Mapy, now available globally with a new international domain, presents itself as the European alternative to Google Maps. Created 25 years ago, the app has long operated as a local tool, but in recent years, it has expanded beyond its home market, reaching over ten million downloads in the Google Play Store. Mapy is currently available in Slovakia, Poland, Austria, and Germany, with plans to launch soon in Slovenia, Hungary, and Italy. The application has been operating since 1998 in the Czech Republic, and, during all these years, Mapy has been a local service in the country and has been improving its features, according to the business.

The decisive advance, the company explains, has been made this year when they changed the Mapy domain .cz to .com, and they have begun to operate at a global level in order to try to reach more users, so it is now available in web application, as well as also in Google Play Store and App Store.

Mapy also aims to offer an alternative in a sector largely dominated by Google, bringing much-needed competition. This competition may be especially timely, as recent months have seen instances of incorrect updates, fabricated traffic queues, and detours leading to poorly signposted locations. Mapy’s emergence as a European challenger to Google Maps has also been highlighted by independent observers, alongside the apps Magic Earth, Organic Maps or Here WeGo.

From hiking routes to restaurant reviews

Seznam pointed out that the intention of this movement is to improve its maps around the world and to offer more detailed hiking routes, as well as to recommend restaurants with good ratings, advice from local users, and information about traffic in real time. “Users from different countries will contribute to improving the Mappy app using the navigation, adding new places, updating information, uploading photos and reviewing cafeterias, restaurants and hotels,” the company notes.

Likewise, Appy also stands out for its autonomy since it does not use Google’s information to create its maps and routes but rather employs its own information from OpenStreetMap for the rest of the countries that are not the Czech Republic.

Targeting foreign users

The move to Mapy.com is a “step towards greater clarity for foreign users,” according to the company’s director of Mapy.com, David Finger. “However, we believe that it will also bring benefits to domestic users thanks to a greater amount of shared data, experience and experiences. All of this will help us continue to improve Mapy.com,” he continues. The Czech app has a free version and another premium one, which, for 19 euros per year, offers features such as running routes and smartwatch integration, and it also includes a speed meter. Moreover, the company is working on improving offline maps for paying users.