# MapLibre GL JS vs OpenLayers

## Key differences

- OpenLayers and MapLibre GL JS have a similar number of GitHub stars (12.6K vs 11.8K).
- MapLibre GL JS had more development activity over the last 12 months: 1,416 commits vs 827.
- MapLibre GL JS is downloaded 7.3× as often on npm (6.8M vs 923.1K per week).
- MapLibre GL JS is licensed under BSD-3-Clause; OpenLayers under BSD-2-Clause.
- MapLibre GL JS is written primarily in TypeScript, OpenLayers in JavaScript.
- OpenLayers is the older project: its repository was created in 2012, MapLibre GL JS's in 2020.

| | MapLibre GL JS | OpenLayers |
|---|---|---|
| Description | WebGL-based interactive vector tile maps in the browser; community fork of Mapbox GL JS. | Library for interactive web maps with support for many data sources, formats and projections. |
| GitHub stars | 11,801 | 12,602 |
| Commits (12 months) | 1,416 | 827 |
| Contributors | 385 | 332 |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Install | `npm install maplibre-gl` | `npm install ol` |

Source: https://awesomedataviz.com/compare/maplibre-gl-js-vs-openlayers/ · Data updated 2026-10-04 · Content: CC BY 4.0, Awesome Dataviz (https://awesomedataviz.com).