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GeoServer vs TileServer GL: catalog facts
GeoServer	TileServer GL
Best for: Organisations publishing spatial data through standard web map services	Best for: Developers hosting their own vector and raster map tiles
Free Free and open source; commercial support is available from third-party companies.	Free Free to download and run from the GitHub repository.
Self-hosted	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	Serves both vector and raster tiles Server-side rendering with MapLibre GL Native All 4 strengths for TileServer GL Serves both vector and raster tiles Server-side rendering with MapLibre GL Native Works with MapLibre, Leaflet, OpenLayers and WMTS clients Docker images including a light variant
Requires GIS knowledge to set up and run Server software, not a map viewer for end users	Needs your own tile data and some server setup Aimed at developers rather than casual map users
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License not stated
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 TileServer GL github.com/maptiler/tileserver-gl Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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