Google Maps is a basic web mapping service application and technology provided by Google.Created by Google
Google Maps for your Website are Great but Google has introduced Billing, meaning that you will need to open a Billing Account with them (with Credit Card etc) so they can bill you once you reach a certain amount of hits to the Map you have on your Website. Most small Websites will not have to pay as you will need to reach a certain amount of hits but you will STILL need a Billing Account, otherwise the Map will NOT display correctly anymore.
More Details about that are here.
Here are some free Alternatives you could use instead of Google Maps.
- OpenStreetMap
- OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world.
- OpenStreetMap is a project aimed squarely at creating and providing free geographic data such as street maps to anyone who wants them. It is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you. It allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.
- MAPS.ME
- Fast, detailed and completely offline maps for mobile devices Created by My.com
- MAPS.ME offers the quickest offline maps of all the countries of the world. Travel with full confidence: wherever you are, MAPS.ME addresses all your offline mapping needs.Need a map of London or a map of New York? A map of Paris or Rome? Any country, any place, from the largest cities to small villages, in MAPS.ME!
- OsmAnd
- Global mobile map viewing and navigation for online and offline OSM maps Created by OsmAnd team
- OsmAnd is a map and navigation application with access to the free, worldwide, and high-quality OpenStreetMap data.
Enjoy voice and optical navigator, viewing POIs (points of interest), creating and managing GPX tracks, using contour lines visualization and altitude info (through plugin), a choice between driving, cycling, pedestrian modes, OSM editing and much more.
- Leaflet
- Leaflet is a modern open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. Created by Vladimir Agafonkin
- Leaflet is a modern open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. It is developed by Vladimir Agafonkin with a team of dedicated contributors. Weighing just about 28 KB of JS code, it has all the features most developers ever need for online maps.
Leaflet is designed with simplicity, performance and usability in mind. It works efficiently across all major desktop and mobile platforms out of the box, taking advantage of HTML5 and CSS3 on modern browsers while still being accessible on older ones. It can be extended with many plugins, has a beautiful, easy to use and well-documented API and a simple, readable source code that is a joy to contribute to.
- Qwant Maps
- Qwant Map, still in alpha, is designed to be an alternative to Google Maps, based on OpenStreetMap Created by Qwant SAS
- Qwant Map, still in alpha, is designed to be an alternative to Google Maps, based on OpenStreetMap
- Marble
- Marble is a Virtual Globe and World Atlas that you can use to learn more about Earth: You can pan… Created by KDE
- Marble is a Virtual Globe and World Atlas that you can use to learn more about Earth: You can pan and zoom around and you can look up places and roads. A mouse click on a place label will provide the respective Wikipedia article.
- uMap
- uMap let you create maps with OpenStreetMap layers in a minute and embed them in your site. Created by OpenStreetMap.org
- This nifty OpenStreetMap project lets you create maps with OpenStreetMap layers in a minute and embed them in your site.
* Choose the layers of your map
* Works in your browser, even on mobile
* Add POIs: markers, lines, polygons, heatmaps, …
* Manage POIs appearance, colours and icons
* Manage map options: display a minimap, locate user on load…
* Batch import geostructured data (geojson, gpx, kml, osm…)
* Choose the license for your data
* Allow users to search your data
* Free uMap
- TransforMap
- There are Plenty of Alternatives. TransforMap makes them visible.
- TransforMap works towards an online platform for you to visualize the myriads of alternatives to the dominant economic thinking on a single mapping system.