OpenLayers 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?
OpenLayers
High-performance library for all kinds of web maps
VS
openstreetmap-tile-server
Dockerized OpenStreetMap raster tile server
| Feature | OpenLayers | openstreetmap-tile-server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,532 | ★ 1,452 |
| First released | 2006 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Maps JavaScript API | Google Maps |
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
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 OpenLayers or openstreetmap-tile-server better?
Neither is universally better. OpenLayers has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenLayers and openstreetmap-tile-server free and open-source?
Yes. OpenLayers is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and openstreetmap-tile-server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenLayers and openstreetmap-tile-server with Docker?
OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support. openstreetmap-tile-server: yes.