Protomaps: Self-host an entire world basemap as a single PMTiles file. Tippecanoe: Build vector tilesets from large GeoJSON.
| Protomaps | Tippecanoe | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Basemaps & Map Tiles | Geodata Utilities & Converters |
| Pricing model | Open source | Open source |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Software licence | BSD-3-Clause (code); ODbL (OSM data) | BSD-2-Clause |
| API | — | — |
| Platforms | Web, JavaScript, Command line | Command line, macOS, Linux |
| Made by | — | — |
| Commercial use | Allowed | Check terms |
| Export / print images | Allowed | Check terms |
| Offline / caching | Allowed | Check terms |
| Visits from MapTools | 9 | 1 |
| Visit | Visit |
Protomaps features
- PMTiles single-file tile archives
- Daily world basemap builds from OpenStreetMap
- Serve from S3, R2 or any static host
- Open basemap styles for MapLibre
When you host the tiles yourself, only the OpenStreetMap attribution and ODbL terms apply.
Protomaps alternativesTippecanoe features
- MBTiles and PMTiles output
- Feature dropping by zoom
- Handles huge datasets
Summary based on public information. Check each provider's current pricing and terms.