Orange County Explorer is the curated journal Orange County reads when it wants to spend time, attention, and money on the places that deserve it. Get listed free. Upgrade when it makes sense.
of monthly readers live in Orange County or are within 50 miles. This is not a tourist directory.
median household income — a reader who books reservations, buys the print, stays the weekend.
read OCE specifically to plan a meal, a weekend, or a purchase in the next seven days.
Friday morning subscribers — the OC Dispatch, opened by 41% of readers each week.
The internet is full of places to find a business. There are very few places to find the right one. We built OCE to be the second kind.
Every business listed here was chosen by our editors — not pay-to-play, not algorithm-ranked, not voted on by strangers. When a reader sees you on OCE, they know an editor put you there. That is the most valuable piece of real estate in local advertising.
People don't book a table because they read a phone number. They book because they read a sentence that made them feel something. Our team writes the kind of sentences that move readers from scrolling to standing in your doorway on Friday at 7.
112,000 readers a month, 87% of them inside Orange County. They aren't comparing you to a Yelp page in Boise. They're deciding between you and the place two blocks away — and they're reading us to decide.
No bait-and-switch. No hidden tier above Featured. No ads sneaking onto your page. The free listing is fully usable, forever, and the paid tiers exist for owners who want the editorial showcase — not because we held the basics hostage.
Three tiers. No annual contracts. No setup fees. Cancel any time. Editorial review required for Featured — most decisions inside two weeks.
Everything you need to be found by a reader who's already looking for you.
A curator's blurb, a real photo gallery, and the marks of trust that move readers to book.
A full editorial story — the magazine treatment for the businesses that earn it.
All paid tiers are month-to-month. Cancel from your dashboard at any time and your listing reverts to Free — you never lose your spot. Featured listings require an in-person editorial visit; we'll only invoice once the profile is published and you've approved every word.
| Feature | Free$0 / forever | Verified$29 / month | Featured$149 / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Listing | |||
| Business name, address, phone, hours | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Category & neighborhood tags | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Maps pin + directions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Photos | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| Editor's blurb (40–60 words) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full editorial profile (300–600 words) | — | — | ✓ |
| On-location photography | — | — | ✓ |
| Owner portrait & founder story | — | — | ✓ |
| Trust & visibility | |||
| Verified badge | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Instagram embed | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Press & awards module | — | — | ✓ |
| Listed in city & category pages | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priority placement on city pages | — | — | ✓ |
| Eligible for category roundups | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Editor's Picks rotation | — | — | ✓ |
| Newsletter spotlight (28k subs) | — | — | ✓ |
| Owner tools | |||
| Self-serve dashboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit listing anytime | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics — views & clicks | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics — sources, search terms, trends | — | — | ✓ |
| Direct support & account manager | — | Dedicated | |
| The fine print | |||
| Setup fee | None | None | None |
| Annual contract required | — | — | — |
| Cancel anytime | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Editorial review required | — | — | ✓ |
Orange County Explorer is curated. That means we read every application, visit every business in person before approving Featured, and decline more applications than we accept.
This isn't a directory that wants every business. It is a journal that wants the right ones. If you make our list, your readers — and your guests — will know exactly what that means.
Search for your business, claim it if it's already on OCE, or add it from scratch. Free, two minutes, no credit card.
We confirm ownership by sending a verification link to an email at your business domain — no extra paperwork or phone calls.
Stay free, upgrade to Verified instantly with a card, or apply for Featured if your business meets the editorial standard.
Free and Verified go live as soon as you publish. Featured profiles take roughly two weeks — we visit, photograph, and write.
"Within a month of being featured, we were getting three or four reservations a week from people who quoted the OCE blurb back to us when they sat down."
Free forever. Upgrade when it makes sense. The kind of readers you actually want — already reading, already deciding, already on their way.
No credit card to start. No setup fee. Cancel any time.