QGIS vs Valhalla
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?
QGIS
Free and open-source geographic information system
VS
Valhalla
Open-source routing engine with multimodal support
| Feature | QGIS | Valhalla |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,183 | ★ 6,050 |
| First released | 2002 | 2015 |
| Replaces | ArcGIS | Google Directions API |
Why pick each one
Choose QGIS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Choose Valhalla if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is QGIS or Valhalla better?
QGIS is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Valhalla if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are QGIS and Valhalla free and open-source?
Yes. QGIS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Valhalla under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run QGIS and Valhalla with Docker?
QGIS: check the project docs for container support. Valhalla: yes.