A MapPoint replacement for putting your spreadsheet on a shareable map
Microsoft MapPoint was desktop mapping software for business users. It plotted pushpins from Excel, drew sales territories, planned routes and showed demographic data, until Microsoft discontinued it on 31 December 2014. Most replacements aim at the sales and logistics side. localthings covers a different slice: if what you did in MapPoint was import a list of addresses and show them to other people, you can do that in the browser, publish it as a link or embed, and keep it current.
- MapPoint is gone: Microsoft stopped selling and supporting it on 31 December 2014 and pointed users to Bing Maps.
- Choose a territory or routing product (Maptitude, Maptive, Badger Maps, eSpatial and others) when you need sales territories, drive-time rings, route optimisation or demographic layers.
- Choose localthings when the job was pushpins from Excel: import CSV or paste rows, group locations in categories, add photos and details, and publish one link or embed that anyone can open on a phone.
- localthings has an ongoing free plan for one map and up to 100 locations. There is nothing to install and no map data to update yourself.
localthings vs. Microsoft MapPoint
A factual comparison on the points that matter to most people.
| Feature | localthings | Microsoft MapPoint |
|---|---|---|
| Runs in the browser, nothing to install | Windows desktop software | |
| Still sold and supported | Discontinued 31 December 2014 | |
| Import addresses from Excel | CSV import or paste rows | Direct Excel import |
| Public link and website embed | Link on Free, embed from Basic | Export as image or print |
| Works on a phone for the people who view it | ||
| Location cards with photos, descriptions and links | Pushpin balloons | |
| Categories and visitor filters | Pushpin sets | |
| Sales territories and drive-time rings | ||
| Route planning and optimisation | ||
| Demographic data layers | ||
| Map data kept current for you | Frozen at the 2013 release |
When you need a real MapPoint successor
Pick a dedicated business-mapping product when your MapPoint work was analysis or field work: balancing sales territories, optimising multi-stop routes, drive-time and radius rings, heat maps, or demographic overlays. Maptitude imports MapPoint PTM files directly; Maptive, Badger Maps and eSpatial rebuild those features in the cloud. localthings does none of this and does not try to.
When localthings fits better
Pick localthings when the map itself was the deliverable: a list of stores, members, projects, dealers or events that other people need to see and browse. You get a map with a list view, categories, visitor filters and detailed location cards, published at a permanent link or embedded on your website. It replaces the pushpin map you used to export as a picture or PDF, not the analysis suite.
Build this yourself in Studio
Studio opens straight in your browser. You only need an account once you want to save or publish your map.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Microsoft MapPoint?
Microsoft announced in July 2014 that MapPoint, Streets & Trips and AutoRoute would be discontinued, and stopped selling and supporting them on 31 December 2014. Microsoft named Bing Maps as the replacement. Existing installations still run, but the map data stops at the 2013 release and there are no updates or support.
Is there a free replacement for Microsoft MapPoint?
For plotting a list of addresses on a map you can share, yes: localthings has an ongoing free plan for one map with up to 100 visible locations. For territories, routing and demographic analysis, the free options are limited to general GIS software such as QGIS, which has a steeper learning curve than MapPoint had.
Can I import my MapPoint data into localthings?
Not from a MapPoint PTM file directly. Open your source list in Excel, save it as CSV with one row per location and an address or coordinates, and import that file, or paste the rows. Each column becomes a field on the location card. If you need PTM import specifically, Maptitude documents that capability.
Does localthings do sales territories or route optimisation?
No. localthings publishes a map that visitors browse: categories, filters, a list view and location cards. It does not draw territories, calculate drive times or optimise routes. If that was your MapPoint workflow, a business-mapping product is the right replacement.
What does localthings cost?
Free includes one map with up to 100 visible locations and a permanent link. Embedding starts on Basic; a custom domain and analytics are Premium; branding removal is Custom.