OpenTripPlanner 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?
OpenTripPlanner
Multimodal trip planning and transit routing engine
VS
TileServer GL
Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
| Feature | OpenTripPlanner | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Java | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,709 | ★ 2,872 |
| First released | 2009 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Maps Transit | Mapbox |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenTripPlanner if…
- Released under the LGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
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
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenTripPlanner or TileServer GL better?
TileServer GL is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenTripPlanner if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OpenTripPlanner and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. OpenTripPlanner is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenTripPlanner and TileServer GL with Docker?
OpenTripPlanner: yes. TileServer GL: yes.