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GeoServer vs MapServer: catalog facts
GeoServer	MapServer
Best for: Organisations publishing spatial data through standard web map services	Best for: Organisations publishing their own spatial data as web maps
Free Free and open source; commercial support is available from third-party companies.	Free Free and open source; commercial support is available from third-party providers.
Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
OGC-certified WMS, WFS, WCS and WMTS Reads many spatial data sources All 4 strengths for GeoServer OGC-certified WMS, WFS, WCS and WMTS Reads many spatial data sources Active releases with security updates in 2026 OSGeo project with commercial support options	Long-established OSGeo project with regular releases Runs on Windows, Linux and macOS All 4 strengths for MapServer Long-established OSGeo project with regular releases Runs on Windows, Linux and macOS Permissive MIT-style license Suite includes MapCache and TinyOWS
Requires GIS knowledge to set up and run Server software, not a map viewer for end users	Not a full GIS for editing or analysis Requires server setup and configuration
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for GeoServer geoserver.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for MapServer mapserver.org Catalog checked September 24, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.