Mapnik vs TileServer GL
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
TileServer GL
Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
| Feature | Mapnik | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | C++ | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,949 | ★ 2,872 |
| First released | 2006 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Maps, Mapbox | Mapbox |
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 TileServer GL if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Mapnik or TileServer GL better?
Neither is universally better. Mapnik has the larger community, while TileServer GL is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mapnik and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. Mapnik is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mapnik and TileServer GL with Docker?
Mapnik: yes. TileServer GL: yes.