Hauk vs QGIS
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?
Hauk
Self-hosted real-time location sharing service
VS
QGIS
Free and open-source geographic information system
| Feature | Hauk | QGIS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 924 | ★ 14,183 |
| First released | 2019 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Google Maps location sharing | ArcGIS |
Why pick each one
Choose Hauk if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
Choose QGIS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Hauk or QGIS better?
Neither is universally better. QGIS has the larger community, while Hauk is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hauk and QGIS free and open-source?
Yes. Hauk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and QGIS under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hauk and QGIS with Docker?
Hauk: yes. QGIS: check the project docs for container support.