One of Google’s most popular services is Google Maps, a web mapping service which offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, and interactive panoramic views. While it’s a very easy mapping service to use, it collects a lot of data which isn’t limited to GPS location settings from your phone.
This roundup includes software which offers quick access to maps all across the world. The software lets you find the place you’re looking for by searching for a city or street, or locate a place to meet a friend. Some of the software uses the OpenStreetMap database, a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. It’s kept up to date by people using GPS devices, aerial photography and other free sources of information.
This roundup includes some specialised tools.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Click the links in the table below to learn all about each program.
| Mapping Tools | |
|---|---|
| Organic Maps | Offline maps & GPS app for hiking, cycling, biking, and driving |
| QGIS | GIS that supports vector, raster, and database formats |
| Marble | Virtual globe and world atlas |
| Placemark | Web-based tool for geospatial data |
| JOSM | Extensible editor for OpenStreetMap |
| Kadas Albireo | Mapping application based on QGIS targeted at non-specialized users |
| GNOME Maps | Find places around the world |
| VersaTiles | Generate, process, store, serve, and render map tiles |
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. Spotted a useful open source Linux program not covered on our site? Please let us know by completing this form. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |