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Maps · head to head

Lonboard vs Ride with GPS

Lonboard logo

Lonboard

Maps

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ride with GPS logo

Ride with GPS

Maps

Cycling route planning and navigation with a genuinely usable free tier and two paid tiers above it

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Ride with GPS turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps are locked behind the paid tiers, so the free tier alone is not enough for navigation in an area without signal.
  • They diverge on capability: Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, Ride with GPS covers Route builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lonboard and Ride with GPS actually diverge.

Attributes where Lonboard and Ride with GPS differ
AttributeLonboardRide with GPS
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeFreemium, per user per month
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android

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 Lonboard

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

Only in Ride with GPS

  • Route builder
  • Global heatmap
  • Turn-by-turn navigation
  • Offline maps
  • Garmin sync
  • Extra map layers

What people use each for

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

Lonboard

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

Ride with GPS

  • A cyclist planning a multi-day touring route who needs offline maps for areas without signalnot Lonboard
  • Someone who wants turn-by-turn voice navigation on unfamiliar roads rather than checking a screennot Lonboard
  • A rider who wants to see popular local routes via the heatmap before committing to a paid tiernot Lonboard
  • A cyclist syncing custom routes directly to a Garmin computer for a big ridenot Lonboard

Where each one falls short

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

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

Ride with GPS

  • Turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps are locked behind the paid tiers, so the free tier alone is not enough for navigation in an area without signal.
  • There are two separate paid tiers rather than one, and some navigation-adjacent features are split between Basic and Premium in ways that are easy to misjudge before subscribing.
  • It is general cycling focused, not mountain-bike trail specific, so a trail rider is better served by Trailforks for singletrack detail.
  • The web-based route builder is more capable than the mobile app for planning, so serious route creation is awkward to do purely from a phone.
  • Exact free-tier limits, such as any cap on saved routes, are not clearly published, so a heavy free-tier user may hit an undocumented limit unexpectedly.

Pricing, plan by plan

Lonboard

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

Ride with GPS

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Route creation
    • Ride recording
    • Global heatmap access
  • Basic$7.99/month
    • Turn-by-turn navigation
    • Offline route maps
    • ETA and advanced route planning
  • Premium$9.99/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • Extra map layers: wind, air quality, cell coverage

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Ride with GPS if

  • You need route builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want global heatmap.
Ride with GPS review

Questions people ask

Is Lonboard or Ride with GPS better?
Neither clearly leads. Lonboard starts at Free and Ride with GPS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lonboard or Ride with GPS?
Lonboard starts at Free and Ride with GPS at Free.
Does Lonboard or Ride with GPS run on more platforms?
Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Ride with GPS runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Lonboard for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Lonboard best used for?
Lonboard is most often used for an analyst exploring a national road or parcel dataset in a notebook where pydeck or ipyleaflet becomes unusable at that size, a researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processing, a data scientist joining spatial data to model outputs in pandas and needing to see the result immediately without exporting to a gis, a team building an internal analysis pipeline on geoparquet that wants rendering without a serialisation step in the middle. Of those, an analyst exploring a national road or parcel dataset in a notebook where pydeck or ipyleaflet becomes unusable at that size and a researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processing are not what Ride with GPS is typically brought in for.
What can Lonboard do that Ride with GPS cannot?
Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget. Ride with GPS covers Route builder, Global heatmap, Turn-by-turn navigation, Offline maps.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Ride with GPS: Is Ride with GPS free?

A free Starter tier exists with route creation and the heatmap, but turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps require the Basic or Premium paid tier.

Lonboard: Who maintains it?

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

Ride with GPS: What is the difference between Basic and Premium?

Premium includes everything in Basic plus extra map layers such as wind, air quality and cell coverage.

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.

Ride with GPS: Is it mountain-bike specific?

No, it is general road, gravel and touring focused; Trailforks is the mountain-bike trail specific option.

Lonboard: Is it free for commercial use?

Yes, it is open source with no licence fee.

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