OpenLayers vs OpenStreetMap Website
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 Website
The Rails application powering openstreetmap.org
| Feature | OpenLayers | OpenStreetMap Website |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,532 | ★ 2,796 |
| First released | 2006 | 2006 |
| 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 Website if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Ruby
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenLayers or OpenStreetMap Website better?
OpenLayers is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenStreetMap Website if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OpenLayers and OpenStreetMap Website free and open-source?
Yes. OpenLayers is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and OpenStreetMap Website under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenLayers and OpenStreetMap Website with Docker?
OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support. OpenStreetMap Website: yes.