Mapnik vs openstreetmap-tile-server
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?
Mapnik
Toolkit for rendering raster map tiles from spatial data
VS
openstreetmap-tile-server
Dockerized OpenStreetMap raster tile server
| Feature | Mapnik | openstreetmap-tile-server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,949 | ★ 1,452 |
| First released | 2006 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Maps, Mapbox | Google Maps |
Why pick each one
Choose Mapnik if…
- Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Choose openstreetmap-tile-server if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is Mapnik or openstreetmap-tile-server better?
Neither is universally better. Mapnik has the larger community, while openstreetmap-tile-server is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mapnik and openstreetmap-tile-server free and open-source?
Yes. Mapnik is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and openstreetmap-tile-server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mapnik and openstreetmap-tile-server with Docker?
Mapnik: yes. openstreetmap-tile-server: yes.