openstreetmap-tile-server vs OSRM
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?
openstreetmap-tile-server
Dockerized OpenStreetMap raster tile server
VS
OSRM
High-performance routing engine for OpenStreetMap
| Feature | openstreetmap-tile-server | OSRM |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Shell | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,452 | ★ 7,955 |
| First released | 2017 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Google Maps | Google Directions API |
Why pick each one
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
Choose OSRM if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is openstreetmap-tile-server or OSRM better?
Neither is universally better. OSRM 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-tile-server and OSRM free and open-source?
Yes. openstreetmap-tile-server is licensed under MIT and OSRM under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run openstreetmap-tile-server and OSRM with Docker?
openstreetmap-tile-server: yes. OSRM: yes.