The map is open data
The National Land Survey of Finland's topographic database is open data, and no licence fees are charged for it. The licence is Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), so users must credit the source: the National Land Survey, the name of the dataset and its date.
That is why almost every Finnish map app shows the same map. When you pay for a map app, you usually pay for the app's features, such as offline downloads, routing or sync, not for the map itself.
Free ways to view the topographic map
| Service | What you get | Works without a network |
|---|---|---|
| Karttapaikka / MapSite (National Land Survey) | topographic map, aerial photos, measuring, coordinates, free printout of the map view | not mentioned |
| Paikkatietoikkuna (National Land Survey) | map layers from many organisations, coordinate conversions | not mentioned |
| Retkikartta.fi / Excursionmap.fi (Metsähallitus) | huts, lean-tos, trails and ski tracks on the topographic map | no |
| Karttaselain, free version | topographic map, aerial photos, track recording | no, offline needs Plus |
| Lokimaps (iPhone) | the official topographic map | yes, for supported maps without a PRO purchase |
| Offgrid66, free tier | online map, your own places, measuring, emergency card | the emergency card yes, offline maps need Pro |
Checked on each service's own website on 16 Oct 2026.
Karttapaikka: official and free
According to the National Land Survey, Karttapaikka (MapSite in English) is open to all and free of charge, and you do not need to register. You can view topographic maps, aerial photos and background maps, measure distances and areas, and see a location's coordinates in three formats. One of them is the format recommended for emergency calls.
You can print the map view for free from the print icon. If you want an exact map at a chosen scale, you can order a paid printout. As a file, A4–A2 costs €21.80 and A1–A0 €37.50. On paper, A3 costs €29.00, and a weather-resistant A2 €55.00.
Karttapaikka is a website. You can add it to your phone's home screen as a shortcut, but without a network the map does not load.
Retkikartta: for planning at home
Metsähallitus's Retkikartta shows huts, lean-tos, campfire sites, trails, ski tracks and national park boundaries on the topographic map. It is free and needs no login. According to Metsähallitus's own presentation, though, Retkikartta has no offline use and is not a service for navigating in the terrain. Use it to plan your route, not in the forest.
When the signal ends
In Lapland and many national parks the signal ends a few kilometres from the road. Then you need one of these:
- A paper map. Print the area from Karttapaikka or buy a ready-made outdoor map. It needs no battery and is a good backup next to an app.
- An app you download the map into in advance. Among the free options, Lokimaps downloads supported maps without a PRO purchase. In Karttaselain and Offgrid66 offline maps belong to the paid tier, and in Topo GPS the maps are bought once.
- A check that the download really worked. Put the phone in airplane mode at home and open the map. If it shows, it will show on the fell too.
Satellite positioning works without a network, so your position shows on an offline map even where there is no coverage.
What the free map does not tell you
- The type of hut. The topographic map does not tell an open wilderness hut, a reservable hut and a cabin apart. Check huts on Retkikartta or luontoon.fi.
- How current it is. Some features in the topographic database are updated only every 5 to 10 years, so a path may have grown over.
- Track recording. The web services do not record the route you walk.
In short
Viewing the topographic map is free, and Karttapaikka is the best official service for it. On a trip, what matters is whether the map is on your phone before the signal ends. Download it at home, test it in airplane mode and bring a paper map.
Sources (read 16 Oct 2026): National Land Survey of Finland, open data licence CC BY 4.0 (in Finnish), Topographic database (in Finnish), MapSite, Paikkatietoikkuna. Metsähallitus, Retkikartta presentation 2022 (in Finnish). Karttaselain, Lokimaps.