Tileserver PHP vs Tegola
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted maps & gis options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Tileserver PHP | Tegola |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 69 · Good |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 593 | ★ 1,505 |
| First released | 2013 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Mapbox, Google Maps tiles | Mapbox, Tilehosting |
What are Tileserver PHP and Tegola?
Tileserver PHP
Tileserver PHP is a lightweight server that hosts raster and vector map tiles, MBTiles, and UTFGrids over standard protocols. It is simple to deploy on common PHP hosting for serving custom maps.
- Serves MBTiles and UTFGrids
- TMS and WMTS protocols
- Runs on shared PHP hosting
- Raster and vector tiles
Tegola
Tegola is an open-source vector tile server that generates Mapbox Vector Tiles from PostGIS and other spatial data sources. It serves fast, styleable maps to web and mobile clients.
- Mapbox Vector Tile output
- PostGIS data source
- Tile caching
- Single-binary deploy
Tileserver PHP vs Tegola: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Tileserver PHP's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Tegola is actively maintained. Tileserver PHP is written in PHP, while Tegola is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Tileserver PHP versus MIT for Tegola. Tileserver PHP is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Tegola. Tileserver PHP is the more established project (first released 2013), while Tegola arrived in 2016. Tegola has the considerably larger community, at 1,505 GitHub stars versus 593. Tegola lists first-class Docker deployment; Tileserver PHP does not.
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 Tegola if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Tileserver PHP or Tegola better?
Neither is universally better. Tegola 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 Tegola free and open-source?
Yes. Tileserver PHP is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Tegola under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Tileserver PHP and Tegola with Docker?
Tileserver PHP: check the project docs for container support. Tegola: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Tileserver PHP or Tegola?
Tileserver PHP has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Tegola. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.