Maps · head to head
Lonboard vs SW Maps
Lonboard
Maps
Python map rendering in Jupyter that skips GeoJSON and moves millions of features without choking
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
SW Maps
Maps
Free Android GIS data collector that pairs with external RTK GNSS receivers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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; SW Maps android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.
- They diverge on capability: Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, SW Maps covers Custom feature layers.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lonboard and SW Maps actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 SW Maps
- Custom feature layers
- External GNSS support
- Offline basemaps
- Geospatial PDF layers
- Vector import
- Photo and media capture
- Export formats
- NTRIP client
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 SW Maps
- A researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processingnot SW Maps
- A data scientist joining spatial data to model outputs in pandas and needing to see the result immediately without exporting to a GISnot SW Maps
- A team building an internal analysis pipeline on GeoParquet that wants rendering without a serialisation step in the middlenot SW Maps
SW Maps
- An NGO or municipal utility mapping water points, pipe networks or road assets on a budget that cannot absorb per-user GIS subscriptionsnot Lonboard
- A survey team pairing a low-cost RTK receiver with Android tablets to collect centimetre-accurate attributed features without buying field software seatsnot Lonboard
- A university field course teaching GNSS data collection where every student needs the tool on their own devicenot Lonboard
- A consultant doing a one-off asset inventory who needs shapefile or GeoPackage output and does not want to start an annual subscription for a three-week jobnot 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
SW Maps
- Android only. There is no iOS version and no sign of one, which rules it out for organisations that issue iPhones and iPads to field staff.
- There is no back end: no user management, no central project sync, no audit trail. Data lives on the device until someone exports it, and a lost tablet is lost data.
- No commercial support contract exists, so an organisation with a compliance requirement for vendor support cannot use it for regulated work regardless of technical fit.
- It is maintained by a small consultancy as a side product of its own project work, so the roadmap follows Softwel’s needs and a feature you depend on may never be prioritised.
- Form logic is basic compared with dedicated survey platforms: no meaningful skip logic, validation or multi-user assignment, so complex questionnaires quickly outgrow it.
Pricing, plan by plan
Lonboard
Free- LonboardFree
- Open source, no licence fee
- No usage limits
- Installed from PyPI or conda
SW Maps
Free- SW MapsFree
- All features included
- External RTK GNSS support
- Unlimited layers and exports
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.
Choose SW Maps if
- You need custom feature layers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Android.
- You also want external gnss support.
Questions people ask
- Is Lonboard or SW Maps better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lonboard starts at Free and SW Maps at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lonboard or SW Maps?
- Lonboard starts at Free and SW Maps at Free.
- Does Lonboard or SW Maps run on more platforms?
- Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. SW Maps runs on 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 SW Maps is typically brought in for.
- What can Lonboard do that SW Maps cannot?
- Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget. SW Maps covers Custom feature layers, External GNSS support, Offline basemaps, Geospatial PDF layers.
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.
SW Maps: Is SW Maps really free?
Yes. It is free with no advertising and no paid tier. There is no subscription and no feature paywall.
Lonboard: Who maintains it?
Development Seed, a geospatial engineering consultancy, as an open source project. There is no commercial support offering.
SW Maps: Does it support RTK receivers?
Yes, over Bluetooth or USB serial, with NTRIP correction support, antenna height and per-point fix quality recording.
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.
SW Maps: Is there an iOS version?
No. Android only.
Lonboard: Is it free for commercial use?
Yes, it is open source with no licence fee.
SW Maps: Who maintains it?
Softwel, an engineering consultancy in Kathmandu, Nepal, which built it for its own infrastructure projects.
SW Maps: Can we get support?
Not contractually. There is no commercial support agreement, which is the main reason organisations with compliance obligations choose a paid alternative.
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