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Maps · head to head

Citymapper vs Lonboard

Citymapper logo

Citymapper

Maps

The ultimate urban mobility app for city commuters

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lonboard logo

Lonboard

Maps

Python map rendering in Jupyter that skips GeoJSON and moves millions of features without choking

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Citymapper citymapper's own App Store listing states live transit and turn-by-turn features work only in a named list of specific cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and dozens of other listed cities), not globally, per the developer's own description.; Lonboard it is a notebook visualisation library, not a mapping application, so there is no editing, no layout, no map export for print and no sharing beyond distributing the notebook or an HTML file
  • They diverge on capability: Citymapper covers Multi-modal routing, Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Citymapper and Lonboard actually diverge.

Attributes where Citymapper and Lonboard differ
AttributeCitymapperLonboard
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsIos, Android, WebLinux, macOS, Windows
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Citymapper

  • Multi-modal routing
  • Real-time departures
  • Live bus tracking
  • Disruption alerts
  • Walking directions
  • Uber
  • Lyft
  • Lime

Only in Lonboard

  • GeoArrow binary transfer
  • GeoPandas input
  • deck.gl layers
  • Jupyter widget
  • Large dataset handling
  • Styling by attribute
  • Open source licence

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Citymapper

  • Daily commutingnot Lonboard
  • City explorationnot Lonboard
  • Trip planningnot Lonboard
  • Mobility as a servicenot Lonboard

Lonboard

  • An analyst exploring a national road or parcel dataset in a notebook where pydeck or ipyleaflet becomes unusable at that sizenot Citymapper
  • A researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processingnot Citymapper
  • A data scientist joining spatial data to model outputs in pandas and needing to see the result immediately without exporting to a GISnot Citymapper
  • A team building an internal analysis pipeline on GeoParquet that wants rendering without a serialisation step in the middlenot Citymapper

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Citymapper

  • Citymapper's own App Store listing states live transit and turn-by-turn features work only in a named list of specific cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and dozens of other listed cities), not globally, per the developer's own description.

Lonboard

  • It is a notebook visualisation library, not a mapping application, so there is no editing, no layout, no map export for print and no sharing beyond distributing the notebook or an HTML file
  • Maintenance sits with Development Seed as an open source side output of a consultancy, so roadmap priorities follow client projects and there is no support contract to buy
  • Layer coverage is a subset of deck.gl, so an analyst needing a less common layer type has to drop to pydeck or write JavaScript rather than staying in Python
  • It expects data already in GeoPandas or Arrow form, which means the performance benefit depends on the rest of your pipeline being Arrow-friendly; reading a large Shapefile is still the slow step
  • Rendering happens in the browser, so very large datasets are ultimately limited by the client machine's memory and GPU rather than by the server, and a laptop will still fail on data a workstation handles

Pricing, plan by plan

Citymapper

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Multi-modal routing
    • Real-time departures
    • Basic navigation
  • Citymapper Premium$4.99/month
    • Live location sharing
    • Weather integration
    • Widgets

Lonboard

Free
  • LonboardFree
    • Open source, no licence fee
    • No usage limits
    • Installed from PyPI or conda

Which should you pick?

Choose Citymapper if

  • You need multi-modal routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want real-time departures.
Citymapper review

Choose Lonboard if

  • You need geoarrow binary transfer.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want geopandas input.
Lonboard review

Questions people ask

Is Citymapper or Lonboard better?
Neither clearly leads. Citymapper starts at Free and Lonboard at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Citymapper or Lonboard?
Citymapper starts at Free and Lonboard at Free.
Does Citymapper or Lonboard run on more platforms?
Citymapper runs on Ios, Android, Web. Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Citymapper for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Citymapper best used for?
Citymapper is most often used for daily commuting, city exploration, trip planning, mobility as a service. Of those, daily commuting and city exploration are not what Lonboard is typically brought in for.
What can Citymapper do that Lonboard cannot?
Citymapper covers Multi-modal routing, Real-time departures, Live bus tracking, Disruption alerts. Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Citymapper: Does Citymapper offer paid membership?

Yes, Citymapper offers a CLUB membership tier with exclusive features, including AI-powered route selection. However, specific pricing details for CLUB membership are not disclosed on their main website.

Source
Lonboard: Why not just use pydeck?

pydeck serialises geometry to GeoJSON to reach the browser. Lonboard uses a binary GeoArrow pipeline, which is the reason it handles far larger datasets in the same notebook.

Citymapper: Where can I find Citymapper CLUB pricing?

Citymapper CLUB pricing is not published on their website. You would need to check the mobile app (Apple App Store or Google Play Store) or contact Citymapper support directly for current pricing information.

Source
Lonboard: Who maintains it?

Development Seed, a geospatial engineering consultancy, as an open source project. There is no commercial support offering.

Lonboard: Does it work outside Jupyter?

It is built as a Jupyter widget. Exporting to standalone HTML is possible, but the intended environment is a notebook.

Lonboard: Is it free for commercial use?

Yes, it is open source with no licence fee.

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