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I've been looking to replace Google Maps with OSM on my smartphone. OSM itself is great, but I've been having a harder time finding a good app to use it with.

I've been looking to replace Google Maps with OSM on my smartphone. OSM itself is great, but I've been having a harder time finding a good app to use it with. Is anyone familiar with a good option? I mostly use a maps app for location searches and real-time GPS navigation, but offline maps and location sharing are nice-to-have features. I've been using OsmAnd and it's okay. The interface is pretty good. It supports offline maps, but not location sharing. Map tiles are kind of slow to load compared to Google Maps, which is odd since the tiles have to be downloaded to local storage. The location search often includes redundant results and whatever database they use to store place data is sparse on details like pictures, hours, or reviews. I'll keep using it to stay de-platformed from Google as much as possible, but I'd be willing to pay a bit for something more responsive and polished.

ashtonbaker 6y ago
I think Gaia GPS has a free tier? The base map is OSM. I've seen changes that I've made in OSM pulled in within a couple of days. I've gotten a lot of use out of my subscription. I can't speak as much to the location searching capability.
- leokennis 6y ago
  Love Gaia GPS as well. Location search is hit and miss, but once you're on a trail, it's a flawless app.
npteljes 6y ago
I previously had good experience with Maps.me. OsmAnd is great with its myriad settings and such, but somehow is a huge battery drain on my phone. I use it just fine in the background though, because it still provides turn by turn navigation that way. I think OsmAnd doesn't use generated tiles, but rather generates the map on the fly, hence the slowness.
Nrbelex 6y ago
Check out mapy.cz [1] or an ad-free version from Windy [2]. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.mapy&utm_source=mapy_mobilni_web&utm_medium=banner_responziv&utm_campaign=responziv_appinstall https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.mapy... [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.windymaps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.wind...
einpoklum 6y ago
I'm using an app called Maps.Me, which seems to be OSM-based. It's kind of commercialized, which I don't like, but it's usable. I'd be interested in something more FOSSy, myself.
- xorcist 6y ago
  There used to be a free fork of Maps.me called simply Maps on F-Droid here: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.github.axet.maps https://f-droid.org/packages/com.github.axet.maps Very nicely designed. It seems to be gone now however, maybe someone else knows why.
  - contravariant 6y ago
    I was looking for a more lightweight FOSS map app (as opposed to OsmAnd+, which is excellent but not the most performant), as far as I can tell the Maps maintainer had a falling out with / didn't respond to the F-Droid maintainers. That said I had to piece this together from some commit messages by the F-droid maintainers so I'd prefer a better source myself.
  - andrewshadura 6y ago
    There's a new one called OMaps, currently in an early stages of development. https://github.com/omapsapp https://github.com/omapsapp https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=gitter.im https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=...
- spurgu 6y ago
  Maps.me was on HN a couple of weeks back. MAPS.ME is gone. We must bring it back: https://telegra.ph/What-happened-to-the-old-MAPSME-12-20 https://telegra.ph/What-happened-to-the-old-MAPSME-12-20 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25515004 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25515004
  - andrewshadura 6y ago
    The most active fork is probably OMaps. https://github.com/omapsapp https://github.com/omapsapp https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=gitter.im https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=...
blendergeek 6y ago
> It supports offline maps, but not location sharing. Are you on iOS or Android? On Android there is the OsmAnd Online GPS Tracker [0]. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.telegram&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.tel...
Doctor_Fegg 6y ago
I love MapOut (iOS only). It's an outdoor-focused mapping app with easy offline downloads and really beautiful cartography.
- theomega 6y ago
  MapOut is such a beautiful app, I'm using it very often. If you are doing any outdoor sports or even just wanting to get to know your surrounding, I heavily recommend MapOut on iOS. Worth every euro. The developers are also very responsive in case you have any questions.
andreareina 6y ago
I'm pretty sure OsmAnd renders all the roads, buildings etc on demand, which is why it's slow. It has to be able to rerender since it supports different styles, but it doesn't seem like it caches the results or prerenders adjacent tiles. EDIT: performance issues seem to not be due to rendering the vector data[1]. [1] https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/issues/8370 https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/issues/8370
mongol 6y ago
I like Locus maps a lot. The UI is a little busy but once you get used to it you appreciate it because it really is a work of love.
- KingOfCoders 6y ago
  We used Locus to hike through Norway.
- freidenker 6y ago
  And with Locus maps you can use OpenAndroMaps [1] as a map source. With their map styles [2] OpenAndroMaps are IMO the best hiking maps you can get. They even added very precise elevation data from LIDAR scans recently. [1] https://www.openandromaps.org/en https://www.openandromaps.org/en [2] https://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hike-theme https://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hik...
  - mongol 6y ago
    Locus also have a store where they sell offline maps very similar to OpenAndroMaps for very small amounts. Not sure if they include elevation data however.
rwh86 6y ago
Other than the ones that have been mentioned already, I also use Maverick, which has a free and a paid version. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codesector.maverick.lite https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codesector... I like its ability to show the different map layers, and it has great information screens that show things like GPS coordinates and such, great for geohashing or geocaching. Also has a cool display of how many satellites are visible and whether they're GPS or GLONASS or whatever. The track recording feature is also nice, saving as a gpx file that can be easily uploaded to the openstreetmap online iD editor with drag-and-drop.
commoner 6y ago
Magic Earth offers a more polished user experience for driving. Compared to OsmAnd, you gain address geolocation from a third-party source (not sure which), traffic alerts, and a dashcam feature, but you lose map editing functionality and many of the non-driving features in OsmAnd. Magic Earth is closed source, although it is free of charge and has no ads. It doesn't hurt to have both Magic Earth and OsmAnd installed. https://www.magicearth.com https://www.magicearth.com
- perryizgr8 6y ago
  I downloaded magic earth and it works surprisingly well. I am concerned about the fact that it is free, though. I wonder what's their business plan.

ashtonbaker 6y ago

I think Gaia GPS has a free tier? The base map is OSM. I've seen changes that I've made in OSM pulled in within a couple of days. I've gotten a lot of use out of my subscription. I can't speak as much to the location searching capability.

leokennis 6y ago
Love Gaia GPS as well. Location search is hit and miss, but once you're on a trail, it's a flawless app.

npteljes 6y ago

I previously had good experience with Maps.me. OsmAnd is great with its myriad settings and such, but somehow is a huge battery drain on my phone. I use it just fine in the background though, because it still provides turn by turn navigation that way. I think OsmAnd doesn't use generated tiles, but rather generates the map on the fly, hence the slowness.

Nrbelex 6y ago

Check out mapy.cz [1] or an ad-free version from Windy [2]. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.mapy&utm_source=mapy_mobilni_web&utm_medium=banner_responziv&utm_campaign=responziv_appinstall https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.mapy... [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.windymaps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.wind...

einpoklum 6y ago

I'm using an app called Maps.Me, which seems to be OSM-based. It's kind of commercialized, which I don't like, but it's usable. I'd be interested in something more FOSSy, myself.

xorcist 6y ago
There used to be a free fork of Maps.me called simply Maps on F-Droid here: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.github.axet.maps https://f-droid.org/packages/com.github.axet.maps Very nicely designed. It seems to be gone now however, maybe someone else knows why.
- contravariant 6y ago
  I was looking for a more lightweight FOSS map app (as opposed to OsmAnd+, which is excellent but not the most performant), as far as I can tell the Maps maintainer had a falling out with / didn't respond to the F-Droid maintainers. That said I had to piece this together from some commit messages by the F-droid maintainers so I'd prefer a better source myself.
- andrewshadura 6y ago
  There's a new one called OMaps, currently in an early stages of development. https://github.com/omapsapp https://github.com/omapsapp https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=gitter.im https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=...
spurgu 6y ago
Maps.me was on HN a couple of weeks back. MAPS.ME is gone. We must bring it back: https://telegra.ph/What-happened-to-the-old-MAPSME-12-20 https://telegra.ph/What-happened-to-the-old-MAPSME-12-20 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25515004 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25515004
- andrewshadura 6y ago
  The most active fork is probably OMaps. https://github.com/omapsapp https://github.com/omapsapp https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=gitter.im https://matrix.to/#/#omapsapp:matrix.org?via=matrix.org&via=...

blendergeek 6y ago

> It supports offline maps, but not location sharing. Are you on iOS or Android? On Android there is the OsmAnd Online GPS Tracker [0]. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.telegram&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.tel...

Doctor_Fegg 6y ago

I love MapOut (iOS only). It's an outdoor-focused mapping app with easy offline downloads and really beautiful cartography.

theomega 6y ago
MapOut is such a beautiful app, I'm using it very often. If you are doing any outdoor sports or even just wanting to get to know your surrounding, I heavily recommend MapOut on iOS. Worth every euro. The developers are also very responsive in case you have any questions.

andreareina 6y ago

I'm pretty sure OsmAnd renders all the roads, buildings etc on demand, which is why it's slow. It has to be able to rerender since it supports different styles, but it doesn't seem like it caches the results or prerenders adjacent tiles. EDIT: performance issues seem to not be due to rendering the vector data[1]. [1] https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/issues/8370 https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/issues/8370

mongol 6y ago

I like Locus maps a lot. The UI is a little busy but once you get used to it you appreciate it because it really is a work of love.

KingOfCoders 6y ago
We used Locus to hike through Norway.
freidenker 6y ago
And with Locus maps you can use OpenAndroMaps [1] as a map source. With their map styles [2] OpenAndroMaps are IMO the best hiking maps you can get. They even added very precise elevation data from LIDAR scans recently. [1] https://www.openandromaps.org/en https://www.openandromaps.org/en [2] https://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hike-theme https://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hik...
- mongol 6y ago
  Locus also have a store where they sell offline maps very similar to OpenAndroMaps for very small amounts. Not sure if they include elevation data however.

rwh86 6y ago

Other than the ones that have been mentioned already, I also use Maverick, which has a free and a paid version. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codesector.maverick.lite https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.codesector... I like its ability to show the different map layers, and it has great information screens that show things like GPS coordinates and such, great for geohashing or geocaching. Also has a cool display of how many satellites are visible and whether they're GPS or GLONASS or whatever. The track recording feature is also nice, saving as a gpx file that can be easily uploaded to the openstreetmap online iD editor with drag-and-drop.

commoner 6y ago

Magic Earth offers a more polished user experience for driving. Compared to OsmAnd, you gain address geolocation from a third-party source (not sure which), traffic alerts, and a dashcam feature, but you lose map editing functionality and many of the non-driving features in OsmAnd. Magic Earth is closed source, although it is free of charge and has no ads. It doesn't hurt to have both Magic Earth and OsmAnd installed. https://www.magicearth.com https://www.magicearth.com

perryizgr8 6y ago
I downloaded magic earth and it works surprisingly well. I am concerned about the fact that it is free, though. I wonder what's their business plan.