OpenLayers vs uMap
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
uMap
Create and share custom maps on OpenStreetMap
| Feature | OpenLayers | uMap |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,532 | ★ 1,576 |
| First released | 2006 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Google Maps JavaScript API | Google My 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 uMap if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenLayers or uMap 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 uMap free and open-source?
Yes. OpenLayers is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and uMap under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenLayers and uMap with Docker?
OpenLayers: check the project docs for container support. uMap: yes.