web and mobile platform that enables non-expert users to create custom colored maps of the world, continents, individual countries, subdivisions, historical periods, and fantasy/gaming worlds. Founded around 2014 and operated as a sole proprietorship by Minas Giannekas from Greece, the platform is built on a web-based map rendering engine using SVG/canvas graphics, supporting multiple projections (Mercator, Robinson, Mollweide) and exporting to high-resolution PNG, JPEG, SVG, and rasterized PDF up to 10,000px. The product portfolio spans the core MapChart website, MapChart Plus subscription, native iOS and Android applications, a Historical MapChart sub-brand, and integrations with Google Sheets, Airtable, and Excel.

The company operates a freemium model: the full map-creation and export tool is free, monetized through display advertising served by Google AdSense and Azerion/PubGalaxy, while MapChart Plus is a low-priced annual subscription adding account features, cloud saving, dark theme, custom palettes, and an ad-free experience. Distribution is entirely self-serve and product-led, with no sales team — users access the tool directly via mapchart.net or through mobile app stores and productivity-tool marketplaces. Its user base spans students and educators, academic and market researchers, bloggers and content creators, grand-strategy game enthusiasts, and business users producing presentations and reports.

Strategic positioning centers on the breadth of an internally curated map library (50+ map types including Westeros, Tamriel, Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis IV/V, and Victoria 3), an intuitive click-to-color interface that requires no design or GIS expertise, and continuous content updates tied to real-world events (e.g., US Congressional redistricting) and game releases. The company has not raised external capital, holds no disclosed patents, and operates with a single full-time operator, reflecting a lifestyle-business, founder-led model rather than a venture-scale growth trajectory.

Name

MapChart

Legal name

Minas Giannekas

Website

https://mapchart.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Mapping Software

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Mapping & Basemap Platforms (Tiles/SDKs) (BPAMANAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Custom map creation
• Interactive map maker
• Choropleth map tools
• Color-coded maps
• Geographic visualization

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. MapChart Plus Subscription: Premium subscription offering account features (My Maps, My Palette), dark theme, 5 extra map themes, ad-free experience, and premium mobile app access. Billed annually with 12-month access to updates and features.
2. Mobile App Premium (iOS/Android): Premium Max version of mobile app available for separate purchase, integrated with Plus subscription.
3. Advertising Revenue: Free tier monetized through display advertising. Partners include Google AdSense, Azerion/PubGalaxy. Targeted advertising based on browsing behavior.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MapChart is a web-based and mobile platform that enables users to create custom color-coded maps of the world, continents, countries, subdivisions, historical periods, and fantasy/gaming worlds through a click-to-color interface. The core product is free with full map creation and export (PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF) capabilities, monetized through display advertising and a premium MapChart Plus subscription that adds account features, an ad-free experience, dark theme, and additional map themes. The platform also offers specialized sub-products including a Historical MapChart website, native iOS/Android mobile apps, and add-ons for Google Sheets, Airtable, and Excel.

Product overview

MapChart is a single unified online platform for creating custom colored maps. The core product is the free MapChart website (mapchart.net) which provides interactive map creation tools for world, continent, country, and subdivision maps. Premium features are offered through MapChart Plus subscription ($4.99/year or $9.99 for premium max). The product portfolio includes: the core MapChart web tool (with map types including World, Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa, US states/counties/congressional districts, individual country maps like UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and fantasy/gaming maps like Westeros, Tamriel, Hearts of Iron IV, Europa Universalis IV/V, Victoria 3); MapChart Plus premium tier (with account features, cloud saving, dark theme, no ads); Historical MapChart subdomain (for historical US and world maps); MapChart Mobile App (iOS/Android); and integrations with Google Sheets, Airtable, and Excel for data-driven map creation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MapChart Plus: Premium subscription tier offering ad-free experience, dark theme, saved maps to account, custom color palettes, extra map themes, and access to the Premium Max mobile app version.
• Historical MapChart

Quantifiable outcome

• Free to use with full map creation and export capabilities

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Azerion (PubGalaxy/Titan Gate AD)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAzerion operates as MapChart's authorized advertising partner, serving targeted display ads and managing ad monetization. Azerion uses pixel and similar technologies to determine interest segments of visitors and provide reports and insights on website audiences. Google AdSense also serves as a separate advertising partner.
• Google AdSenseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGoogle AdSense serves display advertisements on MapChart's free tier, contributing to advertising revenue.
• MapGameminorOthersMapGame is a related game website (mapgame.net) linked in MapChart's footer. It appears to be a separate but related property created by the same developer for playing map-based games.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ZeeMaps: ZeeMaps enables users to create, share, and publish custom interactive maps from spreadsheet data — directly comparable to MapChart's Excel/Google Sheets/Airtable integrations for data-driven map creation.
• Click2Map: Click2Map is a self-serve custom map creation platform with point, line, and polygon editing, comparable to MapChart for users wanting to visualize regions and assets on a personalized basemap without GIS expertise.
• MapMe: MapMe lets users build custom interactive maps with markers, polygons, and rich overlays for communities and businesses — competing for the same SMB and creator use cases that MapChart serves with its custom-region-coloring workflow.
• uMap: uMap is an open-source custom map creation platform built on OpenStreetMap, allowing users to create and embed personalized maps with custom layers — the closest open-source functional equivalent to MapChart's free map-making tool.
• Scribble Maps: Scribble Maps is a web-based custom map creation tool that lets users draw, annotate, and share interactive maps — directly overlapping with MapChart's core click-to-color and export workflow for the same SMB, education, and consumer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Canva: Canva is a mass-market design platform that bundles map-creation features inside its broader infographic and presentation workflow, posing a bundling threat to MapChart for users who need maps as part of larger visual deliverables.
• Mapbox: Mapbox is a venture-backed mapping platform providing customizable basemaps, SDKs, and developer APIs — a broader incumbent whose maps power many embedded experiences and compete for the enterprise and developer segment MapChart does not address.
• Google My Maps: Google My Maps is the free, brand-trusted incumbent for custom map creation, bundled into the Google ecosystem and directly threatening MapChart's casual-user segment with an established alternative.

Emerging players

• Datawrapper: Datawrapper is a data visualization tool widely used by newsrooms and analysts that includes interactive map creation as a core chart type — an adjacent competitor for the journalists, researchers, and content creators MapChart targets.
• Flourish: Flourish is a storytelling and data visualization platform with built-in map templates, competing with MapChart for the editorial, marketing, and analyst segments that need embeddable interactive maps.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/map_chart

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MapChart