OSRM vs QGIS
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
QGIS
Free and open-source geographic information system
| Feature | OSRM | QGIS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,955 | ★ 14,183 |
| First released | 2012 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Google Directions API | ArcGIS |
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++
Choose QGIS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is OSRM or QGIS better?
QGIS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OSRM if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OSRM and QGIS free and open-source?
Yes. OSRM is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and QGIS under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OSRM and QGIS with Docker?
OSRM: yes. QGIS: check the project docs for container support.