Maptoolkit.org vs. Protomaps
Both services do the same job on paper: free, no-key vector basemaps for MapLibre, built on OpenStreetMap. In practice they solve different problems. Protomaps distributes its basemap as a single PMTiles archive - a cloud-optimized file you can serve straight from any static host over HTTP range requests, no tile server process at all. That makes it the most self-hostable option in this comparison: download an extract once, put it behind any CDN, and repeat that for regular map data 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
Note: Sample Protomaps map limited to Barcelona/Catalunya.
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 | Protomaps | OpenFreeMap | VersaTiles | OpenMapTiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available as | Free tile server | Limited tile server, data download | Free tile server, data download | Free tile server, data download | Do-it-yourself toolchain |
| Cost | Free | Free tile server for non-commercial use, free downloads | Free | Free | Free |
| Monthly request limits | unlimited | 1M tile requests | unlimited | unlimited | |
| Attribution | © Maptoolkit © Openstreetmap + logo | © Protomaps © OpenStreetMap | OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles – Data from OpenStreetMap | © OpenStreetMap contributors | © OpenMapTiles © 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 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Tile schema | Maptoolkit | Protomaps | OpenMapTiles | Shortbread | OpenMapTiles |
| Standard styles | Summer, Light, Hiking, Winter, Dark, Street, Cycling (7) | Light, Dark, White, Grayscale, Black (5) | Liberty, Positron, Bright, Dark, Fiord (5) | Colorful, Eclipse, Graybeard, Shadow, Neutrino (5) | OpenMapTiles, Basic, Bright, Positron, Dark Matter, Fiord Color, Toner (7) |
| 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 | Brandon Liu (individual), USA | Zsolt Ero (individual), Hungary | Michael Kreil (individual), Germany | Maptiler.com, Switzerland |
| Privacy | Privacy Policy | Privacy info | Privacy Policy |
Compare cartographic density and file sizes
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 Protomaps map limited to Barcelona/Catalunya.
Pick the one that fits your project.
Both are excellent within their remit. Here's the short version.
Pick Protomaps if…
- You need to self-host without running a tile server at all - just a PMTiles file behind any static host or CDN.
- Your project is large-commercial and you need a free, downloadable solution.
- You like the cartography better.
Pick Maptoolkit if…
- You want weekly OSM updates and large data sizes for worldwide coverage to be taken care for you.
- You want outdoor-grade cartography (hiking, cycling, winter, hillshading, contour lines, water depths, 3D terrain).
- You like the cartography better.
Frequently asked questions about Maptoolkit and Protomaps
Can I switch between Maptoolkit and Protomaps without changing my code?
Not directly. Protomaps ships its basemap as a PMTiles file loaded via the pmtiles MapLibre protocol plus a generated style, not a plain style URL, so swapping providers means changing the source and style construction, not just the URL passed to map.setStyle(). Layer references also won't carry over: Protomaps uses its own basemap schema, Maptoolkit its own tile schema.
Can I self-host Maptoolkit like Protomaps?
Not under the Community License. Protomaps distributes its basemap as downloadable PMTiles archives (whole planet or extracts) that you can serve from any static file host via HTTP range requests - no tile server process required. 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. Protomaps focuses on a general-purpose basemap schema and leaves outdoor-specific styling and terrain to the integrator.
Does either need an API key or a sign-up?
Maptoolkit.org does not. The Protomaps hosted tile server needs an API key and is capped at 1M tile requests a month. Its downloadable PMTiles archives need neither, since you serve them yourself.
How current is the OpenStreetMap data?
Protomaps rebuilds daily and Maptoolkit.org rebuilds weekly, both from the full OpenStreetMap planet file.
Who operates each service?
Maptoolkit.org is operated by Toursprung GmbH from Austria and Germany, the company behind the commercial Maptoolkit platform. Protomaps is run by Brandon Liu in the USA.