Map Ranks vs Whitespark (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Whitespark grades higher than Map Ranks: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Map Ranks grades higher on ease of use. Whitespark grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Map Ranks
Done-for-you Google Business Profile and Maps ranking service
Whitespark
Local SEO tools sold one by one: rank grids, citations and GBP control
Which one is for you
Pick Map Ranks if
- Fits if you run a local business and would rather pay than manage your listing
- Works for owners who want a no-contract monthly service
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are a one-site shop, as the cheapest package is $250 a month
- Skip it if you want software to do this yourself, as it is a managed service
- Watch out: citations and the name, address and phone check are not in Starter
- Watch out: Google Ads management is only in the $1,000 package, and the pages do not say if ad spend is extra
Pick Whitespark if
- Fits if you need just one local SEO job done, such as geogrid scans or guarding a Google Business Profile
- Works for agencies that send clients white-label geogrid links
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want the whole set, as each tool is billed on its own and Reputation Builder alone is $79 per location a month
- Tight if you're staying free, since the free Citation Finder allows 1 campaign and 3 searches a day
- Watch out: daily rank checks cost about 40% more than weekly on every Local Rank Tracker tier
- Watch out: Local Platform's $1 a location is billed yearly, and Reputation Builder's trial stops at 10 locations
- Skip it if you want software to push your listings to directories, as that's a paid done-for-you service here
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAMap RanksWeak | 2.6GPAWhitesparkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$250 a month for Starter is well above the $16 to $59 the category's subscriptions cost, though this is a managed service and the work is done by people. | BSingle pieces start low: Local Platform is $1 a location a month on yearly billing, grids $10 a month and the rank tracker $14, inside this category's cheaper quarter ($16). But each is billed apart, and all five at their smallest tiers come to about $137 a month for one location. |
| Free plan and trial | FThe listing shows no free plan and no trial, so you pay before you can try it. | CThe only free plan is Citation Finder Starter: 1 campaign, 3 searches a day and limited results. The rank tracker and Reputation Builder have 14-day trials, and grids start with 200 free credits and no card. |
| Features | CProfile upkeep, weekly posts, review replies, geo-grid ranking and weekly reports. Citations and the NAP check are only in Pro and Super. | BAcross its products it covers the whole job: guarding and bulk-editing Google Business Profiles, geogrids up to 225 points, local and organic rank tracking on Google and Bing, citation discovery and review requests. Building listings is a done-for-you service rather than software. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. It is done for you, so there is little to set up beyond giving access. | CNo rating on record. Each tool is a separate product with its own plan, and you connect Google accounts, set up campaigns and pick keywords and grid points before any of it reports back. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with six listed integrations and reports. No apps. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It connects to Google Business Profile and Facebook, and Local Ranking Grids has an MCP connection and shareable white-label links. |
| Best for | paying someone to run your Google Business Profile | buying local SEO tools one at a time |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Map Ranks and Whitespark. How we grade
Price against what you get
Map Ranks starts at $250 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Whitespark starts at $1 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Whitespark starts $249 a month lower. Of the other local SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than Map Ranks for less, and none scores higher than Whitespark for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Map Ranks | Whitespark | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $250 per month, no contract | $1 per location / month, billed annually (Local Platform) |
| Free plan | None | Local Citation Finder has a free Starter plan: 1 campaign, 3 searches a day and limited results, rerun monthly. The other products are paid. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of Local Rank Tracker and Reputation Builder; Local Ranking Grids starts with 200 free credits, no card needed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Map Ranks | Whitespark Inc. |
| Price read from | mapranks.com | whitespark.ca |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Map Ranks
- It is a managed service, not self-serve software: the team works inside your Google Business Profile, and you keep ownership of the listing.
- The 100+ directory citations and the name, address and phone consistency check are in Pro and Super only; Starter does not list them.
- Google Ads management is only in the $1,000 Super package, and the vendor's pages do not say whether ad spend is extra.
- The pricing section lists three packages; multi-location and franchise pricing is not published.
Whitespark
- Each product is billed separately, so a full set of tools adds up: a free account covers only a limited Citation Finder.
- Local Platform's $1 per location is billed annually, and Reputation Builder costs $79 per location a month.
- Daily rank tracking costs about 40% more than weekly on every Local Rank Tracker tier.
- Reputation Builder's free trial covers at most 10 locations; larger accounts get a custom quote.
Key features
Map Ranks
- Google Business Profile setup and upkeep
- The team researches keywords and locations, brings the profile to a 100% completion score, lists products and services, and keeps it updated each week.
- Weekly posts and photos
- Each week it publishes a keyword-targeted post with an image and uploads photos with date stamps and EXIF keywords.
- Review replies and collection
- It replies to reviews by hand with keywords, flags negative ones, and supplies a QR code flyer and review tap cards for collecting new reviews.
- Geo-grid ranking reports
- On-demand geo-grid reports show where a listing ranks on Google Maps across an area, and a free listing scan checks a business's local ranking.
- Weekly performance reports
- Weekly emails report keyword rankings, phone calls, website clicks and direction requests, with monthly progress reports.
- Citations and suspension help
- Pro and Super add 100+ manually created directory listings. All packages include suspension and dispute resolution for the profile.
Whitespark
- Local Platform for Google Business Profiles
- Imports profiles from several Google accounts, emails you when Google or anyone else changes a field, reverts unwanted edits in one click and bulk-edits locations.
- Local Ranking Grids
- Geogrid scans of 4 to 225 points, tracked up to 100 positions deep, with competitor pins, side-by-side grid comparison, shareable white-label links and an MCP connection.
- Local Rank Tracker
- Tracks local pack, Maps and organic results on Google and Bing, desktop and mobile, by zip code or coordinates, with a visibility score and competitor comparison.
- Local Citation Finder
- Finds the sites that list your top-ranked competitors but not you, tracks your existing citations and reruns campaigns weekly on paid plans.
- Reputation Builder
- Sends branded review requests by email or SMS, monitors more than 100 review sites and lets you reply to Google and Facebook reviews from one dashboard.
- Done-for-you services
- Citation building and cleanup packages from $20 to $999 one-time, a $399-per-location Yext replacement service and managed SEO from $499 a month.
Plans
Map Ranks
Starter Package$250
per month, no contract
Managed Google Business Profile: keyword research, profile completion, weekly posts and photos, review replies, QR code flyer and review tap cards, and weekly reports.
Pro Package$500
per month, no contract
Everything in Starter, plus a name, address and phone consistency check and 100+ manually created citations, including Apple Maps, Bing, Yahoo and Yellow Pages.
Super Package$1,000
per month, no contract
Everything in Pro, plus Google Ads setup and management, competitor research, budget optimization, conversion tracking and weekly campaign reviews.
Whitespark
Citation Finder Starter$0
Free Local Citation Finder plan: 1 campaign, 3 searches a day and limited search results; free campaigns rerun monthly.
Local Platform$1
per location / month, billed annually
Google Business Profile management: change alerts, one-click rejection of Google's edits, bulk editing and a GBP website builder.
Local Ranking Grids$10
per month for 2,000 credits
Geogrid rank tracking where 1 credit scans 1 grid point, so a 5x5 grid costs 25 credits a scan. Packs run up to 65,000 credits for $200.
Local Rank Tracker$14
per month for 100 keywords, weekly, billed annually ($17 monthly)
Small Business tier. Daily checks cost $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly); tiers run to 2,500 keywords at $117 weekly or $167 daily.
Local Citation Finder$33
per month for 5 campaigns, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Small Business tier with 20 searches a day and weekly reruns; tiers run to 100 campaigns at $124 a month billed annually.
Reputation Builder Pro$79
per location / month
3,000 email review requests, 300 SMS credits and monitoring of 10 review sites per location. Multi-location pricing is quoted.
Ways to pay less
Map Ranks
No public discounts listed.
Whitespark
- Annual discount
Lower prices with yearly billing
Local Rank Tracker's Small Business plan is $14 a month billed yearly against $17 monthly, and Local Citation Finder's is $33 against $39.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Map Ranks or Whitespark?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Whitespark is cheaper to start with: $1 a month, against $250 a month for Map Ranks. Map Ranks starts at $250 per month, no contract, and Whitespark starts at $1 per location / month, billed annually (Local Platform).
Which has a free plan, Map Ranks or Whitespark?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Whitespark has a free plan. Map Ranks does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.