OpenStreetMap

Collaborative project to create a free editable geographic database of the world

As of 29 August 2026, OpenStreetMap is free to use. OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable geographic database of the world, powering thousands of applications and services. Softwr lists it under Maps. OpenStreetMap is launched in 2004, available on Web, API.

Visit siteVisit OpenStreetMap

Overview

What OpenStreetMap does

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable geographic database of the world, powering thousands of applications and services.

What people use it for

Supplying map data to websites, mobile apps and hardware devices
Community mapping of roads, trails, cafes and railway stations
Projects that need open map data and can meet the attribution requirement
Building on map data where a share-alike licence is acceptable

The honest half

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about OpenStreetMap.

Data accuracy varies dramatically by geographic region depending on volunteer coverage
No minimum quality standards enforced, making data prone to errors and inconsistencies
Data completeness gaps, especially for minor roads and remote areas
Bias toward well-mapped regions with high volunteer activity
Positional accuracy concerns with only 70-76% of roads within 5-10 meter tolerance
Tag criteria not well-defined leading to logical consistency issues

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of OpenStreetMap

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

OpenStreetMapvs
Google Maps Platform
Google Maps Platform: Authoritative global mapping service with professional data quality and real-time traffic information.
OpenStreetMapvs
Mapbox
Mapbox: Commercial mapping service building on OpenStreetMap data but with professional data validation and customization.

Capabilities

Features

Core Functionality
Essential features for everyday use
User Interface
Intuitive and user-friendly interface

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is OpenStreetMap free to use?

Yes, OpenStreetMap is completely free and open-source under the Open Data Commons license. You can download and use map data for any purpose.

Source

How accurate is OpenStreetMap?

OpenStreetMap accuracy varies by region. In well-mapped areas like developed countries, accuracy is generally high. Only 76% of OSM roads aligned within 10 meters of reference roads, with 70% within 5 meters.

Source

Behind it

Who makes OpenStreetMap

Founders: Steve Coast

Timeline

OpenStreetMap over time

Milestone2004-12-10
First contribution: Steve Cost cycled around Regent's Park with GPS receiver and entered streets
Source
Launch2004-08-16
OpenStreetMap website went live
Source
Founded2004-08-09
Domain openstreetmap.org registered by Steve Coast
Source

Keep looking

Where to go from OpenStreetMap

Best Maps software for

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for OpenStreetMap, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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