Map with Legend
Add labeled markers and colored regions with one click each. Every entry appears in an auto-generated legend with its color swatch, ready to share via link.
Quick answer: Drop markers and paint regions — the legend builds itself automatically. Coverage: Worldwide. No account is required.
Worked examples
- Small pin map — A handful of labelled pins is usually clearer than dozens of unstyled markers. Use categories or colours only when they carry meaning.
- Shareable state — When a tool stores settings in the URL, recipients can reopen the same configuration without an account.
- Export choice — PNG is useful for presentation; GeoJSON or CSV is better when the data needs to remain editable.
Limits & appropriate use
Custom maps inherit two honest limits: the basemap's and the message's. The basemap is OpenStreetMap's current picture with its ODbL attribution ask, and its gaps — new roads, thin rural detail — travel into every export that includes tiles. The message limit is design's classic one: a map can carry one argument well, and beyond a few dozen symbols the right instrument changes to data-driven mapping with clustering and categories. Both limits are stated where they matter, because the alternative is a beautiful figure that misleads its own author.
Within those bounds the workflow is complete and durable: pins, labels, colours, tight framing, pixel-ratio PNG for the slide, GeoJSON/CSV for the record, URL-state for the living version. Escalation is gentle by design — choropleths and territory shading belong to GIS with real boundaries (the blank-map library and GeoJSON exports feed it), cartographic print production wants vector pipelines, and brand-strict design systems want tokens this tool deliberately doesn't fake.
- Data-dense maps → CSV-to-map with clustering and category colour.
- Boundary shading/choropleth → GIS with census or OSM boundaries.
- Print cartography → vector exports into a design pipeline.
Data & methodology
Map imagery derives from OpenStreetMap via OpenFreeMap (ODbL attribution applies to reused basemap images); your pins and labels live only in the share URL.
For source details, licences and model limitations, see Data Sources and Methodology.
Related tools
Category: Map Creation. Results are intended for everyday analysis and planning unless a page explicitly states otherwise.
How to use
- 1Type a label and pick a color.
- 2Click the map to drop a marker, or press Draw region and trace an area.
- 3Watch the legend build itself on the left.
- 4Copy the share link to send your map to anyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the legend for?
The legend lists every marker and region you add with its color swatch, so anyone viewing your map can tell what each mark means — like the key on a printed map.
How do I share my annotated map?
Press Copy share link. The link encodes all your entries, so anyone opening it sees the same map and legend.
Can I edit an entry after adding it?
Remove it with the × button and re-add it. Labels and colors are set from the panel before you click the map.
How many entries can I add?
There is no fixed cap, but keep shared links reasonable — very long lists make long URLs.
Do regions need to be closed shapes?
Yes. Click at least three points to trace a region, then press Finish region to close it.