Open alternatives to Google-maps?

Question

I'm looking for an alternative to Google-maps with all the richness of their API but more open. Does such a thing exist?

Solution 1

OpenStreetMap is, of course, the obvious answer. There are various APIs for managing the data in the database, and there are various APIs for getting maps onto your webpages, such as OpenLayers, Mapstraction, or Staticmaps.

Solution 2

Google have recently introduced a limit of 25,000 map sessions per day, which forced us to consider the alternatives for some of our sites.

We've written a blog post about it with some examples here.

In a nutshell, we have chosen to use a combination of CloudMade's Leaflet for the Javascript Map API, and then Open MapQuest (based on OpenStreetMap data) for the tiles.

Solution 3

You might want to consider http://leaflet.cloudmade.com/

Solution 4

OpenLayers

About...
OpenLayers makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page. It can display map tiles and markers loaded from any source. MetaCarta developed the initial version of OpenLayers and gave it to the public to further the use of geographic information of all kinds. OpenLayers is completely free, Open Source JavaScript, released under a BSD-style License.

Solution 5

If you are in the UK you can use the Ordance Surveys' OS Open Data maps.

View more solutions