Pelias vs Photon
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?
Pelias
Modular open-source geocoder powered by Elasticsearch
VS
Photon
Fast, typo-tolerant geocoder built on OpenStreetMap
| Feature | Pelias | Photon |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Twig | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,562 | ★ 2,972 |
| First released | 2014 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Google Geocoding API, Mapbox Geocoding | Google Geocoding API |
Why pick each one
Choose Pelias if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Photon if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is Pelias or Photon better?
Neither is universally better. Pelias has the larger community, while Photon is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pelias and Photon free and open-source?
Yes. Pelias is licensed under MIT and Photon under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pelias and Photon with Docker?
Pelias: yes. Photon: yes.