Can I switch between Maptoolkit and OpenMapTiles without changing my code?

Not directly. OpenMapTiles is a schema and open-source toolchain, not a single hosted style URL - you either run your own tile pipeline (Planetiler, Tilemaker) or buy hosted OpenMapTiles-schema tiles from a provider such as MapTiler, then point one of the OMT-compatible GL styles at it. Maptoolkit uses its own tile schema, so layer references won't carry over either way.

Can I self-host Maptoolkit like OpenMapTiles?

Not under the Community License. OpenMapTiles is fully self-hostable end-to-end - the schema, the Planetiler/Tilemaker build tools and most of its standard styles are open source, with no fee for the schema itself. Self-hosting or on-premise Maptoolkit is available through the Enterprise product.

Which service is better for outdoor and hiking maps?

Maptoolkit ships dedicated Hiking, Cycling and Winter styles plus global hillshading, contour lines, water depths and 3D terrain out of the box. OpenMapTiles ships a general-purpose schema and general-purpose styles (Basic, Bright, Positron, Dark Matter, Fiord Color, Toner) - outdoor-specific styling, hillshading and terrain are left to whoever builds on top of it.

The OpenMapTiles Alternative

Maptoolkit.org vs. OpenMapTiles

Both do the same job on paper: free, no-key vector basemaps for MapLibre, built on OpenStreetMap. In practice they solve different problems. OpenMapTiles isn't a hosted service at all - it's an open-source tile schema plus toolchain (Planetiler, Tilemaker) that you run yourself against OSM data, producing MBTiles or PMTiles you serve however you like. That makes it the most widely adopted open vector schema, with the largest ecosystem of compatible tools built around it - but you're on your own for infrastructure and map updates.

Maptoolkit.org is a free, production-grade tile server with opinionated cartography. The same tiles power commercial deployments at Deutsche Bahn, Red Bull Media House and the Austrian and German National Tourism Offices - including outdoor-specific styles (Hiking, Cycling, Winter), global hillshading, contour lines, water depths and 3D terrain out of the box. There's no self-hosting on the Community License, but you get edge-cached delivery across 350+ Cloudflare data centers and weekly OSM updates taken care for you.

See the cartography side by side

Drag the slider to compare

Maptoolkit

OpenMapTiles

Note: Sample OpenMapTiles map limited to Athens, Greece, and surroundings.

Feature comparison

The differences that matter.

All of these solutions are highly innovative, each tailoring to different strengths. Choose the one that best fits your project requirements.

Dimension	Maptoolkit.org	OpenMapTiles	Protomaps	OpenFreeMap	VersaTiles
Available as	Free tile server	Do-it-yourself toolchain	Limited tile server, data download	Free tile server, data download	Free tile server, data download
Cost	Free	Free	Free tile server for non-commercial use, free downloads	Free	Free
Monthly request limits	unlimited		1M tile requests	unlimited	unlimited
Attribution	© Maptoolkit © OSM + logo	© OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors	© Protomaps © OpenStreetMap	OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles – Data from OpenStreetMap	© OpenStreetMap contributors
API key / sign-up	None		API key	None	None
Commercial use	(< €1M/year)		(downloads only)
OSM updates	Weekly		Daily (API)	Weekly	Several times per year
Max data zoom	15	14	15	14	14
Tile schema	Maptoolkit	OpenMapTiles	Protomaps	OpenMapTiles	Shortbread
Standard styles	Summer, Light, Hiking, Winter, Dark, Street, Cycling (7)	OpenMapTiles, Basic, Bright, Positron, Dark Matter, Fiord Color, Toner (7)	Light, Dark, White, Grayscale, Black (5)	Liberty, Positron, Bright, Dark, Fiord (5)	Colorful, Eclipse, Graybeard, Shadow, Neutrino (5)
Style editor	MapMaker				tiles.versatiles.org
Hillshading / contour lines					Just hillshade, download only
Swiss-style rock drawing in the Alps
Water depths					Download only
3D terrain					Download only
Labels for regions, mountain ranges, valleys, etc.
Provider	Maptoolkit.com, Austria & Germany	Maptiler.com, Switzerland	Brandon Liu (individual), USA	Zsolt Ero (individual), Hungary	Michael Kreil (individual), Germany
Privacy	Privacy Policy		Privacy info	Privacy Policy

Compare cartographic density and file sizes

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Colors are random. Feature density: Click on any feature to inspect its data. File size: Red squares show tile boundaries. The kB value in the top left corner (to the right of the tile number) shows its file size before compression. Note: Sample OpenMapTiles map limited to Athens, Greece, and surroundings.

Decide

Pick the one that fits your project.

Both are excellent within their remit. Here's the short version.

Pick OpenMapTiles if…

You want full control of your tile pipeline - an open schema plus toolchain you build and host yourself.
You want the widest ecosystem of compatible styles, tools and hosted providers (MapTiler and others) built around one schema.
You like the cartography better.

Go to OpenMapTiles

Pick Maptoolkit if…

You want a ready-to-use hosted tile service instead of running your own OpenMapTiles pipeline.
You want outdoor-grade cartography (hiking, cycling, winter, hillshading, contour lines, water depths, 3D terrain) without building it yourself.
You want weekly OSM updates and large data sizes for worldwide coverage to be taken care for you.
You like the cartography better.

Get started with Maptoolkit