MapServer
An open-source server platform for publishing spatial data and interactive maps on the web.
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1 more ways to get MapServer
Package managers
- Homebrew
brew install mapserver
About MapServer
MapServer publishes spatial data and interactive mapping applications to the web. It began at the University of Minnesota in the mid-1990s and is now an OSGeo project run by a Project Steering Committee, with the wider suite including MapCache and TinyOWS.
It runs on Windows, Linux and macOS and is released under an MIT-style license. It is deliberately not a full-featured GIS, so it suits organisations and developers who need to serve maps rather than edit data. Security releases are still published, including 8.6.6 in September 2026.
Strengths
- Long-established OSGeo project with regular releases
- Runs on Windows, Linux and macOS
- Permissive MIT-style license
- Suite includes MapCache and TinyOWS
Limitations
- Not a full GIS for editing or analysis
- Requires server setup and configuration
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source; commercial support is available from third-party providers.
- License
- MIT
- Developer
- The MapServer contributors
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Self-hosted
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Organisations publishing their own spatial data as web maps
- Categories
- Maps & navigation
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to MapServer
Compare allSoftware that can replace MapServer for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
GeoServer
An open-source server that publishes geospatial data from common spatial sources through open OGC standards.
GeoServer is another open-source OSGeo server offering OGC-certified WMS, WFS, WCS and WMTS, with commercial support options but requiring GIS knowledge to run.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
TileServer GL
A self-hosted map tile server for vector and raster tiles with server-side rendering of GL styles.
Martin
Lightweight vector tile server that serves map tiles from PostGIS, MBTiles and PMTiles sources.
Tegola
An open source vector tile server written in Go that slices geospatial data into tiles.
pg_tileserv
A lightweight Go server that turns PostGIS tables and functions into Mapbox Vector Tiles over HTTP.
OpenMapTiles
An open-source schema, map styles and tools for generating OpenStreetMap vector tiles to self-host.
QGIS
A free and open-source desktop GIS for making maps, editing spatial data and running analysis.
