kepler.gl vs OpenLayers
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
OpenLayers
High-performance library for all kinds of web maps
| Feature | kepler.gl | OpenLayers |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,954 | ★ 12,532 |
| First released | 2018 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Tableau, ArcGIS | Google Maps JavaScript 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 OpenLayers if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Mature project with 12.5k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is kepler.gl or OpenLayers better?
Neither is universally better. OpenLayers has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are kepler.gl and OpenLayers free and open-source?
Yes. kepler.gl is licensed under MIT and OpenLayers under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run kepler.gl and OpenLayers with Docker?
kepler.gl: check the project docs for container support. OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support.