SHSelfHostIndex

OpenStreetMap Website vs TileServer GL

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 Website The Rails application powering openstreetmap.org VS TI TileServer GL Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
FeatureOpenStreetMap WebsiteTileServer GL
CategoryMaps & GISMaps & GIS
LicenseGPL-2.0BSD-2-Clause
LanguageRubyJavaScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM4,096 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,796★ 2,872
First released20062016
ReplacesGoogle MapsMapbox

Why pick each one

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
OpenStreetMap Website details

Choose TileServer GL if…

  • Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
  • Written in JavaScript
TileServer GL details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenStreetMap Website or TileServer GL better?

TileServer GL 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 OpenStreetMap Website and TileServer GL free and open-source?

Yes. OpenStreetMap Website is licensed under GPL-2.0 and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenStreetMap Website and TileServer GL with Docker?

OpenStreetMap Website: yes. TileServer GL: yes.

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