MapLibre GL JS 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?
MapLibre GL JS
Open-source interactive vector map library for the web
VS
Nominatim
Geocoding and reverse geocoding for OpenStreetMap data
| Feature | MapLibre GL JS | Nominatim |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 16,384 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,304 | ★ 4,406 |
| First released | 2020 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Mapbox GL JS, Google Maps JavaScript API | Google Geocoding API |
Why pick each one
Choose MapLibre GL JS if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Mature project with 11.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 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 MapLibre GL JS or Nominatim better?
MapLibre GL JS 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 MapLibre GL JS and Nominatim free and open-source?
Yes. MapLibre GL JS is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Nominatim under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MapLibre GL JS and Nominatim with Docker?
MapLibre GL JS: check the project docs for container support. Nominatim: yes.