kepler.gl vs Nominatim
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?
kepler.gl
Open-source geospatial data visualization tool
VS
Nominatim
Geocoding and reverse geocoding for OpenStreetMap data
| Feature | kepler.gl | Nominatim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 16,384 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,954 | ★ 4,406 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Tableau, ArcGIS | Google Geocoding API |
Why pick each one
Choose kepler.gl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 12k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Nominatim if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is kepler.gl or Nominatim better?
kepler.gl is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Nominatim if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are kepler.gl and Nominatim free and open-source?
Yes. kepler.gl is licensed under MIT and Nominatim under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run kepler.gl and Nominatim with Docker?
kepler.gl: check the project docs for container support. Nominatim: yes.