OSRM 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?
OSRM
High-performance routing engine for OpenStreetMap
VS
TileServer GL
Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
| Feature | OSRM | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | C++ | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,955 | ★ 2,872 |
| First released | 2012 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Directions API | Mapbox |
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 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 OSRM or TileServer GL better?
Neither is universally better. OSRM has the larger community, while TileServer GL is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OSRM and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. OSRM is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OSRM and TileServer GL with Docker?
OSRM: yes. TileServer GL: yes.