Cartopy vs leafmap
A data-driven comparison of two Python map & geospatial visualization libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
Key differences
- leafmap has 2.3× as many GitHub stars as Cartopy (3.8K vs 1.6K).
- Cartopy had more development activity over the last 12 months: 226 commits vs 130.
- Cartopy is downloaded 23× as often on PyPI (260.3K vs 11.3K per week).
- Cartopy is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; leafmap under MIT.
- Cartopy is the older project: its repository was created in 2012, leafmap's in 2021.
By the numbers
- Cartopy
- leafmap
Show data as a table
| Metric | Cartopy | leafmap |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 1,625 | 3,794 |
| PyPI downloads / week | 260,294 | 11,309 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 226 | 130 |
| Contributors | 127 | 46 |
| Forks | 406 | 477 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- Cartopy
- leafmap
Show data as a table
| Month | Cartopy | leafmap |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2025 | 8 | 39 |
| Dec 2025 | 15 | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | 10 | 16 |
| Feb 2026 | 7 | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | 14 | 16 |
| Apr 2026 | 22 | 5 |
| May 2026 | 3 | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | 8 | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 52 | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | 17 | 12 |
| Sep 2026 | 43 | 5 |
| Oct 2026 | 27 | 12 |
Side by side
| Attribute | Cartopy | leafmap |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Cartographic projections and geospatial data plotting with matplotlib. | Interactive mapping and geospatial analysis in Jupyter with multiple mapping backends. |
| Category | Python map & geospatial visualization libraries | Python map & geospatial visualization libraries |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v0.26.0 () | v0.64.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 281 | 0 |
| Install | pip install Cartopy | pip install leafmap |
Which should you choose?
Popularity and activity are only part of the story. Consider which ecosystem you work in, the chart types and interactions you need, how much data you render, and whether the license fits your project. Both tool pages list alternatives if neither is quite right.