Nominatim vs wanderer
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
wanderer
Trail database where you can upload your recorded tracks or create new
| Feature | Nominatim | wanderer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 16,384 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,406 | ★ 3,802 |
| First released | 2008 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Google Geocoding API | — |
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 wanderer if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Nominatim or wanderer better?
Neither is universally better. Nominatim has the larger community, while wanderer is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Nominatim and wanderer free and open-source?
Yes. Nominatim is licensed under GPL-3.0 and wanderer under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nominatim and wanderer with Docker?
Nominatim: yes. wanderer: yes.