deck.gl vs React Leaflet Maps
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?
deck.gl
WebGL-powered framework for large-scale data visualization on maps
VS
React Leaflet Maps
React components for embedding Leaflet maps
| Feature | deck.gl | React Leaflet Maps |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | Hippocratic-2.1 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,360 | ★ 5,598 |
| First released | 2016 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Mapbox visualization, ArcGIS | Google Maps React, Mapbox React |
Why pick each one
Choose deck.gl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Mature project with 14.4k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose React Leaflet Maps if…
- Released under the Hippocratic-2.1 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 5.6k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is deck.gl or React Leaflet Maps better?
Neither is universally better. deck.gl has the larger community, while React Leaflet Maps is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are deck.gl and React Leaflet Maps free and open-source?
Yes. deck.gl is licensed under MIT and React Leaflet Maps under Hippocratic-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run deck.gl and React Leaflet Maps with Docker?
deck.gl: check the project docs for container support. React Leaflet Maps: check the project docs for container support.