OSRM vs Overpass API
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?
OSRM
High-performance routing engine for OpenStreetMap
VS
Overpass API
Read-only query API for OpenStreetMap data
| Feature | OSRM | Overpass API |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,955 | ★ 911 |
| First released | 2012 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Google Directions API | Google Places API |
Why pick each one
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 OSRM or Overpass API better?
Neither is universally better. OSRM has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OSRM and Overpass API free and open-source?
Yes. OSRM is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Overpass API under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OSRM and Overpass API with Docker?
OSRM: yes. Overpass API: check the project docs for container support.