Storemapper vs Closeby: Which Store Locator Is Better for Shopify?

If you're weighing Storemapper against Closeby for your Shopify store locator, you're looking at two apps that approach the same problem very differently. Storemapper is one of the longest-running locators on the market, feature-rich, multi-platform, and priced accordingly. Closeby is leaner and more affordable, built around clean design and simplicity. This comparison breaks down the trade-offs between the two and introduces a third option that might land in the middle.

Quick Summary

Storemapper has been around since 2013 and offers one of the most feature-complete store locator setups available, including Google Sheets sync, advanced filtering, and support for five platforms beyond Shopify. The trade-off is price: its best features are gated behind higher tiers. Closeby takes the opposite approach: a free plan, low monthly costs, and a design-first mentality, but fewer features overall and no native analytics. The right choice depends on whether you need depth or simplicity.

Overview of Both Products

Storemapper

Storemapper launched in 2013, making it one of the most established store locator apps on the market. It supports Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, and BigCommerce, which makes it a strong choice for merchants who manage multiple storefronts.

Its strengths are breadth and reliability. Google Sheets sync is available on every plan, which simplifies collaborative location management. Customization scales with pricing: color and button controls come standard, themes unlock at Pro ($49.99/month), and white-label branding arrives at Premium ($69.99/month). Analytics are limited to basic heatmaps, available only on the Premium tier. Advanced filtering and multi-language support (20+ languages) also require Premium or higher.

Storemapper carries a 4.9-star rating with approximately 96 reviews on the Shopify App Store.

Closeby

Closeby positions itself as a design-focused store locator with minimal friction. It offers a free plan with up to 5 locations, making it one of the few locator apps you can try without a time limit. Paid plans are straightforward: Standard at $9.99/month and Enterprise at $19.99/month, with up to 10,000 locations on the top tier.

Where Closeby stands out is in its visual approach. Custom colors, fonts, and design controls make it easy to match your brand without much effort. The trade-offs are on the feature side: there are no native analytics, filtering is limited to distance-based search, and the app requires you to provide your own Mapbox token. Support is email-based.

Closeby holds a 4.6-star rating with roughly 20 reviews.

Feature Comparison

Pricing

The pricing difference is stark. Closeby's top-tier Enterprise plan at $19.99/month costs less than Storemapper's entry-level Micro plan at $24.99/month. Storemapper justifies its pricing with deeper features and an unlimited Corporate tier, but for merchants who need a simple, affordable locator, Closeby is significantly cheaper.

Analytics

Analytics is a weak point for both apps, though for different reasons. Storemapper offers basic heatmaps and search data, but gates them behind its Premium plan at $69.99/month. Closeby has no native analytics at all, so you're flying blind on how customers interact with your locator.

Neither app tracks post-search behavior. Click-through rates, filter usage patterns, and location engagement data are absent from both. If data-driven retail decisions matter to your business, this is a meaningful gap.

Customization

Closeby offers a solid design baseline: custom colors and fonts are available on all plans, which makes it easy to get a branded look without upgrading. Storemapper offers more depth (themes, custom CSS, white labeling, multi-language), but the best customization options require the Pro ($49.99/month) or Premium ($69.99/month) plan. For brands selling internationally, Storemapper's 20+ language support is a clear advantage, though the $69.99/month price tag to access it is steep.

Search and Filters

Filtering is where the gap widens most. Storemapper offers advanced filtering, product filtering, and category filtering, but reserves them for its most expensive tiers. Closeby only supports basic distance-based search with no attribute filtering at all. If your customers need to narrow results by product type, service category, or store features, neither app makes this easy at accessible price points.

Support and Platform

Storemapper's multi-platform support is a genuine differentiator for merchants on more than one storefront. Closeby also supports multiple platforms, but its reliance on Mapbox means you need to set up and manage your own API token, an extra step that adds both cost and complexity. Closeby's permanent free plan gives it the edge on risk-free evaluation over Storemapper's 7-day trial.

Who Storemapper Is Best For

Storemapper is a good fit if you:

• Sell on multiple platforms. Support for Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, and BigCommerce means one locator across all your storefronts.
• Need unlimited locations. The Corporate plan at $199/month removes all location caps, which matters for brands with large wholesale or retail networks.
• Manage locations in Google Sheets. Sheets sync on all plans is a real workflow advantage for teams that update location data collaboratively.
• Require advanced filtering or multi-language support. Storemapper offers both, though they come at Premium pricing or above.

For more context on Storemapper alternatives, see our Mapular vs Storemapper comparison and the best Storemapper alternatives for Shopify.

Who Closeby Is Best For

Closeby is a good fit if you:

• Want the lowest possible cost. A free plan with 5 locations and a top tier at $19.99/month make Closeby one of the most affordable store locators available.
• Prioritize clean design. Custom colors and fonts on all plans, with a design-first approach that suits brands who want a polished look without heavy configuration.
• Have a small number of locations. If you're working with under 50 retail partners and just need a functional, good-looking map, Closeby handles this well.
• Don't need analytics or advanced filtering. If you're not making data-driven decisions based on locator usage, Closeby's simplicity may be all you need.

For a more detailed look at how Closeby compares to analytics-focused alternatives, see our Mapular vs Closeby comparison.

The Third Option: Mapular

If you've read this far and feel like neither app quite covers everything (Storemapper's depth at a lower price, or Closeby's simplicity with real analytics), there's a third option worth evaluating.

Mapular is a Shopify-native store locator that combines Closeby-level affordability with analytics capabilities neither Storemapper nor Closeby offers. It was built for D2C brands that want their locator to generate actionable data, not just display pins on a map.

What makes Mapular different

Built-in behavioral analytics from $19.99/month. Mapular tracks what happens after the search: location clicks, filter usage, engagement patterns, and demand signals by region. This data lives in a dashboard inside your Shopify admin and helps inform retail expansion decisions, identify high-demand areas, and understand which locations actually drive engagement. Storemapper offers basic heatmaps at $69.99/month. Closeby offers no analytics at all.

A real free plan. Mapular's free tier includes 5 locations, full appearance control, and live chat support, with no trial countdown. This matches Closeby's free plan on locations but adds more customization and better support.

Full brand control on every paid plan. Colors, fonts, map styles, custom pin icons, and three layout options (sidebar, full-width, compact grid) are available starting at $9.99/month. No feature gating for core design controls. Storemapper reserves themes and custom CSS for Pro ($49.99/month) and above.

Smart filters on all paid plans. Customers can filter locations by hours, services, products, and custom attributes. On Storemapper, comparable filtering requires Premium ($69.99/month) or Corporate ($199/month). Closeby doesn't offer attribute-based filtering at all.

Live chat support, even on the free plan. Both Storemapper and Closeby offer email support only. Mapular provides in-app live chat inside the Shopify admin at every tier, including free.

Honest limitations

Mapular is newer and has fewer reviews than Storemapper. It's Shopify-only, with no WooCommerce, Squarespace, or other platform support. The maximum location limit is 5,000 (no unlimited tier), and there's no Google Sheets sync. If you need multi-platform support or more than 5,000 locations, Storemapper is the better choice.

Three-Way Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a store locator with analytics that doesn't cost $70/month?

Yes. Mapular offers behavioral analytics (search tracking, click-through data, filter usage, and engagement trends) starting at $19.99/month. Storemapper charges $69.99/month for basic heatmaps, and Closeby has no analytics at all. If understanding how customers use your locator matters for growth decisions, Mapular provides that data at a fraction of Storemapper's analytics pricing.

Is Closeby really enough for a growing D2C brand?

It depends on what you need. Closeby works well as a simple, affordable locator for brands with a small number of locations and no analytics requirements. But as your retail network grows, the lack of advanced filtering, analytics, and multi-language support can become limiting. Brands that need to understand demand patterns or let customers filter by product type will likely outgrow Closeby quickly.

Does Closeby's Mapbox requirement add extra cost?

Yes. Closeby requires you to provide your own Mapbox access token, which means signing up for a separate Mapbox account and managing your own API usage. Mapbox offers a free tier, but map loads beyond that threshold will incur additional monthly charges. Storemapper includes Google Maps without requiring a separate account. Mapular works out of the box with a free OpenStreetMap basemap and optionally supports Mapbox or Google Maps (bring your own key).

Can I migrate from Storemapper or Closeby to another app?

Storemapper supports CSV export, which makes migration straightforward. Most store locator apps accept CSV imports. Closeby's export options are more limited, so check your data portability before committing. The main work in any migration is reconfiguring appearance settings and re-embedding the locator on your storefront.

The Bottom Line

Storemapper and Closeby represent two ends of the store locator spectrum. Storemapper is the established, feature-rich option for merchants who need multi-platform support, advanced filtering, and unlimited locations, but its best features come at premium prices. Closeby is the budget-friendly, design-focused choice for brands that want a clean locator without the complexity, but it sacrifices analytics and filtering depth to get there.

If you want the affordability of Closeby with the feature depth of Storemapper, plus analytics that neither one offers, Mapular bridges that gap. Behavioral analytics from $19.99/month, smart filters on all paid plans, and a free plan to start with.

Try Mapular free on Shopify →