Tileserver PHP vs QGIS
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?
Tileserver PHP
Lightweight PHP server for map tiles and UTFGrids
VS
QGIS
Free and open-source geographic information system
| Feature | Tileserver PHP | QGIS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 594 | ★ 14,183 |
| First released | 2013 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Mapbox, Google Maps tiles | ArcGIS |
Why pick each one
Choose Tileserver PHP if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose QGIS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Tileserver PHP or QGIS better?
Neither is universally better. QGIS has the larger community, while Tileserver PHP is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Tileserver PHP and QGIS free and open-source?
Yes. Tileserver PHP is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and QGIS under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Tileserver PHP and QGIS with Docker?
Tileserver PHP: check the project docs for container support. QGIS: check the project docs for container support.