SHSelfHostIndex

MapLibre GL JS vs OpenStreetMap Carto

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?
MA MapLibre GL JS Open-source interactive vector map library for the web VS OP OpenStreetMap Carto The standard map style for OpenStreetMap rendering
FeatureMapLibre GL JSOpenStreetMap Carto
CategoryMaps & GISMaps & GIS
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseCC0-1.0
LanguageTypeScriptCartoCSS
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM256 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentsource, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 11,304★ 1,723
First released20202012
ReplacesMapbox GL JS, Google Maps JavaScript APIGoogle Maps

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
MapLibre GL JS details

Choose OpenStreetMap Carto if…

  • Released under the CC0-1.0 license
  • Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
  • Written in CartoCSS
OpenStreetMap Carto details

Frequently asked questions

Is MapLibre GL JS or OpenStreetMap Carto better?

MapLibre GL JS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenStreetMap Carto if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are MapLibre GL JS and OpenStreetMap Carto free and open-source?

Yes. MapLibre GL JS is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and OpenStreetMap Carto under CC0-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run MapLibre GL JS and OpenStreetMap Carto with Docker?

MapLibre GL JS: check the project docs for container support. OpenStreetMap Carto: check the project docs for container support.

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