Leaflet vs Tangram
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
Tangram
Flexible WebGL map rendering engine
| Feature | Leaflet | Tangram |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 45,461 | ★ 2,335 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Google Maps JavaScript API | Mapbox GL JS, Google Maps |
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 Tangram if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Leaflet or Tangram better?
Leaflet is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Tangram if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Leaflet and Tangram free and open-source?
Yes. Leaflet is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Tangram under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Leaflet and Tangram with Docker?
Leaflet: check the project docs for container support. Tangram: check the project docs for container support.