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Maps · head to head

Fused vs Lonboard

Fused logo

Fused

Maps

Serverless Python for geospatial: write a UDF, get a map tile endpoint and an HTTP API

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: Fused the price steps are brutal: $20 to $200 to $2,000 a month with no intermediate tier, so a two-person team that outgrows Starter faces a tenfold increase for what is often a modest capacity gap.; 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: Fused covers User defined functions, Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fused and Lonboard actually diverge.

Attributes where Fused and Lonboard differ
AttributeFusedLonboard
Pricing modelPer month by compute tierOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, WindowsLinux, macOS, Windows

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 Fused

  • User defined functions
  • Instant tile endpoints
  • HTTP API
  • Caching
  • Workbench
  • Data stack connectors
  • Public UDF catalogue
  • Local execution

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.

Fused

  • A data team that wants to publish a dynamic layer computed from a large Parquet dataset without standing up and operating a tile servernot Lonboard
  • An analyst prototyping against Overture, Sentinel or Census data who needs a working map in an afternoon rather than a data engineering ticketnot Lonboard
  • An application that needs a geospatial computation exposed as an HTTP endpoint, where the alternative is a container, a queue and an on-call rotanot Lonboard
  • A consultancy delivering an interactive constraint or suitability map to a client, computed live from source data rather than pre-baked into static tilesnot Lonboard

Lonboard

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fused

  • The price steps are brutal: $20 to $200 to $2,000 a month with no intermediate tier, so a two-person team that outgrows Starter faces a tenfold increase for what is often a modest capacity gap.
  • Published tiers do not state the actual compute, storage or request allowances, so the only way to know whether $200 covers your workload is to run it and find out.
  • Fused is at pre-seed stage with a small team, and putting a customer-facing map behind a startup’s serverless platform is a continuity risk that a procurement review will flag.
  • It is Python-only and assumes competence with cloud-native geospatial formats; there is no path for an analyst who works in a desktop GIS and not in code.
  • Serverless execution means cold starts and per-tile latency on uncached views, so a first load of a heavy UDF over a wide area is noticeably slower than a pre-rendered tile set.

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

Fused

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workbench access
    • AI assistant
    • Local UDF runs
  • Starter$20/month
    • Secrets management
    • Higher compute limits
    • Office hours support
  • Developer$200/month
    • Dedicated jobs
    • GitHub integration
    • Expanded compute, storage and AI token allowance
  • Professional$2000/month
    • Team collaboration
    • Dedicated training
    • Substantially increased usage limits

Lonboard

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Fused if

  • You need user defined functions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want instant tile endpoints.
Fused 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 Fused or Lonboard better?
Neither clearly leads. Fused 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, Fused or Lonboard?
Fused starts at Free and Lonboard at Free.
Does Fused or Lonboard run on more platforms?
Fused runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows. Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Fused for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Fused best used for?
Fused is most often used for a data team that wants to publish a dynamic layer computed from a large parquet dataset without standing up and operating a tile server, an analyst prototyping against overture, sentinel or census data who needs a working map in an afternoon rather than a data engineering ticket, an application that needs a geospatial computation exposed as an http endpoint, where the alternative is a container, a queue and an on-call rota, a consultancy delivering an interactive constraint or suitability map to a client, computed live from source data rather than pre-baked into static tiles. Of those, a data team that wants to publish a dynamic layer computed from a large parquet dataset without standing up and operating a tile server and an analyst prototyping against overture, sentinel or census data who needs a working map in an afternoon rather than a data engineering ticket are not what Lonboard is typically brought in for.
What can Fused do that Lonboard cannot?
Fused covers User defined functions, Instant tile endpoints, HTTP API, Caching. Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fused: What does Fused actually give me?

A Python function becomes a map tile endpoint and an HTTP API on managed infrastructure, with caching, without you running a server.

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.

Fused: How much does it cost?

Free, then $20, $200 and $2,000 per month for Starter, Developer and Professional. Usage allowances are not itemised publicly.

Lonboard: Who maintains it?

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

Fused: Can I run UDFs locally?

Yes, through the Python SDK, which is how most development is done before deploying.

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.

Fused: Does it replace PostGIS or BigQuery?

No. It reads from them. Fused is the compute and serving layer, not the store.

Lonboard: Is it free for commercial use?

Yes, it is open source with no licence fee.

Fused: Is it a mature company?

No. It is a small pre-seed San Francisco company. The technology is real; the vendor risk is real too.

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