What is Ultimaps?

Ultimaps is a browser-based map maker for data visualization. You pick a ready-made map of countries, states, counties or ZIP codes, color it with your data, and download it as an image or publish it as an interactive map. You can start in Ultimaps Studio without an account, and there's nothing to install.

Ultimaps is not a navigation or street map like Google Maps or Mapbox. It's built for one job: showing data on maps of countries and administrative regions, in a clean style that's ready for reports, slides, websites and print.

What you can make

• Data maps (choropleths). Color regions by numbers like population, revenue or test scores. Ultimaps picks the colors, value ranges and legend for you.
• Category maps. Group regions by a label, like sales territories, election results or membership. Each group gets its own color and legend item.
• Hand-colored maps. Click regions to color them, for example the countries you've visited or the states you operate in.
• Maps with pins. Mark offices, stores or events by address or coordinates, on top of colored regions.
• Interactive maps. Publish any map with hover tooltips, popups and links, then share the link or embed it on your website.

Who uses Ultimaps

Sales teams map territories and customers. Teachers and students make maps for lessons and projects. Journalists and bloggers show election results and statistics. Marketers and analysts add maps to reports, decks and social posts. Researchers and nonprofits map survey and program data.

If you need a clear, good-looking map of regions colored by your data, and you don't want to learn GIS software, Ultimaps is a good fit.

The map catalog

Ultimaps has 200+ base maps:

• The world and every continent, divided into countries. The world map also comes in an Equal Earth version that shows countries at their true relative size.
• Major countries divided into their states, provinces, regions or departments, for example Canada, France, Germany, India and Mexico.
• The United States by state and by county, plus every US state divided into its counties.
• US ZIP codes: a map for each state, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands, plus a national map of 3-digit ZIP prefixes. These use the Census Bureau's ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs), which closely approximate USPS ZIP codes but don't match them exactly.

You can search the catalog in the Studio by place or region type, like "Texas counties" or "ZIP codes". If the map you need isn't there, you can order a custom map, starting at €49.

Key features

• Data import from Excel, CSV, Google Sheets, Notion or pasted text. Region names are matched automatically, including abbreviations and spelling variants.
• AI map building. Describe a map in plain language, paste data into the prompt, or ask the AI to generate a dataset.
• Styling with themes, color palettes, gradients, patterns, borders and effects like shadows and glows.
• Labels and annotations. Show region names or data values, move and resize individual labels, and add callouts that point to a region.
• Legends that build themselves from your data or from the colors you name.
• Pins added by address, coordinates, a click on the map, or a file of locations.
• Extra layers like roads, cities, rivers and surrounding areas on selected maps, plus your own text, shapes and lines.
• Interactive maps with tooltips on hover, popups or links on click, and pan and zoom. Embed them with an iframe, or paste the link into Notion, WordPress, Ghost or Substack.
• Community gallery. List a published map in the Community gallery so others can explore it.
• Export as PNG, SVG or PDF.

For developers and AI assistants

Ultimaps also has a Map Image API: send region data in a URL or a request and get a map image back. It works without a key for PNG images with the ultimaps.com credit. A free or Pro key raises the limits.

An MCP server gives AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor the same ability, so they can draw a real map when you ask for one. See the API reference for details.

How it works

1. Pick a base map from the catalog.
2. Color it. Import a spreadsheet, describe it to the AI, or color regions by hand.
3. Adjust the look. Choose a theme, edit the legend, add pins and labels.
4. Export or publish. Download a PNG, SVG or PDF, or publish an interactive map to share or embed.

Getting Started walks through each step with screenshots.

What Ultimaps is not

• Not a navigation or street map. There are no directions, routes, street view or street-level detail.
• Not a GIS tool. There's no spatial analysis, shapefile editing or coordinate system work. For that, use software like QGIS or ArcGIS.
• No custom boundaries. You can't upload your own shapes or merge two base maps. Maps come from the catalog, or you can order a custom one.
• No city or neighborhood maps. The smallest regions are counties, departments and ZIP code areas.

Plans and pricing

• Free: unlimited maps, data import, PNG export with a small "made with ultimaps.com" credit, interactive maps with the credit, and 100 address lookups and 20 AI requests a month. You can use free exports commercially as long as the credit stays visible.
• Single-map pass: €12.50, one time. Export one map as a high-resolution PNG, SVG and PDF without the credit, with 24 hours to keep editing and re-exporting.
• Pro: €49 a month or €499 a year. Unlimited exports without the credit on every map, high-resolution PNG (about 7000×7000px), SVG and PDF, published maps without the credit, templates, and 5,000 address lookups and 500 AI requests a month.
• Custom: for teams that need shared workspaces, private sharing or custom themes. Contact us.

Nonprofits get 30% off subscriptions. See pricing for current prices in your currency.

Common questions

Is Ultimaps free?

Yes. You can make unlimited maps, import data and download PNGs for free. Free exports and published maps carry a small "made with ultimaps.com" credit. To remove it and get SVG and PDF files, buy a single-map pass or subscribe to Pro.

Do I need an account?

Not to start. You can make and download a map as a guest. A free account is needed to save maps, publish interactive maps and use AI requests.

Can I use Ultimaps maps commercially?

Yes. Free exports can be used in commercial work, like client reports, as long as the credit stays visible. Exports from a single-map pass or Pro have no credit and are cleared for commercial use. See the license for the full terms.

What file formats can I export?

PNG on every plan. High-resolution PNG, SVG and PDF with a single-map pass or Pro. SVG and PDF are vector files, so they stay sharp in print and can be edited in tools like Illustrator or Figma.

Can I upload my own boundaries or shapefiles?

No. Ultimaps works with its catalog of base maps, and you can't upload custom shapes. If you need a map that isn't available, you can order a custom map.

Does Ultimaps work with Google Sheets and Excel?

Yes. Upload an Excel or CSV file, or paste a Google Sheets or Notion link. Imports are one-time, so import again when your data changes. Ultimaps keeps your manual colors, tooltips and renamed legend items when you do.

Can AI assistants make maps with Ultimaps?

Yes. Connect the Ultimaps MCP server to an assistant like Claude or ChatGPT, and it can draw maps from your data in the conversation. No account or key is needed to try it.

Related

• Getting Started: make your first map step by step.
• How to make a color-coded world map: a hand-colored world map with a legend and pins.
• How to create a US map with colored states: the same workflow for the 50 states.
• Vector maps: browse every base map in the catalog.