Protomaps 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?
Protomaps
Serverless maps from a single PMTiles archive
VS
TileServer GL
Serve vector and raster map tiles from MBTiles
| Feature | Protomaps | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,980 | ★ 2,872 |
| First released | 2021 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Mapbox, Google Maps | Mapbox |
Why pick each one
Choose Protomaps if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
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 Protomaps or TileServer GL better?
Neither is universally better. Protomaps has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Protomaps and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. Protomaps is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Protomaps and TileServer GL with Docker?
Protomaps: check the project docs for container support. TileServer GL: yes.