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OpenStreetMap

SaaS alternative

Community-built world map with open data, run by a UK foundation, used by countless downstream apps.

Category
Maps · SaaS alternative
Cost
Free
Country
UK
Licensing
FOSS
+ what works
  • +Open data under ODbL, free for any use including commercial
  • +No ads, no behavioral tracking, no third-party SDKs on the site
  • +UK-based non-profit foundation, governed by elected members
  • +Underlying data powers Organic Maps, OsmAnd, Komoot, Mapy.cz, and many others
watch out for
  • The openstreetmap.org website is a slippy map and editor, not a polished navigation app
  • For turn-by-turn directions and offline use, you need a downstream app
  • Map quality and freshness vary by region and depend on local contributors
  • Search and routing on the site are basic compared to Google or Apple Maps

OpenStreetMap is a data project first and a website second. The openstreetmap.org site, operated by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, requires no account to browse and stores no ad-tech cookies; logged-in editing keeps an account and edit history. The Foundation records IP and request metadata for tile and API traffic, runs a self-hosted Matomo (Piwik) instance with shortened IPs, and stores personal data in the UK and Netherlands with EU backups. The map data itself is published under the Open Database License (ODbL), free to use commercially with attribution and share-alike on derived databases.

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#open-data · #odbl · #community · #foundation

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