About Openrouteservice
Openrouteservice is an open source route planner API that provides a variety of geo-services including directions, geocoding, isochrones, matrix calculations, points of interest, elevation data, and optimization. It uses user-generated and collaboratively collected free geographic data from OpenStreetMap.org.
The service is free to use and offers SDKs for Python, JavaScript, R, and QGIS. It is suitable for developers and organizations needing routing and spatial analysis, with applications in disaster management, accessibility analysis, and fleet scheduling.
Key features
- Directions, geocoding, isochrones, matrix, snap, points of interest, elevation, and optimization endpoints
- Export endpoint for routing graph analysis
- Free to use with up to 500 isochrones per day
- Open source with Docker compose setup and JAR run option
- SDKs for Python, JavaScript, R, and QGIS plugin
Good fit for
- Disaster response fleet scheduling
- Healthcare access analysis
- Accessibility analysis for urban planning
Openrouteservice: questions and answers
- What is Openrouteservice used for?
- Openrouteservice is an open source API for routing, geocoding, isochrones, and other geo-services using OpenStreetMap data. It is a good fit for disaster response fleet scheduling, healthcare access analysis and accessibility analysis for urban planning.
- Is Openrouteservice open source?
- Yes. Openrouteservice is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at GIScience/openrouteservice and is written mainly in Java.
- Is Openrouteservice free?
- Yes. Openrouteservice is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
- Can I self-host Openrouteservice?
- Yes. Openrouteservice can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
- What is Openrouteservice an alternative to?
- Openrouteservice is an open-source alternative to Komoot and Ride with GPS. Other open-source alternatives to Komoot include OsmAnd, Wanderer and Organic Maps.
- Is Openrouteservice actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Openrouteservice was on 13 October 2026, and the latest release is v10.0.1, published on 24 September 2026. The project has 2k stars on GitHub.
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