Tegola 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.
| Feature | Tegola | TileServer GL |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Maps & GIS | Maps & GIS |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,505 | ★ 2,905 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Mapbox, Tilehosting | Mapbox |
What are Tegola and TileServer GL?
Tegola
Tegola is an open-source vector tile server that generates Mapbox Vector Tiles from PostGIS and other spatial data sources. It serves fast, styleable maps to web and mobile clients.
- Mapbox Vector Tile output
- PostGIS data source
- Tile caching
- Single-binary deploy
TileServer GL
TileServer GL is an open-source map tile server that serves vector and raster tiles, styles, and rendered images. It is the standard self-hosted solution for delivering MapLibre and Mapbox-style maps.
- Vector and raster tiles
- Server-side rendering
- MBTiles support
- MapLibre compatible
Tegola vs TileServer GL: key differences
Tegola is written in Go, while TileServer GL is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Tegola versus BSD-2-Clause for TileServer GL. Tegola is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for TileServer GL.
Why pick each one
Choose Tegola if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
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 Tegola or TileServer GL better?
Neither is universally better. TileServer GL has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Tegola and TileServer GL free and open-source?
Yes. Tegola is licensed under MIT and TileServer GL under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Tegola and TileServer GL with Docker?
Tegola: yes. TileServer GL: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Tegola or TileServer GL?
Tegola has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for TileServer GL. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.