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Maps · head to head

Lonboard vs What3words

Lonboard logo

Lonboard

Maps

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
What3words logo

What3words

Maps

What3words has divided the world into 3m squares and given each one

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lonboard has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; What3words the free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second
  • They diverge on capability: Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, What3words covers Core Functionality.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lonboard and What3words actually diverge.

Attributes where Lonboard and What3words differ
AttributeLonboardWhat3words
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb

Identical on both: 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 What3words

  • Core Functionality
  • User Interface

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 What3words
  • A researcher publishing a reproducible analysis where the visualisation must run from the same script as the processingnot What3words
  • A data scientist joining spatial data to model outputs in pandas and needing to see the result immediately without exporting to a GISnot What3words
  • A team building an internal analysis pipeline on GeoParquet that wants rendering without a serialisation step in the middlenot What3words

What3words

  • Referring to a 3 metre square location with three wordsnot Lonboard
  • Adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch appnot Lonboard
  • Converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via APInot 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

What3words

  • The free API plan includes no coordinate conversion, only AutoSuggest, and is rate limited to 5 requests per second
  • Converting to and from what3words addresses starts on the Basic plan at $9.99 per month for 1,000 conversions
  • Priority and developer support require the Standard plan at $45 per month
  • 24/7 phone support requires the Plus plan at $125 per month
  • Custom invoicing and annual payment require the Premium plan at $300 per month
  • Overage pricing is not published; the page states only that a fair usage policy applies
  • The three word address scheme is proprietary and licensed rather than open data

Pricing, plan by plan

Lonboard

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

What3words

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the What3words review.

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 What3words if

  • You need core functionality.
  • You also want user interface.
What3words review

Questions people ask

Is Lonboard or What3words better?
Neither clearly leads. Lonboard starts at Free and What3words at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lonboard or What3words?
Lonboard has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lonboard and On request for What3words.
Does Lonboard or What3words run on more platforms?
Lonboard runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. What3words runs on Web.
Can I use Lonboard for free?
Yes. Lonboard has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. What3words starts at On request.
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 What3words is typically brought in for.
What can Lonboard do that What3words cannot?
Lonboard covers GeoArrow binary transfer, GeoPandas input, deck.gl layers, Jupyter widget. What3words covers Core Functionality, User Interface.

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.

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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