In this post, you will learn about 3 free online open source Google Maps alternatives. Google Maps is no doubt the best mapping service available out there with outstanding features like real-time traffic conditions, route planning, street maps, satellite imagery, and much more. But, if you’re one of those nerds who look for open source alternatives to everything for tweaking them with their own style, then this article is for you.
After thorough research, I was able to find 3 open source Google Maps alternatives which you can use for creating route plans, finding places, checking directions, exporting routes, and so forth. They are free to use and doesn’t even require you to register or sign up. But, if you do so, you can get some bonus features like map editing, favorite places, and more.
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Let us take a look at these open source Google Maps alternatives and see what they have to offer.
OpenStreetMap:
OpenStreetMap is one of the best open source Google Maps alternatives. It is a well-known mapping service which you can use for finding directions, check transport maps, etc. You will also get some basic features just like Google Maps such as zoom in/zoom out map, search places, show my location, and more.
Some of the useful features of this Google Maps alternative are:
- Add text notes to the map.
- Easily export maps data.
- It exhibits a feature called, “Map Layers” that exhibits different types of maps including Standard Map, Cycle Map, Transport Map, and Humanitarian Map.
- You can also check traces of users for various locations using the “Public GPS Traces” feature.
- It also lets you download GPX files added by users, like points, check owner, tags, start coordinate, visibility, and so on.
- You can easily specify points and find the directions in between.
- Share maps with others and also download them as PDF, JPG, PNG, and SVG files.
- It also comes with a unique feature of editing the map. You can use this feature only if you sign up to this website.
Qwant Maps:
Qwant Maps is another useful and open source Google Maps alternative. This mapping service is actually developed by the popular French firm “Qwant”, who has their own search engine “Qwant”. This service has almost all the basic features of Google Maps such as find locations, zoom-in/zoom-out maps, check distances, etc. Do note that, currently this service is in beta, and lacks some feature like real-time navigation, show routes to avoid, etc. But, for normal usage of maps, it works just fine.
Some of the best features of this Google Maps alternative are:
- Beautiful maps and overall interface.
- Apart from places, you can also easily search for restaurants, hotels, pharmacies, bars, supermarkets, banks, and many other places on this mapping service.
- You can add your own favorites without even signing up to this service.
- It doesn’t store your geological information on its database.
Openrouteservice Maps:
Openrouteservice Maps is also a free online open-source Googe Maps alternative that is best for you if you want a mapping service for route planning. You will get many useful options for planning routes for bike tours, hiking, car tours, and truck tours. You can simply select a start point and an end point and then it will automatically generate the route on the map.
There are some other useful features of Google Maps alternative such as:
- Easily avoid roads or routes with ferries, highways, toll roads, and fords.
- Seamlessly set route preferences with fastest or recommended routes.
- It even helps you avoid different types of borders such as controlled borders, country borders, as well as all borders.
- Easily check the timings of routes.
- Set and check fuel consumption.
- Export GPX, RawJSON, KML, or GeoJSON files to PC.
Conclusion:
So, these are some of the best online open-source Google Maps alternatives which you can use for free. Even though Google Maps is the best mapping services, but if you want a map with your own tweak then these services are the best option for you. This is because they are open-source and you can tweak them in whatever way you want.
Do let us know what you think in the comments section below.
