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Free to Freemium: The Path (and Impetus)



Hello Map Creators, 

Since 2007, we have provided you the ability to quickly create, view, share, and update an unlimited number of maps at no cost. What was created around a simple use case for a friend’s wedding (see below) turned into a useful solution for a user base of now over 115,000. Huzzah! 

 

Over the past 12 years, we’ve received donations from happy users that have covered a small portion of our costs. More than anything though, each donation made us smile and reinforced our desire to continue supporting the solution year over year. Thanks to all of you that have kept us motivated! 

This model was sustainable until Google, out of nowhere, announced a new pricing policy for developers (like us) using their mapping services. In the spring of 2018, Google started charging heavily for maps usage - they essentially raised prices by 1400%. 

For a year, we continued to self-fund the solution, but recently reached a point where the model became unsustainable. To that end, we’ve decided to add a paid plan to our service. 

MapAList will remain 100% free of charge for users that have fewer than 10 maps and fewer than 100 views per map. For those exceeding these limits, we have created a simple monthly paid plan allowing for the creation of an unlimited number of maps, and up 2000 map views across all maps in your account per month. 

We realize that some users will require more than 2000 map views per map per month and are actively working on a solution. Please feel free to shoot us a note in the meantime if you can’t wait. 

Thank you for your support over the years and for sticking with us as things evolve - we sincerely appreciate it, 

Your MapAList Team

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