SHSelfHostIndex

OpenLayers vs OpenMapTiles

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?
OP OpenLayers High-performance library for all kinds of web maps VS OP OpenMapTiles Toolset for generating vector tiles from OpenStreetMap
FeatureOpenLayersOpenMapTiles
CategoryMaps & GISMaps & GIS
LicenseBSD-2-ClauseBSD-3-Clause
LanguageJavaScriptPLpgSQL
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM256 MB8,192 MB
Deploymentsource, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 12,532★ 3,133
First released20062016
ReplacesGoogle Maps JavaScript APIMapbox

Why pick each one

Choose OpenLayers if…

  • Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
  • Mature project with 12.5k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
OpenLayers details

Choose OpenMapTiles if…

  • Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in PLpgSQL
OpenMapTiles details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenLayers or OpenMapTiles better?

OpenLayers is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenMapTiles if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are OpenLayers and OpenMapTiles free and open-source?

Yes. OpenLayers is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and OpenMapTiles under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenLayers and OpenMapTiles with Docker?

OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support. OpenMapTiles: yes.

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