Updated August 2026
    Actively maintained
    Real momentum
    4.4k

    Nominatim: Maintenance, Licence and Alternatives

    Server application for geocoding (address -> coordinates) and reverse geocoding (coordinates -> address) on OpenStreetMap data.

    TL;DR • Nominatim • as of August 2026

    Nominatim is an open-source maps and global positioning system (gps) project, with 4.4k GitHub stars and a health score of 88/100. It committed 522 times in the last twelve months across 12 of those months, and its status is actively maintained. Licence: GPL-2.0. It has real momentum, so treat it as a live competitor rather than a stale repository.

    4.4k
    GitHub stars
    88/100
    Health score
    522
    Commits (12 mo)
    12/12
    Active months

    Maintenance health

    Status Actively maintained — Committed within the last 45 days.
    Last commit 2026-08-09
    Days since last commit 8
    Commits, last 3 months 105
    Commits, last 12 months 522
    Months with activity 12 of 12
    Last release 2026-04-19
    Archived No
    Licence GPL-2.0
    Category Maps and Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Health score combines commit recency, twelve-month commit volume, months with activity, release recency and archive state. Metadata refreshed August 2026.

    What the licence lets you do

    GPL-2.0

    Copyleft (GPL, AGPL, MPL): derivative work must stay open. AGPL also covers software offered over a network, which blocks most closed SaaS wrappers.

    This matters most when you plan to sell a hosted version. A permissive licence means anyone — including a competitor with more capital — can do the same, so your defensibility has to come from distribution, support or data, not from the code.

    What Nominatim means for your idea

    Nominatim is shipping code consistently, so a buyer comparing your product will find a maintained free option. Price and position against the total cost of self-hosting it, not against the paid incumbent's list price.

    Winnable, but differentiation is not optional. Pick one underserved segment and be visibly better for it rather than competing feature-for-feature with a free tool.

    Nominatim: common questions

    Is Nominatim still maintained in 2026?

    Actively maintained. Nominatim recorded 522 commits over the last twelve months, with activity in 12 of those months and 105 commits in the last quarter. Last commit: 2026-08-09. Last release: 2026-04-19. Committed within the last 45 days.

    Can I use Nominatim commercially?

    Nominatim is published under GPL-2.0. Copyleft (GPL, AGPL, MPL): derivative work must stay open. AGPL also covers software offered over a network, which blocks most closed SaaS wrappers.

    How crowded is the Maps and Global Positioning System (GPS) category?

    18 open-source implementations, 13 of them actively maintained, led by Dawarich at 10k stars. Saturation score 42/100 — Contested. Several maintained alternatives exist, but no one owns the category.

    Nominatim alternatives in Maps and Global Positioning System (GPS)

    Dawarich

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    TileServer GL

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    Vector and raster maps with GL styles. Server side rendering by Mapbox GL Native. Map tile server for Mapbox GL JS, Android, iOS, Leaflet, OpenLayers, GIS via WMTS, etc.

    Actively maintained
    Real momentum
    BSD-2-Clause

    Competing with free? Check the market first.

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