Nominatim 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?
Nominatim
Geocoding and reverse geocoding for OpenStreetMap data
VS
TileServer GL
Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
| Feature | Nominatim | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 16,384 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,406 | ★ 2,872 |
| First released | 2008 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Geocoding API | Mapbox |
Why pick each one
Choose Nominatim if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
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 Nominatim or TileServer GL better?
Neither is universally better. Nominatim 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 Nominatim and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. Nominatim is licensed under GPL-3.0 and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nominatim and TileServer GL with Docker?
Nominatim: yes. TileServer GL: yes.