explorer.land Alternatives for Donor and Project Portals
Bernat Fortet ·
Most restoration teams find explorer.land when they want a public map of their project: where the sites are, what's happening there, and who's involved. It does that well. Teams start looking elsewhere when the page has to do something else, like serve one funder across twenty projects, live on their own domain, or update itself from field records.
This guide compares the alternatives we see restoration teams weigh, with who each one fits. It's an editorial shortlist, not a scored ranking. When we searched "explorer.land alternatives", the results were software directories listing general map tools; we didn't find a restoration-specific comparison.
Disclosure: Restoration Scope publishes this guide and builds donor and public portals, so we're one of the options below.
Checked October 17, 2026: claims about each tool come from its own website or help center, linked under each entry. Prices change; confirm with the provider.
What does explorer.land do well?
explorer.land is a platform by OpenForests where nature-based projects publish a map-based page with sites, news posts, partners and funding needs (explorer.land
).
- Strengths: a free plan, a quick setup, sites drawn on the map or uploaded as GeoJSON or KML, a free iframe embed of the map, and funding listings on paid plans.
- Limits worth knowing: pages live on explorer.land's domain. Donations happen through a button that links to your own page. The geodata export is a ZIP of GeoJSON that its help center says can't be re-uploaded one-to-one. An API is on Enterprise only.
- Cost: free for one site; Starter €49 a month (€34 billed annually), Professional €99 (€69 annually), priced per project (plans
).
When do teams look for an explorer.land alternative?
Teams usually start looking for one of four reasons:
- Many projects, one funder. Per-project pricing and per-project pages get awkward when a funder supports a whole portfolio.
- Their own brand and domain. explorer.land's help center lists a white-label module as "coming soon", while OpenForests' site lists it as a Professional extra. Ask before you count on it.
- Built-in donations. Some teams want people to give on the page itself.
- Live data. The portal should update from field records instead of being edited by hand.
Which explorer.land alternatives are worth comparing?
| Tool | Best for | Donations | Your own domain | Cost (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restor | Free site page with satellite data | Link out | Enterprise microsite | Free; Insights from CHF 1,400/year |
| Plant-for-the-Planet | Taking donations as a non-profit | On the platform, 0% commission | No | Free |
| ArcGIS StoryMaps and Hub | Story-led sites for GIS teams | No | Yes (Hub) | ArcGIS user licenses |
| Felt | Embeddable maps on your own site | No | Embed only | Team from $199/month |
| GainForest | Community-led projects | To the community's wallet | No | Free, open source |
| Restoration Scope | Portals fed by field records | No | Our domain, embeddable | Scoped per project |
Restor
A Swiss nonprofit platform, spun out of ETH Zürich, where projects publish a free site profile with 30+ ecological datasets about their land (Restor). Free pages include embeds and a donate link to your own page. Paid Insights adds password-protected funder portfolios, PDF reports and co-branded pages; a white-label microsite sits in the Enterprise tier (free vs Insights
, pricing
).
- Good fit: projects that want free satellite context next to their story, and portfolio managers reporting to funders.
- Think twice if: your updates come from detailed operational records. Insights accepts field data uploads; check that its site and portfolio model fits your records and workflows.
- Cost: free core; Insights from CHF 1,400 a year (CHF 980 for NGOs).
Plant-for-the-Planet
Plant-for-the-Planet's platform lets non-profit restoration projects publish a page and receive donations with 0% commission, though payment provider fees apply (for restoration organizations). Projects must pass an off-site review before they can take donations; an on-site review follows. Data from its free TreeMapper app shows on the page, and there's an embeddable widget.
- Good fit: non-profits that want donations on the page and already use, or will use, TreeMapper.
- Think twice if: you're a company, or you need your own brand on the page.
- Cost: free.
ArcGIS StoryMaps and Hub
Esri's tools for story-led pages and public sites. Hub lists branding and a custom domain; full StoryMaps use comes with paid ArcGIS user types (StoryMaps licensing, Hub
).
- Good fit: organizations with ArcGIS already, and a GIS person who can build and keep the site.
- Think twice if: you don't use ArcGIS. There are no donor features, and the price depends on user types.
- Cost: ArcGIS user licenses; Esri runs a nonprofit discount program.
Felt
A browser map tool for making and sharing maps, which you can embed on your own website (pricing). It imports Shapefile, GeoJSON and KML.
- Good fit: a team with its own website that wants good-looking project maps on it.
- Think twice if: you want a project page out of the box. Felt makes maps; the story and donor pages are yours to build.
- Cost: the free plan has no uploads or embeds; Team, which adds both, is $199 a month billed annually; 30% off for US 501(c)(3) groups.
GainForest
A Swiss nonprofit whose platform lets nature stewards publish evidence-backed projects on a shared globe (GainForest, what is a project
). Projects that enable support can receive contributions through a connected wallet or donation setup.
- Good fit: community-led projects that want direct funding and an open-source tool.
- Think twice if: your donors expect card payments and tax receipts. GainForest's docs warn that crypto transfers usually can't be reversed (supporting projects
).
Restoration Scope
We build digital infrastructure for nature projects: we connect a team's field data, maps and workflows so they can see their operations and show funders credible evidence. Portals are views of the same records the team works with, so they update as field data comes in, and each audience sees only what it should. Examples you can open: the Coldplay x One Tree Planted portal, which shows the projects One Tree Planted supports with Coldplay's funding, and Acción Andina's monitoring portal.
- Good fit: organizations or funders with many projects, whose evidence already lives in field records, spreadsheets or GIS, and who want help setting it up.
- Think twice if: you need built-in donations, your own domain, or one simple public page this month. For a simple page, explorer.land's or Restor's free tiers are quicker.
- Cost: scoped per project, with no public price list. Portals live on restorationscope.com and can be embedded on your site.
Source: Restoration Scope products.
What about veritree and Tree-Nation?
They're a different model. veritree runs business-funded planting programmes with its partners and gives brands verified impact dashboards. Tree-Nation
is a marketplace where reviewed projects receive funding and the platform keeps a share. Both can bring funding, but the page belongs to the programme, not to you.
For a monitoring map on your own domain, WRI's free MapBuilder builds on Global Nature Watch data. A custom build (a mapping library on your own website) gives full control, with a developer to keep it running.
How do you choose a donor or project portal?
Start from the reader. The public, an individual donor and a corporate funder need different pages. A public story suits explorer.land or Restor; a funder reviewing 20 projects needs a portfolio view.
Count projects, not pages. Per-project pricing is cheap for one project and adds up for a portfolio. Price the portal at the size you'll be in two years.
Decide where donations happen. If people should give on the page, compare Plant-for-the-Planet and GainForest. If they give on your website, any tool with a link or an embed works.
Ask where the updates come from. A page someone edits by hand goes stale after the first season. If you want it to stay current, check how the tool connects to your field records.
Check your exit. Download your sites and content and try to load them somewhere else. Your project data should outlive any portal.
To check what your site files contain before uploading them anywhere, convert WKT with the free WKT to GeoJSON converter. For the data behind a portal, see our guides to restoration monitoring tools, field-data apps and software for ARR carbon projects.
Frequently asked questions
Is explorer.land free?
It has a free plan for one project with one site and two editors. Paid plans are priced per project per month, from €34 (Starter, billed annually) to €69 (Professional, billed annually), with Enterprise by quote.
Who makes explorer.land?
explorer.land is run by OpenForests, a company based in Krefeld, Germany. Its help center and sales contacts point to OpenForests.
Can I take donations on a restoration project page?
On some platforms, yes. Plant-for-the-Planet processes donations on its platform for non-profit projects that pass its reviews. explorer.land, Restor and most map tools link out to your own donation page instead.
What is the best free way to show a restoration project on a map?
For a single project, explorer.land's free plan and a free Restor site page are the quickest. Both give you a public map page with your site boundary. Restor also adds free satellite datasets about the site.
Can I embed a project map on my own website?
Yes, with most of these tools. explorer.land and Restor offer free embeds with their own styling, Felt embeds start on its paid Team plan, and ArcGIS StoryMaps and Hub can run on your own site with an ArcGIS license.
What is the difference between a project page and a donor portal?
A project page tells the public what a project is and where it happens. A donor portal shows a specific funder the work their money supports, often across many projects, and is usually fed by the project's own records.