Navitia vs Leaflet
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted maps & gis options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Navitia
Open-source journey planner for public transit
VS
Leaflet
Lightweight JavaScript library for interactive maps
| Feature | Navitia | Leaflet |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 454 | ★ 45,461 |
| First released | 2014 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Google Transit, Citymapper API | Google Maps JavaScript API |
Why pick each one
Choose Navitia if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose Leaflet if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 45.5k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Navitia or Leaflet better?
Leaflet is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Navitia if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Navitia and Leaflet free and open-source?
Yes. Navitia is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Leaflet under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Navitia and Leaflet with Docker?
Navitia: yes. Leaflet: check the project docs for container support.