Looking for the best WordPress Google Maps plugin to display some interactive maps on your site?
Whether you just want to embed a simple map or you’re looking to create more advanced maps with multiple locations, filter and search options, clusterization, and more, you’ll be able to find a good plugin on this list.
In total, we’re going to share nine great free and premium options to help you find the one that’s going to best meet your needs.
Let’s dig in!
1. Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress is the best-selling WordPress Google Maps plugin at CodeCanyon, where it’s been purchased over 10,590 times while maintaining a 4.50-star rating on over 313 reviews.
It comes with a lot of different features to help you make your maps more user-friendly than your typical Google Maps embed. For example, you can display custom front-end filters that let users find more precise information about each location, add multiple direction options to your maps, and more.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps with unlimited location markers.
- Display regular posts or custom post types on your maps and link them to markers.
- Add front-end filters that visitors can use to filter out different locations. In addition to category filters, you can let users search by keyword and apply radius filters (e.g. find locations “near me”).
- Customize the info window that appears when users click on a map marker, including an option to dynamically add information or pull information from Advanced Custom Fields.
- Display information about each listing below the map.
- Use Snazzy Maps skins to change the look and feel of your maps.
- Add directions, including an option to show multiple direction routes on the same map.
- Show marker clusters for high-density areas. That is, you can display one icon that tells people the number of markers in that area. As visitors zoom in, they’ll then be able to see individual markers.
- Draw custom shapes on your maps to highlight certain areas.
- Use different map settings depending on users’ screen resolutions, which is great for responsive design.
- Bulk import location markers using a CSV file.
Example of a Map
To give you an idea of how Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress works, I tried to find an example map that highlights as many of the different features above as possible.
Below, you can see the customizable info box that appears when you click on a map marker, as well as the front-end filter options that let your visitors filter out specific markers:
Pricing & How to Get
For many of the features above, you’ll need the premium version of the plugin available at CodeCanyon. You’ll pay $59.00 for standard Envato licensing, which means lifetime updates and six months of support and updates.
However, there’s also a limited free version at WordPress.org that can give you a taste of the plugin’s functionality and works fine for basic maps.
2. WordPress Google Maps
WordPress Google Maps is another popular premium Google Maps plugin for sale at CodeCanyon.
It offers some great modern styles that look awesome right out of the box. You can display detailed information about each location marker, along with options for displaying and calculating directions.
While it isn’t quite as popular as Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress, it does have a perfect 5-star rating on its 49 user reviews.
Key Features
- Add unlimited maps and location markers.
- Simple interface on the back-end that makes it easy to add location markers.
- Add front-end filters and search options.
- Display more information about each location with an info card. For example, you can add opening hours, contact information, images, text, and more.
- Choose from a variety of included location markers or use your own.
- Show directions to each location marker.
- Use predefined styles to style your map or build your own styles.
- Display clusters to show the density of location markers when zoomed out.
Example of a Map
One thing to note in the example below is the modern looks of the info box that displays when a user clicks on a location marker. I think that’s one of the biggest draws of this plugin.
You can also see the front-end search box and location list (visitors can also collapse this column to see the full map):
Pricing & How to Get
WordPress Google Maps is a premium plugin for sale at CodeCanyon. It costs just $29.00 with standard Envato licensing. Again, that means lifetime updates and six months of support.
Unfortunately, there’s no free version, but the $29.00 price tag still makes this one quite accessible.
3. WP Google Maps
By the numbers, WP Google Maps is the most popular WordPress Google Maps plugin at WordPress.org where it’s active on over 400,000 sites with a 4.7-star rating on over 1,990 reviews.
While it does have a popular free version at WordPress.org, it only lets you create a single map, so you’ll need to consider the premium version if you’re planning to create multiple separate maps.
WP Google Maps has a really simple interface for creating maps and adding location markers, which I think is one of the reasons why it’s so popular.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps with the paid version (the free version limits you to a single map).
- Choose from 9+ pre-made map themes or create your own.
- Add map markers using a simple drag-and-drop interface.
- Built-in store locator functionality.
- Add your own shapes to your maps.
- Let visitors get directions to map markers (paid).
- Add categories to map markers and let visitors filter by categories on the front-end (paid). Visitors can also filter by custom fields.
- Create a list of map markers in four different formats: basic list, basic table, carousel, or advanced table.
- Use the default Google Maps info window or the new modern info window.
- Add custom information to the info window, including data from custom fields.
- Cluster markers together.
- Choose from 1,000s of different map markers.
- Import map locations from REST API, XML, CSV, JSON, or GPX.
Example of a Map
There are a lot of different ways to use WP Google Maps but here’s an example that shows a custom map theme, a drop-down category filter, and a location marker list:
Pricing & How to Get
You can get started with WP Google Maps using the free version at WordPress.org. However, remember that the free version limits you to a single map.
If you want to create multiple maps, as well as access more advanced features like front-end filters, directions, lists, and more, you’ll need the Pro version, which starts at $39.99 for use on up to three sites.
4. Hero Maps Premium
Hero Maps Premium is an affordable premium Google Maps plugin that’s available for sale at CodeCanyon.
It lets you build maps using a drag-and-drop builder, along with a neat front-end map filtering system, custom shapes, and more.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps with unlimited location markers.
- Use a drag-and-drop builder to add location markers to maps, or bulk import locations from a CSV file.
- Display more information about markers in an info window.
- Choose from tons of included map markers or use your own.
- Divide markers into categories and use a few different types of front-end filters to let visitors filter out specific locations. You can use a filter drop-down or a nice tabbed filter approach.
- Add your own custom shapes to your maps.
- Choose from a variety of pre-built map color skins to change the styles of your maps.
- Use marker clustering to show the density of markers on your maps.
- Let visitors get directions to map markers.
Example of a Map
Here’s an example of a full-width map with a drop-down category filter:
Pricing & How to Get
Hero Maps Premium is only available in a premium version at CodeCanyon. However, it’s still quite affordable at just $20.00 with standard Envato licensing. Again, that means lifetime updates and six months of support.
5. 10Web Google Maps
10Web Google Maps is another popular freemium plugin at WordPress.org, where it’s active on over 10,000 WordPress sites with a 4.5-star rating on over 88 reviews.
10Web Google Maps is quite generous with its free functionality, letting you create unlimited maps with unlimited markers, including a helpful store locator function along with the ability to draw your own shapes.
There’s also an affordable premium version that adds a bunch of extra features.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps and location markers, even in the free version.
- Add categories to markers and let visitors filter by categories (paid).
- Store locator functionality.
- Let visitors get directions (paid).
- Draw your own shapes. Polygon and polyline layers are free, while circle and rectangle layers are paid.
- Choose from six different themes and various skins (paid).
- Use your own custom markers (paid).
- Display a list of markers in a few different formats (paid): basic list, advanced list, and carousel.
- Import/export marker locations using .xlsx.
Example of a Map
Here’s an example that showcases a custom map theme, along with the info window and direction options:
Pricing & How to Get
10Web Google Maps has a generous free version available at WordPress.org.
If you want access to the more advanced features such as directions, category filters, and marker lists, you’ll need the premium version.
The premium version starts at just $30.00 for use on a single site and ranges up to $60.00 for use on up to 30 sites.
6. Google Maps Easy
Google Maps Easy is another popular freemium option that also gives you a generous free version with support for unlimited maps and location markers. It comes from Supsystic, a developer with a ton of popular WordPress plugins.
In addition to unlimited usage, the free version also includes features that many other plugins charge for, including marker clustering and categories. So, if you’re on a budget, this is another great option when it comes to the depth of functionality that you get in the free version.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps and markers, even in the free version.
- Display an info window for each marker with more information. Or, you can link markers to internal or external URLs.
- Cluster markers together (free – all the other plugins charge).
- Divide markers into categories to help visitors find places they’re interested in (free).
- Choose from different map styles and themes. The free version gives you some options, while the Pro version lets you choose from over 300 themes.
- Provide directions and alternate routes (paid).
- Add different layers, including KML layers and heatmaps (paid).
- Display lists of markers, as either a basic list or a carousel.
- Let people add markers from the front-end (paid).
- Draw your own shapes (paid).
Example of a Map
You can find a ton of different examples at the developer’s website, but here’s a neat example showing the info window, custom shapes, and a directions button. The example use case here is marking a store’s delivery areas:
Pricing & How to Get
You can start with Google Maps Easy for free at WordPress.org. Again, the free version is quite generous, letting you create unlimited maps for free, along with advanced features like marker categories, clusters, and map themes.
For other features such as directions, custom map controls, and more, you’ll need the premium version.
The premium version starts at $39.00 for use on a single site and ranges up to $149.00 for use on unlimited sites.
7. Google Maps Widget
Google Maps Widget is a popular freemium WordPress Google Maps plugin that’s active on over 80,000 sites while maintaining a 4.7-star rating on 499 reviews.
While it has a good feature list, the free version is fairly limited, as it only lets you add a single location marker to each map (though you can create unlimited maps). If you want to add multiple location markers, you’ll need the premium version, which is something to remember.
As the name suggests, you’ll also customize and embed your map via a widget, rather than a dedicated Settings page. You can also embed maps with a shortcode with the paid version.
Later in this post, you’ll see a much simpler Google Maps plugin from this same developer, which is a good option for basic maps.
Key Features
- Build/embed your map using a widget. The paid version also lets you embed maps using a shortcode.
- Use a single location marker in the free version or multiple markers in the paid version.
- Choose from various map themes, pin types, colors, sizes, etc.
- Add custom descriptions to map markers using HTML.
- Create a static thumbnail map (good for performance) or an interactive map. You can also open the interactive map in a lightbox.
- Option to replace a static thumbnail map with an interactive map when a user clicks, which is another neat performance-boosting technique.
- Add pin filters (paid).
- Cluster markers together based on density (paid).
Example of a Map
Here’s an example of an interactive map with multiple markers that can be opened in a lightbox:
Pricing & How to Get
You can get started with Google Maps Widget for free at WordPress.org, but remember that the free version only lets you display a single marker.
To unlock multiple markers, as well as all the other advanced functionality, you can purchase the premium version starting at just $18.99 for use on a single site and ranging up to $79.00 for use on unlimited sites.
8. Maps Marker Pro
Maps Marker Pro is a heavy-duty WordPress map plugin that makes a great option for advanced users who want detailed control over pretty much every aspect of how their maps function.
It’s not the simplest plugin, so it might not be the best solution if you just want a quick-and-simple way to create maps. But it does have a lengthy feature list and tons of powerful functionality.
While there is a basic free version, I’ll focus mostly on the premium version, as that’s where most of the goodies lie.
Key Features
- Create unlimited maps and markers.
- Assign markers to categories and add front-end filters for visitors to use.
- Cluster markers together to show density.
- Show additional information about each marker in an info window, and control what information to display.
- Create dynamic marker lists that sort markers by name, date, and/or distance to the current position.
- Draw directly on your map with various shapes.
- Show a visitor’s location on the map in real-time, along with their proximity to a map marker.
- Supports other map solutions beyond Google Maps, including OpenStreetMaps, Bing Maps, and more.
- Display a list of markers alongside your map. Visitors can search and filter this list, as well.
- Use your own custom marker icons.
- Let visitors open map markers in Street View, with augmented reality powered by layar.com (this is pretty unique).
- Bulk import markers using GeoJSON.
Example of a Map
Here’s a demo map powered by OpenStreetMap that shows some of the different features on offer:
Pricing & How to Get
You can get your feet wet and try out the plugin with a basic free version at WordPress.org.
However, if you want all of the features I detailed above, you’ll want the full Pro version. The Pro version starts at €39.00 for use on a single site and ranges up to €249.00 for use on unlimited sites.
One nice thing is that the developer offers a 30-day free trial of all the premium features, which lets you give it a test drive for free.
9. Simple Google Maps Shortcode
As the name suggests, Simple Google Maps Shortcode is one of the simplest Google Maps plugins on this list.
Using a single shortcode, you can quickly embed a map for your desired location. Or, the same developer also has a dedicated Google Maps Gutenberg Block plugin that lets you use the same approach to embed a map as a block in the new WordPress block editor.
However, both of these plugins lack basic features that other plugins offer, such as support for multiple pins.
If you want those features, you’ll definitely want to pick one of the other plugins on this list.
This plugin is really just a simpler way to embed a basic Google Maps map, without the need to use an iframe.
Key Features
- Embed a single-location map using a simple shortcode.
- Change the map’s height and width using shortcode parameters.
- Disable map scrolling or map controls using shortcode parameters.
- Maps are cached for three months for improved performance, though you can adjust the duration using shortcode parameters.
Example of a Map
Again, Simple Google Maps Shortcode just embeds a basic map, just as if you’d used the iframe embed code straight from the Google Maps site. For that reason, there’s really nothing special going on that’s worth showing.
Pricing & How to Get
Simple Google Maps Shortcode is 100% free and available at WordPress.org.
If you want more functionality than its basic Google Maps embed approach, you can check out the Google Maps Widget Pro plugin from the same developer (which we have featured earlier in this post) or one of the other plugins on this list.
Which is the Best WordPress Google Maps Plugin for You?
Nine plugins is a lot to throw at you, so let’s finish out this post by running through some different scenarios to help you find the best Google Maps plugin for your needs.
First off, if you’re just looking to embed a simple map and don’t need all the advanced features (or even the ability to display multiple pins), then I’d say just stick with something simple like Simple Google Maps Shortcode or Google Maps Gutenberg Block. Google Maps Widget, from the same developer, is another good basic free option.
On the other hand, if you do need the ability to display multiple map markers, along with other features like directions, category filters, etc, then here are some thoughts:
- Maps Marker Pro has one of the deepest feature lists, though its design options look a little dated and it doesn’t have the most beginner-friendly interface.
- WordPress Google Maps has some really nice styles out of the box and is affordable at just $29.00.
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress is a good middle ground, combining deep functionality with nice looks — there’s a reason it’s the most popular Google Maps plugin at CodeCanyon. It’s a little pricier at $59.00, though.
Finally, if you still want that advanced functionality but need it to be free, I’d say the two most generous free plugins are 10Web Google Maps and Google Maps Easy. WP Google Maps is also a solid option if you only need to create a single map.
Have any questions about navigating your way through all these plugins? Ask away in the comments!
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