Feedback on ZIP code level mapping/analysis/rating tool

[u/otter-in-a-suit]

Hello /r/gis!

I'm hoping it's OK to solicit some feedback from professionals. I recently built SkaldMaps: https://skaldmaps.com

SkaldMaps lets you explore, compare, and rank U.S. ZIP with about 500 custom attributes, from real estate market data to weather.

You can build your own rating model based on whatever criteria you care about. This is not a feature I've really seen elsewhere.

Some of the data is relatively generic (like ACS), others are fairly customized attributes. Full dictionary here: https://skaldmaps.com/docs/reference/columns

I have some neat things built in that I personally used to do with QGIS and that can get complex for a casual user (such as distance to the nearest amenities or how many hospitals are in a given area). I still use QGIS but for many things, but the aggregate data on a bigger area has been more helpful for me.

This is explicitly a different niche than Regrid and other parcel-level tools - it's more designed for people who are looking for areas - in this case, ZIP codes - to invest in / move to, rather than individual parcels. Because of that, it's also reasonably priced (I think - maybe that's up for debate).

I assume there's a decent overlap with SWEs here, so you might also enjoy my (admittedly short) technical writeup here: https://chollinger.com/blog/2026/05/skaldmaps-zip-code-research-tool/

The same blog also has some other GIS-shaped posts, in case you're curious - I'm first and foremost an SWE, not a GIS person. I have, however, dabbled in it over the years.

I am curious what people here think - is this useful? I built this based on a prototype that helped my SO and I to buy our current house (by shortlisting areas), as well as a small piece of rec land I own, so it's been useful at least for me.

I do have a free tier in case you'd like to try it. The plans and what is available on what plan might need some fine tuning.

P.S.: This is a solo/side project, so my resources are a bit limited.

[u/otter-in-a-suit → u/[deleted]]

My day job is pretty far away from GIS. Regarding your "vibe coding" accusation, I wrote a bit about LLMs on the other blog.

But yes, this is monetizing datasets that are public, but that's only part of it. The value add, in my opinion, is the processing and combination of said datasets and the UI (and its features). It's perfectly fine if you don't find value in that, but I don't think it's just regurgitating ACS data verbatim and charging for it (not that that hasn't been done before...)

But thank you for your feedback!