CalTopo
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersTruckee, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
CalTopo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CalTopo
- Legal name
- Caltopo
- Website
- https://caltopo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CalTopo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Backcountry Mapping Software
- NAICS
- Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615), Tour Operators (561520)
- SIC
- Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Itinerary Management & Trip Collaboration Apps (THALAMAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAF), Safety, Permitting & Logistics Support Services (Trip Leaders, Route Planning, Rescue Support) (THAAALAL)
Keywords
Where CalTopo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Truckee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
CalTopo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Subscriptions: Tiered individual account subscriptions with varying feature levels, ranging from free basic accounts to Pro subscriptions with advanced mapping features
- First Response Team Subscriptions: Robust feature-rich plan for first response and emergency management organizations, priced on total organization or unit size
- Commercial Team Subscriptions: Per-user licensing with lower entry price for companies, land-use organizations, and guide outfits with data sharing and organizing features
- Event-Based Team Subscriptions: For adventure races and ultramarathons providing live tracking of racers, priced per race-slot per year
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | First Response Teams - Most robust, feature-rich plan for first response and emergency management organizations |
| Per seat | Annual | Commercial Teams - Per-user licensing for companies and organizations |
| Subscription | Annual | Event-Based Teams - For adventure races and ultramarathons |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
CalTopo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CalTopo is a web and mobile GIS mapping platform built for backcountry trip planning and team-based situational awareness. It combines stackable base maps and environmental overlays (slope angle, snow depth, water gauges, weather, public lands, satellite imagery) with real-time collaborative editing, offline map access, and live location sharing. The platform is offered as individual subscriptions and as CalTopo Teams organizational plans tailored for first responders, commercial outdoor operators, and adventure race organizers.
Product overview
CalTopo is a unified backcountry mapping platform consisting of the core CalTopo web platform, CalTopo Mobile App (iOS/Android), and CalTopo Desktop application. The ecosystem is unified through the CalTopo Teams organizational subscription, which provides enterprise-grade collaboration features for teams. CalTopo also operates the SARTopo professional variant (now merged into the unified platform) for search and rescue and emergency management. The product portfolio includes three CalTopo Teams tiers: First Response Teams (for emergency services with SMS Locators and Mutual Aid Incidents), Commercial Teams (for businesses), and Event-Based Teams (for races). The platform integrates with GPS devices, Garmin InReach, MapBox, and various data sources including weather stations, SNOTEL, and ADS-B aircraft tracking.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CalTopo Web Platform Web-based GIS mapping platform for backcountry adventure planning that enables collaborative map building, route planning, terrain analysis and real-time location sharing. Includes stackable base maps (USGS topo, satellite, MapBox custom layers), environmental overlays (slope angle, snow depth, water gauges, weather, public lands, ADS-B aircraft), real-time multi-user editing, offline map download, GPS device integration, and geospatial PDF printing. Used by individual outdoor enthusiasts for trip planning and by teams for operational mapping.
- CalTopo Mobile App Native mobile applications for iOS and Android enabling field mapping, offline map and route download, GPS track recording, navigation, and seamless synchronization with the CalTopo web platform so that field edits appear on the shared map once connectivity returns. App is also the access point for both CalTopo and SARTopo data after the server merge.
- CalTopo Teams Organizational subscription product that connects multiple users in a shared mapping workspace with real-time collaboration, live team tracking, hierarchical subteams, mutual aid incident scaling, and SMS Locators. Available as three configurations: First Response Teams (with SMS Locators and Mutual Aid Incidents, priced on organization size from $2,000/year for up to 50 members), Commercial Teams (per-user licensing from $500/year for up to 10 users, then $50/user/year), and Event-Based Teams (priced at $3 per race-slot per year for adventure race and ultramarathon organizers).
- CalTopo Desktop Desktop application providing full offline map access and local APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) integration for users who need persistent offline capability and direct integration with local APRS trackable devices at the team level.
Companies that use CalTopo
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
CalTopo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature14 records
CalTopo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SARTopocoreIn December 2021, CalTopo merged with SARTopo servers, combining recreational CalTopo with SARTopo's professional search and rescue use cases. Data is now shared between both platforms, and the mobile app provides access to both servers' data without requiring sign-out/sign-in switching. SARTopo maps are accessible via caltopo.com with 'S' prefix; CalTopo maps accessible via sartopo.com with 'Z' prefix.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CalTopo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gaia GPS: Gaia GPS is a backcountry mapping app for iOS and Android with offline use, layered terrain/weather data, and route planning. It competes most directly with CalTopo for individual outdoor enthusiasts planning hikes, backpacking, and overlanding trips.
- onX Backcountry: onX Backcountry is a backcountry mapping app from onX (known for hunt/offroad maps) featuring layered terrain, weather, and 3D maps. Directly comparable to CalTopo's consumer backcountry offering.
- AllTrails: AllTrails is a consumer hiking and trail-running platform with route discovery, navigation, offline maps, and a Pro tier. It overlaps CalTopo on consumer trip planning but is less specialized for backcountry/SAR use cases.
- Avenza Maps: Avenza Maps is an offline mapping app that lets users load and navigate georeferenced PDFs and tiles. Overlaps with CalTopo on offline map use for outdoor and professional users, including government/enterprise map distribution.
- FATMAP: FATMAP is a 3D outdoor adventure mapping platform focused on ski touring, hiking, and mountain biking. Compares to CalTopo on terrain-aware trip planning and slope analysis for serious backcountry users.
Emerging players
- Komoot: Komoot is a route-planning and outdoor navigation app popular in Europe for hiking and cycling. It is comparable on consumer trip planning and itinerary building but weaker in real-time collaboration, weather/SNOTEL layers, and SAR workflows.
- SARTECH (TeamAccount / SAR software vendors): SARTECH and similar mission-critical SAR/incident command software vendors target the same first-responder buyers as CalTopo's First Response Teams tier. They overlap on incident management but typically lack CalTopo's deep backcountry mapping and outdoor enthusiast base.
Broad incumbents
- Strava: Strava is a large fitness activity-tracking platform with route planning and heatmaps for runners and cyclists. It serves a broader consumer audience than CalTopo and overlaps on route planning, but lacks CalTopo's backcountry data layers and SAR capabilities.
- Garmin BaseCamp / Explore: Garmin's BaseCamp and Explore desktop/mobile apps support GPS route planning, track management, and InReach integration. Comparable to CalTopo on GPS device workflow but with less depth in collaborative mapping and weather/SNOTEL overlays.
Others
- Mapbox: Mapbox is a mapping platform provider whose tiles and tools CalTopo already integrates with. It is a supplier/adjacent technology rather than a direct competitor but represents the underlying stack CalTopo could be built on or against.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CalTopo social profiles
Digital presenceCalTopo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CalTopo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CalTopo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CalTopo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CalTopo
What does CalTopo do?
CalTopo is a web and mobile GIS mapping platform built for backcountry trip planning and team-based situational awareness. It combines stackable base maps and environmental overlays (slope angle, snow depth, water gauges, weather, public lands, satellite imagery) with real-time collaborative editing, offline map access, and live location sharing. The platform is offered as individual subscriptions and as CalTopo Teams organizational plans tailored for first responders, commercial outdoor operators, and adventure race organizers.
Is CalTopo a public or private company?
CalTopo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CalTopo founded?
CalTopo was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CalTopo based?
CalTopo is headquartered in Truckee, United States, in the North America region.
How does CalTopo make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are first Response Team Subscriptions, commercial Team Subscriptions and event-Based Team Subscriptions.
Who are CalTopo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gaia GPS, onX Backcountry, AllTrails, Avenza Maps and FATMAP. Emerging players are Komoot and SARTECH (TeamAccount / SAR software vendors). Broad incumbents are Strava and Garmin BaseCamp / Explore. Mapbox is listed as an others.
Does CalTopo have an API?
Yes. CalTopo provides an API for Teams accounts (Supported API for Teams). The API allows organizations to send position updates to CalTopo maps. One documented use case is sending tracking collar position updates to CalTopo maps via the API. CalTopo has mentioned they have an API that can receive position updates in the right format. No public API documentation URL is provided in the sources.
What industry is CalTopo in?
CalTopo's product category is Backcountry Mapping Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THALAMAE, Itinerary Management & Trip Collaboration Apps, with a secondary code of THAKAOAF, Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning. Its NAICS code is 5615 and its SIC code is 7948.