Leaflet vs React Leaflet Maps
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?
Leaflet
Lightweight JavaScript library for interactive maps
VS
React Leaflet Maps
React components for embedding Leaflet maps
| Feature | Leaflet | React Leaflet Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Hippocratic-2.1 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 45,461 | ★ 5,598 |
| First released | 2011 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Google Maps JavaScript API | Google Maps React, Mapbox React |
Why pick each one
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
Choose React Leaflet Maps if…
- Released under the Hippocratic-2.1 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Leaflet or React Leaflet Maps better?
Neither is universally better. Leaflet has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Leaflet and React Leaflet Maps free and open-source?
Yes. Leaflet is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and React Leaflet Maps under Hippocratic-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Leaflet and React Leaflet Maps with Docker?
Leaflet: check the project docs for container support. React Leaflet Maps: check the project docs for container support.