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Avenza’s Free Version Won’t Open Your Maps: Your Options

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If your own maps in the free version of Avenza Maps are suddenly marked inactive, or you can’t import a new one, it isn’t a fault on your phone. Avenza changed what the free version does in 2026. Here’s what changed, and your options for keeping your maps usable.

What changed

Avenza’s changes FAQ says: “The free version of Avenza Maps no longer supports custom map imports”, and that previously imported custom maps “have been marked inactive”. Maps bought from the Avenza Map Store “are not affected by this change” (Avenza changes FAQ).

A custom map is any map you added yourself, such as a GeoPDF from an agency, a club or your own GIS.

Your options

1. Pay for Avenza

If you like Avenza and want to stay, a subscription brings imports back: Avenza suggests upgrading in the app under Settings, Upgrade Account. Plus is $34.99 a year per device for up to 20 of your own maps. Pro starts at $169.99 a year per device for an unlimited number, and it’s the plan Avenza lists for commercial, professional, government and academic use (Avenza pricing). Check Avenza’s site for current terms.

2. Use a different GeoPDF app

GeoPDF is a standard format, so your files aren’t tied to one app. Several apps can open them, and it’s worth comparing a few. Check whether an app is free for your own files, whether it limits how many you can keep, and whether it works offline.

3. Use Cartahaven, free

We make Cartahaven, so weigh this one accordingly. It opens your own GeoPDFs and GeoTIFFs free, as many as your device holds, with no account. It shows your GPS position with no signal and records tracks and placemarks, also free.

Cartahaven runs in your phone’s browser today and installs to your home screen. The Android and iPhone apps are on the way, so it isn’t in the app stores yet. For a fair side-by-side, including where Avenza is still ahead, see Cartahaven vs Avenza Maps.

Get your files back

However you decide, keep a copy of your maps outside any one app.

  • You still have the original file: that’s all you need. Keep it in your phone’s files or a cloud drive.
  • You got it from an agency or club: most publish their maps online, so you can usually download it again.
  • It only lives inside Avenza: Avenza’s help says custom maps can be exported “in the same format as the map was imported” (Avenza: sharing maps). We can’t test whether every inactive map can still be exported on the free version, so try it soon.

Maps bought from the Avenza Map Store are different: Avenza says they can’t be exported, and they aren’t affected by this change, so they stay in Avenza.

Your tracks and placemarks

These are separate from the maps. Export them from Avenza as KML, GPX or CSV, or as KMZ with photos, and keep the file. Our guide to moving from Avenza Maps shows how to bring them into Cartahaven.

Check a map before you rely on it

  1. Not sure a file is a GeoPDF? The free GeoPDF checker tells you and shows where it lands on a map.
  2. Open it in whichever app you choose.
  3. Turn on airplane mode and open it again, so you know it’s really on the phone before you lose signal.

Have a scan or plain PDF rather than a GeoPDF? You can add location to it free by matching a few points to a map.