leaflet vs mapbox-gl vs deck.gl vs @antv/l7
Web Mapping Libraries Comparison
1 Year
leafletmapbox-gldeck.gl@antv/l7Similar Packages:
What's Web Mapping Libraries?

Web mapping libraries are essential tools for developers looking to integrate interactive maps into web applications. They provide various functionalities, including rendering maps, adding layers, handling user interactions, and visualizing geospatial data. Each library has its unique strengths, catering to different use cases, from simple map displays to complex data visualizations. Understanding the specific features and capabilities of these libraries helps developers choose the right tool for their projects, ensuring optimal performance and user experience.

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leaflet1,387,86942,7853.74 MB5252 years agoBSD-2-Clause
mapbox-gl1,376,76411,61854.8 MB1,38014 days agoSEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.txt
deck.gl133,60812,7294.71 MB4358 days agoMIT
@antv/l734,6083,8131.67 MB2612 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: leaflet vs mapbox-gl vs deck.gl vs @antv/l7

Rendering Performance

  • leaflet:

    Leaflet is lightweight and performs well for simple maps with moderate data. However, it may struggle with performance when handling very large datasets or complex visualizations compared to WebGL-based libraries.

  • mapbox-gl:

    mapbox-gl offers excellent rendering performance with vector tiles, allowing for smooth interactions and quick loading times. It is optimized for dynamic maps and can handle complex visualizations with ease.

  • deck.gl:

    deck.gl is designed for high-performance rendering of large-scale data visualizations. It utilizes WebGL to render complex visualizations efficiently, allowing for smooth interactions even with extensive datasets, making it suitable for big data applications.

  • @antv/l7:

    @antv/l7 is optimized for rendering large datasets efficiently, leveraging WebGL for high-performance graphics. It can handle thousands of data points without significant performance degradation, making it ideal for data-heavy applications.

Ease of Use

  • leaflet:

    Leaflet is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It has a straightforward API and is well-documented, making it an excellent choice for beginners or projects that require quick implementation of basic mapping features.

  • mapbox-gl:

    mapbox-gl is user-friendly, especially for developers familiar with JavaScript. It provides extensive documentation and a variety of examples, making it easy to create custom maps and integrate them into applications.

  • deck.gl:

    deck.gl is relatively easy to use, especially for those familiar with React. Its API is intuitive, and it offers a variety of pre-built layers, making it accessible for developers looking to create complex visualizations quickly.

  • @antv/l7:

    @antv/l7 has a steeper learning curve due to its focus on advanced visualizations and data handling. However, it provides comprehensive documentation and examples to assist developers in getting started.

Customization

  • leaflet:

    Leaflet is highly extensible, with a wide range of plugins available for additional functionalities. While it offers basic customization options, more complex visualizations may require additional libraries or plugins.

  • mapbox-gl:

    mapbox-gl excels in customization, allowing developers to style maps extensively using Mapbox Studio. It supports custom layers, markers, and styles, making it suitable for applications requiring unique map designs.

  • deck.gl:

    deck.gl provides a high degree of customization for visualizations, allowing developers to create unique layers and styles. Its modular architecture enables easy integration of custom layers and interactions, catering to specific project needs.

  • @antv/l7:

    @antv/l7 offers extensive customization options for visualizations, allowing developers to create tailored visual experiences. It supports various visualization types and styling options, making it highly flexible for data representation.

Community and Ecosystem

  • leaflet:

    Leaflet has a large and active community, with numerous plugins and extensions available. Its popularity ensures a wealth of resources, tutorials, and community support, making it easy to find help and examples.

  • mapbox-gl:

    mapbox-gl has a robust community and is backed by Mapbox, providing extensive resources, documentation, and support. Its integration with other Mapbox services enhances its ecosystem, making it a popular choice among developers.

  • deck.gl:

    deck.gl has a strong community, particularly among developers working with React and data visualization. It is actively maintained by Uber and has a wealth of resources, examples, and community support available.

  • @antv/l7:

    @antv/l7 is part of the AntV visualization ecosystem, which includes various libraries for data visualization. While it has a growing community, it may not be as large as others, potentially affecting the availability of third-party resources and plugins.

Use Cases

  • leaflet:

    Leaflet is perfect for simple mapping applications, such as displaying location data, creating interactive maps for websites, and basic geospatial visualizations. It is best for projects that prioritize ease of use and quick implementation.

  • mapbox-gl:

    mapbox-gl is suitable for applications requiring dynamic, interactive maps with real-time data updates, such as location-based services, travel applications, and custom map visualizations. Its flexibility and performance make it ideal for a wide range of mapping needs.

  • deck.gl:

    deck.gl is ideal for applications that need to visualize large datasets in 3D, such as urban planning, scientific data visualization, and geospatial analytics. It is particularly effective for projects that require high-performance rendering of complex data.

  • @antv/l7:

    @antv/l7 is best suited for applications that require advanced data visualizations, such as dashboards, analytics tools, and geographic data analysis. It excels in scenarios where visual representation of complex datasets is crucial.

How to Choose: leaflet vs mapbox-gl vs deck.gl vs @antv/l7
  • leaflet:

    Choose Leaflet if you need a lightweight, easy-to-use library for creating interactive maps. It is perfect for projects that require basic mapping functionalities without the overhead of more complex libraries. Leaflet is highly extensible, making it suitable for simple applications that may need to grow over time.

  • mapbox-gl:

    Choose Mapbox GL if you require high-quality, customizable maps with vector tiles and advanced styling capabilities. It is well-suited for applications that need dynamic maps with real-time data updates and extensive customization options, especially for mobile and web applications.

  • deck.gl:

    Choose deck.gl if you are focused on high-performance, large-scale data visualization on maps. It is particularly suited for applications that require 3D visualizations and complex layer management, such as visualizing big data in a geospatial context. Its integration with React makes it a strong choice for React-based applications.

  • @antv/l7:

    Choose @antv/l7 if you need a powerful visualization library that excels in rendering large datasets on maps, particularly for complex visualizations like heatmaps and choropleth maps. It is ideal for applications that require advanced data-driven visualizations and integration with the AntV ecosystem.

README for leaflet

Leaflet was created 11 years ago by Volodymyr Agafonkin, a Ukrainian citizen living in Kyiv.

Russian bombs are now falling over Volodymyr's hometown. His family, his friends, his neighbours, thousands and thousands of absolutely wonderful people, are either seeking refuge or fighting for their lives.

The Russian soldiers have already killed tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, and are committing mass war crimes like gang rapes, executions, looting, and targeted bombings of civilian shelters and places of cultural significance. The death toll keeps rising, and Ukraine needs your help.

As Volodymyr expressed a few days before the invasion:

If you want to help, educate yourself and others on the Russian threat, follow reputable journalists, demand severe Russian sanctions and Ukrainian support from your leaders, protest war, reach out to Ukrainian friends, donate to Ukrainian charities. Just don't be silent.

Ukrainians are recommending the Come Back Alive charity. For other options, see StandWithUkraine.

If an appeal to humanity doesn't work for you, I'll appeal to your egoism: the future of Ukrainian citizens is the future of Leaflet.

It is chilling to see Leaflet being used for documenting Russia's war crimes, factual reporting of the war and for coordination of humanitarian efforts in Romania and in Poland. We commend these uses of Leaflet.

If you support the actions of the Russian government (even after reading all this), do everyone else a favour and carry some seeds in your pocket.

Yours truly,
Leaflet maintainers.


Leaflet

Leaflet is the leading open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps. Weighing just about 39 KB of gzipped JS plus 4 KB of gzipped CSS code, it has all the mapping features most developers ever need.

Leaflet is designed with simplicity, performance and usability in mind. It works efficiently across all major desktop and mobile platforms out of the box, taking advantage of HTML5 and CSS3 on modern browsers while being accessible on older ones too. It can be extended with a huge amount of plugins, has a beautiful, easy to use and well-documented API and a simple, readable source code that is a joy to contribute to.

For more info, docs and tutorials, check out the official website.
For Leaflet downloads (including the built main version), check out the download page.

We're happy to meet new contributors. If you want to get involved with Leaflet development, check out the contribution guide. Let's make the best mapping library that will ever exist, and push the limits of what's possible with online maps!

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