MapStore vs TerriaJS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted maps & gis options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MapStore | TerriaJS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 664 | ★ 1,365 |
| First released | 2015 | 2015 |
| Replaces | ArcGIS Online, Carto | ArcGIS Online, Esri Hub |
What are MapStore and TerriaJS?
MapStore
MapStore is an open-source framework for building and sharing web mapping applications and dashboards. It lets users create maps from many data sources and publish interactive geoportals.
- Map and dashboard builder
- Multi-source data layers
- Geoportal publishing
- Plugin architecture
TerriaJS
TerriaJS is an open-source library for building rich, web-based geospatial data explorers and catalogs. It powers national data portals with 2D and 3D map visualization.
- 2D and 3D map views
- Data catalog explorer
- Many format support
- Self-hosted portals
MapStore vs TerriaJS: key differences
MapStore is written in JavaScript, while TerriaJS is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for MapStore versus Apache-2.0 for TerriaJS. TerriaJS is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for MapStore. TerriaJS has the considerably larger community, at 1,365 GitHub stars versus 664.
Why pick each one
Choose MapStore if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
Choose TerriaJS if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is MapStore or TerriaJS better?
Neither is universally better. TerriaJS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MapStore and TerriaJS free and open-source?
Yes. MapStore is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and TerriaJS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MapStore and TerriaJS with Docker?
MapStore: yes. TerriaJS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MapStore or TerriaJS?
TerriaJS has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for MapStore. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.