Map resolution and zoom

Map resolution defines the level of detail visible on a map at a specific zoom level. MapTiler uses a tiling system based on the Spherical Mercator projection (EPSG:3857), where the world is divided into a pyramid of tiles across different zoom levels. As you increase the zoom level, the resolution also increases, providing more detail for a smaller geographic area.

Zoom levels explained

As resolution is directly tied to zoom level, it’s necessary to understand what are the zoom levels, what’s visible on each, and also how they behave depending on data type:

• Raster tiles: Pre-rendered images with a fixed resolution per tile. If you zoom beyond the maximum available tile zoom, the map will appear pixelated as the device stretches the existing pixels.
• Vector tiles: Contain mathematical points and lines, making them resolution-independent. Labels and features remain sharp at any scale, though the density of data is managed by the zoom level to maintain readability and performance.

The table below lists the zoom levels with clickable examples for both types of data.

Zoom	View	What’s visible	Raster map	Vector map
0–3	Global	Entire Earth, continents, and oceans.
4–5	Continental	Large-scale geographical features and broad weather patterns.
6–9	Regional	Extensive river systems, mountain ranges, and large metropolitan areas.
10–14	City view	City layouts, major highways, and significant urban features.
15–16	Streets	Neighborhood views where individual buildings become recognizable.
17–18	Street blocks	Highly detailed views of street layouts, parking lots, and vehicles.
19–20	Buildings	Building features, roof structures, and architectural details.
21+	Details	Fine details such as street furniture. Typically only available for areas of particular interest.

Note: At zoom levels 15–16, aerial imagery typically replaces satellite imagery to provide higher clarity. Extreme zoom levels (21+) often use drone imagery.

Resolution and tile size

The resolution (meters per pixel) is determined by the zoom level and tile size. While the industry historically used 256 px tiles, MapTiler uses 512 px tiles as the standard for both vector and raster data.

• 256×256 px: legacy standard
• 512×512 px: MapTiler standard

A 512 px tile covers the same geographic area as four 256 px tiles, which means that MapTiler’s zoom levels appear one level sharper than the legacy industry standard and work well also on hi-res displays like Retina.

Resolution and scales

The values below represent the resolution at the equator for our standard 512 px tiles. Note that for the 512 px tiles, the resolution at a given zoom level is equivalent to the next zoom level in the 256 px standard. To explore map tiles at different resolutions and zoom levels, see our interactive demo.