MapTiler Cloud vs. MapTiler Data: What to choose?

First time on the MapTiler website, and wondering which map product would suit you the best? Deciding between online maps API and self-hosted maps to ensure data privacy? Or just curious about the two MapTiler flagship products? Read and find out what differences there are between MapTiler Cloud and MapTiler Data.

Choosing the most fitting solution always highly depends on the use-case specifics. If you are not sure about the right product for you, do not hesitate to contact our Sales team, which is ready to help you with the decision.

MapTiler Cloud

MapTiler Cloud is a hosting service providing online digital maps for web and mobile developers. You can customize the maps, upload or create your own geodata and publish them online. MapTiler is taking care of the infrastructure behind it, so you don’t need to worry about any server setup.

There are three types of plans to purchase: Flex, Unlimited, and Custom. FLEX is the basic plan to start with or one for smaller businesses. UNLIMITED is the standard for growing businesses. CUSTOM is the best choice for use-cases with high traffic. MapTiler Cloud is currently offering 2 billing models, tile request-based billing and session-based billing (map loads). For more details, please check out the pricing plans for MapTiler Cloud.

MapTiler Data

MapTiler Data is global, ready-to-use geographic data available for you to download and self-host. They are processed and packed, available as vector or raster tiles, and in GIS formats. You can serve the data yourself from your own machine, behind firewalls, or without the internet connection with MapTiler Server that is included in every MapTiler Data package.

There are three types of packages to purchase: Basic, Business, and Partner. BASIC is meant to be used for internal use or B2C/R&D with a single production app and up to 100 monthly active users. With BUSINESS, you can have up to 1,000 monthly active users. PARTNER allows you to leverage the data for B2B or B2G use-cases and have a custom number of apps and users. More info is available in the pricing plans for MapTiler Data.

Not yet sure which one would be better for your project? Check the comparison tables below to find out about the features and datasets included implementation options, and costs involved.

Deployment comparison

MapTiler Cloud MapTiler Data
Implementation  
* online ready-to-use API * download map data
* no additional hardware or software needed * set up MapTiler Server software on your hardware
* copy and paste the URLs to your application or a Javascript viewer * copy and paste the URLs to your application or a Javascript viewer
Map data  
* all plans: Contours, Countries, Hillshading, Land, Landcover, MapTiler Planet, MapTiler Planet Lite, OpenMapTiles, OpenMapTiles WGS84, Outdoor, Satellite medium resolution 2017, Satellite medium resolution 2021, Satellite high resolution for selected countries, Terrain 3D, Terrain RGB + country-specific datasets (France cadastre, UK Ordnance Survey etc.) * Basic: OpenStreetMap, Hillshading, Contours, Satellite medium resolution 2017 * Business: OpenStreetMap, Hillshading, Contours, Terrain RGB, Terrain 3D, Landcover, MapTiler Planet Lite, Satellite medium resolution 2017, Satellite medium resolution 2021 * Partner: all the datasets of Business + possible add-ons of MapTiler Planet, Satellite high resolution, Countries, Cadastre or Outdoor
* map styles: Basic, Bright, OpenStreetMap, Outdoor, Pastel, Satellite Hybrid, Streets, Toner, Topo, Topographique, Voyager, Winter + country-specific styles (swisstopo, UK OS Zoomstack, Cartigo etc.) * map styles (available with MapTiler Server only): Streets, Basic, Bright, Topo, Satellite Hybrid
* automatic updates of OpenStreetMap maps regularly every month * updates of OpenStreetMap maps every 2 weeks, either via automated update service or download
Privacy  
* no spy code * serving maps from your own server or computer, behind a firewall, on an intranet or without the internet connection
* no end-user tracking for ads * nothing is tracked by MapTiler
* no cookies on HTML responses * complete control over the maps
Scalability  
* easy to upgrade or downgrade anytime in your account administration * easy to upgrade from Basic to Business
* high-availability enterprise level infrastructure will handle any volume of traffic you might have * upgrade to Partner requires consultation with the MapTiler Sales team
* team account for up to 5 users available * B2B/B2G/multiple apps use-cases (Partner) – scale discussed before every renewal
* SLA 99.9% available * team account for up to 5 users available
* scalable storage for hosting own maps or geodata  
Customization  
* ready-to-use tools: Customization tool, Advanced Editor, Vector data editor * uploading style JSONs to MapTiler Server
* advanced users can upload style JSONs * when using your own server software, requires more advanced development experience
* SLA 99.9% available * team account for up to 5 users available
* scalable storage for hosting own maps or geodata  

Conclusion

MapTiler Cloud and MapTiler Data are the two products that our customers hesitate between very often. MapTiler Cloud provides online maps for web and mobile, whereas MapTiler Data offers you maps for self-hosting on private networks. This article provides you with a summary of the main differences and a price comparison between the two. Please note that the costs highly depend on your use-case specifics. To get the most suitable price offer, always contact the MapTiler Sales team.

MapTiler Cloud
MapTiler Data
MapTiler Support – Cloud articles
MapTiler Support – Data articles
MapTiler Blog – Launching MapTiler Data for self-hosting