MapLibre GL JS vs OpenLayers
A data-driven comparison of two JavaScript map & geospatial visualization libraries: popularity, development activity, licensing and installation. Updated .
MapLibre GL JSWebGL-based interactive vector tile maps in the browser; community fork of Mapbox GL JS.
OpenLayersLibrary for interactive web maps with support for many data sources, formats and projections.
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.
By the numbers
- MapLibre GL JS
- OpenLayers
Show data as a table
| Metric | MapLibre GL JS | OpenLayers |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 11,801 | 12,602 |
| npm downloads / week | 6,760,062 | 923,068 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 1,416 | 827 |
| Contributors | 385 | 332 |
| Forks | 1,268 | 3,193 |
Development activity
Commits per month to each default branch, last 12 complete months.
- MapLibre GL JS
- OpenLayers
Show data as a table
| Month | MapLibre GL JS | OpenLayers |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 91 | 69 |
| Nov 2025 | 101 | 98 |
| Dec 2025 | 87 | 49 |
| Jan 2026 | 67 | 63 |
| Feb 2026 | 102 | 52 |
| Mar 2026 | 111 | 114 |
| Apr 2026 | 145 | 68 |
| May 2026 | 108 | 37 |
| Jun 2026 | 105 | 57 |
| Jul 2026 | 128 | 123 |
| Aug 2026 | 146 | 51 |
| Sep 2026 | 225 | 46 |
Side by side
| Attribute | 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. |
| Category | JavaScript map & geospatial visualization libraries | JavaScript map & geospatial visualization libraries |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Latest release | v6.12.0 () | v10.10.0 () |
| Last commit | ||
| Repository created | ||
| Open issues | 252 | 753 |
| Install | npm install maplibre-gl | npm install ol |
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.
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MapLibre GL JS
WebGL-based interactive vector tile maps in the browser; community fork of Mapbox GL JS.
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OpenLayers
Library for interactive web maps with support for many data sources, formats and projections.