SHSelfHostIndex

OpenStreetMap Carto 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?
OP OpenStreetMap Carto The standard map style for OpenStreetMap rendering VS OP openstreetmap-tile-server Dockerized OpenStreetMap raster tile server
FeatureOpenStreetMap Cartoopenstreetmap-tile-server
CategoryMaps & GISMaps & GIS
LicenseCC0-1.0MIT
LanguageCartoCSSShell
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 1,723★ 1,452
First released20122017
ReplacesGoogle MapsGoogle Maps

Why pick each one

Choose OpenStreetMap Carto if…

  • Released under the CC0-1.0 license
  • Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
  • Written in CartoCSS
OpenStreetMap Carto details

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
openstreetmap-tile-server details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenStreetMap Carto or openstreetmap-tile-server better?

Neither is universally better. OpenStreetMap Carto has the larger community, while openstreetmap-tile-server is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are OpenStreetMap Carto and openstreetmap-tile-server free and open-source?

Yes. OpenStreetMap Carto is licensed under CC0-1.0 and openstreetmap-tile-server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenStreetMap Carto and openstreetmap-tile-server with Docker?

OpenStreetMap Carto: check the project docs for container support. openstreetmap-tile-server: yes.

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