OpenFreeMap is a free and open-source map hosting solution that lets you display custom maps on websites and apps using OpenStreetMap data.
The project solves the problem of accessing production-quality vector-tile hosting without cost or proprietary lock-in. It works by combining existing open-source tools—OpenStreetMap data, OpenMapTiles schemas, Planetiler for tile generation, MapLibre for rendering, and Natural Earth and Wikidata for supplementary data—into a cohesive hosting platform. Users can either self-host on Ubuntu servers or use the public instance, which has no limits on map views or requests, requires no registration or API keys, and operates without cookies.
OpenFreeMap suits projects that need custom-styled maps without ongoing hosting costs or vendor dependencies. The public instance is completely free and aims to cover running costs through donations. The tool is deliberately narrow in scope: it provides vector-tile hosting only and explicitly does not offer search, geocoding, routing, static image generation, raster tiles, satellite imagery, or elevation data. Self-hosting requires deploying to clean Ubuntu machines using the provided Fabric-based deploy script, which sets up production-ready servers with automatic weekly tile regeneration and load balancing via round-robin DNS with Let's Encrypt certificates. The project is Docker-free by design.
Development is deliberately minimal and focused. The core infrastructure components are stable and working, with weekly automatic updates to map tiles and servers. The styles repository, by contrast, receives continuous development. The project has been serving as the production basemap for a major mapping platform, indicating maturity in its core functionality. The maintainers have explicitly scoped the project to remain small and stable once technical details are resolved, with the expectation that tile generation and server updates will run automatically with few ongoing commits to the main repository.
