Compare software

VersaTiles vs Tilemaker: catalog facts
VersaTiles	Tilemaker
Best for: Organisations that want self-hosted web maps without a commercial provider	Best for: Self-hosting OpenStreetMap vector tiles without a database stack
Free Free and open source, funded by sponsors and donations.	Free Free to download and use from its public GitHub repository.
Web, Self-hosted, Command line	Command line
No API keys, usage fees or user tracking Covers tile generation, serving and styling All 3 strengths for VersaTiles No API keys, usage fees or user tracking Covers tile generation, serving and styling Ready-made tile downloads and a public tile server to try	Builds vector tiles without setting up a database Layer output customisable with a Lua script and JSON config All 4 strengths for Tilemaker Builds vector tiles without setting up a database Layer output customisable with a Lua script and JSON config Dockerfile and sample scripts for coastline and landcover data Works directly from standard .osm.pbf extracts
Running your own server requires technical setup Based on OpenStreetMap data, so map coverage depends on it	Command-line only, with no graphical interface Requires writing or editing Lua and JSON to change map content
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Not open source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for VersaTiles versatiles.org Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Tilemaker github.com/systemed/tilemaker Catalog checked October 1, 2026

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