There are so many things to love about StoryMaps, but one of the best things is that you can make engaging interactive content – even if you’re on a budget. Let’s take a look at the plans so you can determine which is best for you.
Two Plan Options: Free vs. Paid
If you’re looking for a free, powerful storytelling tool, that’s the StoryMaps Basic plan. It provides essential storytelling capabilities, but has some limitations including the number of stories and collections you can make. We’ll get into specifics in a bit.
When you want more publishing options and unlimited storytelling capabilities, you’ll want the Premium plan. Then, you can make as many stories as you like and customize them to look exactly as you envision them.
The Basics on the Basic Plan
It’s free. That’s right! It’s free, and a credit card is not required to sign up for it.
It’s functional. You can use all of the Premium features on the Basic plan, but you can’t publish content containing Premium features. Premium features are identified with a purple diamond throughout StoryMaps.
It’s for public stories. All stories published with the Basic plan are available for the public to view. You can always save stories as a draft if you want to keep them to yourself.
It’s limited. You can make 10 stories and 5 collections with the Basic plan. There are also limitations on the layout options, maps and themes you can publish, as well as the metrics you can view. For details, please look at the chart on the Pricing page.
It’s branded. There is a footer at the bottom of your published stories indicating the story is made with StoryMaps. That way, when people read your great story, hopefully they’ll give us a try, too.
Premium Plan Perks
All Premium features are identified by the purple diamond in StoryMaps.
It’s flexible. Pay monthly or save with an annual subscription. Currently, prices are $10/month or $100/year. You can also switch between the free and paid options. Please see the FAQs for more info.
It’s customizable. Design custom themes for your story and get access to all of the layout and map options to create the story to your preferences.
It’s controllable. You can choose who sees your stories with three publishing options: Just Me, Anyone with Link or Everyone.
It’s unlimited. You can make as many stories, collections, and themes as you like with the Premium plan. You can also add Google Analytics to gain more insight into how your stories are performing. Note: during the Premium trial, you are limited to 10 stories and 5 collections.
It’s your brand. The StoryMaps footer is not visible on Premium stories allowing you to build your own brand as you share and promote your content with the world.
As you can see, the StoryMaps team really wants you to have an opportunity to make content you’re proud to make and share. Whether you choose the free, Basic plan or the Premium subscription, we hope you will enjoy all of the features StoryMaps offers.
Common Questions about StoryMaps Plans
Before I go, I thought I’d answer some of the most common things our team is asked about the two StoryMaps plans. If you have other questions, they may be answered on the Pricing page or you can reach out to our team and we’ll help you out.
All right, I think that sums up the two plans. With new features every two weeks, things change quickly in StoryMaps, but we’ll do our best to keep this up to date for you. Happy storytelling, everyone!