Maps · European (community project) (EU)
MapLibre GL JS
Open-source fork of Mapbox GL — EU-community driven, zero vendor lock-in.
The switch
Mapbox→MapLibre GL JSalso replaces Google Maps
About
Open-source JavaScript mapping library — community fork of Mapbox GL JS created after Mapbox went proprietary in 2021. Renders vector tiles in WebGL with full custom styling. No telemetry, no licence fees. Pair with EU tile providers like MapTiler or BunnyCDN.
Why we recommend it
- BSD 2-Clause — completely free, no vendor lock-in
- WebGL vector tile rendering — same as Mapbox
- Active EU and global community
- Pair with MapTiler or BunnyCDN tiles for full EU stack
- Used by Wikipedia, government portals, OSM itself
EU vs USA
MapLibre GL JS vs Mapbox
Side-by-side on jurisdiction, data residency, and the rules that decide who can actually read your data.
Criteria
🇪🇺 MapLibre GL JS
🇺🇸 Mapbox
Headquarters
Open source — MapLibre organisation
San Francisco, CA, USA
Jurisdiction
N/A — runs in browser, no server dependency
USA (CLOUD Act, FISA 702)
Data location
Depends on tile provider chosen
Global, US-controlled (AWS)
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
No
End-to-end encryption
No
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
MapLibre Organisation (non-profit, community)
Mapbox Inc. (private, SoftBank-backed)
Founded
2021
2010
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