25 JavaScript Libraries and Plugins for Creating Maps

JavaScript libraries and plugins can be a solution when you want to solve a problem, after all that’s why they were created, to solve issues.

By getting your hands on the right JavaScript libraries and plugin, you can reduce the amount of time and effort needed for any web development task.

We present you with 25 JavaScript libraries and plugins for creating/building and embedding maps.

CSS & jQuery Clickable Map of Europe

Free interactive map of forty-seven countries of the European continent. It’s a better way to convert a list of regions into a stylish clickable map without a Flash Player or any external plug-ins ..just a well known CSS sprites ..which works in all modern browsers ..even on the mobile devices as iPhone or iPad.

OpenLayers

OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display map tiles and markers loaded from any source. OpenLayers has been developed to further the use of geographic information of all kinds. OpenLayers is completely free, Open Source JavaScript, released under the 2-clause BSD License (also known as the FreeBSD).

MapBuilder

MapBuilder lets you tag locations on a map and publish it on your own site. MapBuilder is an Web2.0 service or rapid mashup development tool to build custom Google and Yahoo maps without any knowledge of the Google/Yahoo Maps API and JavaScript. MapBuilder provides a decent visual interface for the map building process with geocoding and import features. Also MapBuilder lets users tag locations on their maps, and then publish the map either on MapBuilder.net or their own website.

Leaflet

Leaflet is a modern open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. Leaflet is designed with simplicity, performance and usability in mind. It works efficiently across all major desktop and mobile platforms out of the box, taking advantage of HTML5 and CSS3 on modern browsers while still being accessible on older ones. It can be extended with a huge amount of plugins, has a beautiful, easy to use and well-documented API.

Click2map

The Click2Map Editor is a free online map creation solution. A few clicks suffice to add points of interest to any geographic area of your choosing and benefit from the power of a professional application: import data, geocode multiple addresses perform batch updates, display directions, customize your own database.

Simply download our maps to display them on your local computer, share them or publish them on you website, for free.

Google Maps

Bing Maps

The Bing Maps platform provides multiple API options for your application including an AJAX control, a Windows Store apps control, a WPF control, REST Services, and Spatial Data Services. Use the information below as well as at MSDN to help determine which API bests suits your needs.

jVectorMap

jVectorMap uses only native browser technologies like JavaScript, CSS, HTML, SVG or VML. No Flash or any other proprietary browser plug-in is required. This allows jVectorMap to work in all modern mobile browsers.

RaphaelJS

Raphaël is a small JavaScript library that should simplify your work with vector graphics on the web. If you want to create your own specific chart or image crop and rotate widget, for example, you can achieve it simply and easily with this library.

Raphaël [‘ræfeɪəl] uses the SVG W3C Recommendation and VML as a base for creating graphics. This means every graphical object you create is also a DOM object, so you can attach JavaScript event handlers or modify them later. Raphaël’s goal is to provide an adapter that will make drawing vector art compatible cross-browser and easy.

ZeeMaps

ZeeMaps is an enterprise-class mapping service that allows you to easily create, publish, and share interactive maps. You can construct dynamic visualizations of geographic information, producing maps from your list of people or places. For example, you can create a map of places you have visited, or maps that mark the addresses of your customers, sales leads, friends, and relatives. All maps are stored on our servers, and can be instantly accessed any time, anywhere, from any standard Web browser on a computer or mobile device.

MapBox

Mapbox makes it easy for developers to design custom maps and effortlessly publish them. Leading brands leverage Mapbox to tell incredible stories, like pinning travel spots on Pinterest, finding restaurants on foursquare, sharing locations with Uber, and visualizing data on GitHub.

ModestMaps

Modest Maps is a small, extensible, and free library for designers and developers who want to use interactive maps in their own projects. It provides a core set of features in a tight, clean package with plenty of hooks for additional functionality.

gMaps

gMaps.js allows you to use the potential of Google Maps in a simple way.
No more extensive documentation or large amount of code.

MapQuery

MapQuery is a jQuery plugin that you can use to add mapping to your website. Whether you quickly want to add a simple map to a page, or build a feature rich web application, MapQuery is just the thing you need.

jQueryGEO

jQuery Geo, an open-source geospatial mapping project from Applied Geographics, provides a streamlined JavaScript API for a large percentage of your online mapping needs. Whether you just want to display a map on a web page as quickly as possible or you are a more advanced GIS user, jQuery Geo can help!

PolyMaps

Polymaps is a free JavaScript library for making dynamic, interactive maps in modern web browsers.

DataMaps

Customizable SVG map visualizations for the web in a single Javascript file using D3.js

Jump

Jump is a light weight maps library that works on its own, meaning, it is not a wrapper for OpenLayers or GoogleMaps API. Currently it is under development, but a lot of essential features work well.

Jump stands for jQuery unified map plugin. It was supposed to be called simplified map plugin, but jsmp didn’t sound so good.

JQVmap

JQVMap is a jQuery plugin that renders Vector Maps. It uses resizable Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for modern browsers like Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera and Internet Explorer 9. Legacy support for older versions of Internet Explorer 6-8 is provided via VML.

D3

D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG and CSS. D3’s emphasis on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework, combining powerful visualization components and a data-driven approach to DOM manipulation.

GeoChart

A geochart is a map of a country, a continent, or a region with two modes:

The region mode colorizes whole regions, such as countries, provinces, or states

The marker mode marks designated regions using bubbles that are scaled according to a value that you specify.

A Geochart is rendered within the browser using SVG or VML.

HERE Maps API for JavaScript

The HERE Maps API for JavaScript is a set of programming interfaces that enable developers to build Web applications with feature rich, interactive HERE Maps at their center. The API consists of libraries of classes and methods with which to implement the functionality of an interactive application.

MapQuest Maps

Create and Build Your Own Maps with MapQuest Tools.

AmMap

AmMap JavaScript Maps is a tool that you can use to easily add interactive map functionality to your web pages and JavaScript-based applications. You can use this tool to show locations of your offices, routes of your journeys, create your distributor map, etc. Photos or illustrations can be used as layers and backgrounds of maps, so you can make different presentations, e-learning tools and more.