OpenLayers vs TerriaJS
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
TerriaJS
Web framework for geospatial data catalog explorers
| Feature | OpenLayers | TerriaJS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,532 | ★ 1,351 |
| First released | 2006 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Google Maps JavaScript API | ArcGIS Online, Esri Hub |
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 TerriaJS if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenLayers or TerriaJS 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 TerriaJS free and open-source?
Yes. OpenLayers is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and TerriaJS under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenLayers and TerriaJS with Docker?
OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support. TerriaJS: yes.