deck.gl vs openstreetmap-tile-server
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
openstreetmap-tile-server
Dockerized OpenStreetMap raster tile server
| Feature | deck.gl | openstreetmap-tile-server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,360 | ★ 1,452 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Mapbox visualization, ArcGIS | Google Maps |
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 openstreetmap-tile-server if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is deck.gl or openstreetmap-tile-server better?
Neither is universally better. deck.gl has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are deck.gl and openstreetmap-tile-server free and open-source?
Yes. deck.gl is licensed under MIT and openstreetmap-tile-server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run deck.gl and openstreetmap-tile-server with Docker?
deck.gl: check the project docs for container support. openstreetmap-tile-server: yes.