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CARTO vs Google Maps vs Leaflet: What are the differences?
Introduction: When comparing CARTO, Google Maps, and Leaflet, there are key differences that set each mapping platform apart. These differences play crucial roles in determining which platform may best suit your specific mapping needs.
Data Visualization Abilities: CARTO excels in data visualization, allowing users to easily create interactive maps with multiple layers, customize styling, and incorporate various data sources. Google Maps and Leaflet also offer data visualization capabilities but are more limited in comparison, making CARTO a preferred choice for users needing advanced visualization features.
Geocoding and Routing: Both Google Maps and Leaflet provide geocoding services and routing functionality out of the box, enabling users to easily incorporate location-based services into their applications. CARTO, on the other hand, offers limited geocoding and routing capabilities, making it less ideal for projects requiring extensive use of geospatial data.
Map Customization Options: While Google Maps provides a wide range of customization options through its API, Leaflet offers unparalleled control over map styling and functionality through its open-source framework. CARTO strikes a balance between the two, offering a user-friendly interface for customization without the need for extensive coding.
Pricing Structure: Google Maps offers a free tier for basic usage but can become costly as API usage increases, especially for commercial applications. Leaflet, being open-source, is free to use with no licensing fees. CARTO, on the other hand, operates on a subscription-based pricing model, offering different plans tailored to individual or enterprise needs.
Offline Mapping Capabilities: CARTO lacks robust offline mapping capabilities compared to Google Maps and Leaflet, which both support offline map storage and viewing through various plugins and libraries. This feature can be crucial for users working in environments with limited or no internet connectivity.
Community Support and Documentation: While Google Maps and Leaflet benefit from larger user communities and extensive documentation, CARTO may have fewer community-contributed resources and tutorials available. This factor can influence the ease of troubleshooting issues and implementing advanced features within each mapping platform.
In Summary, when choosing between CARTO, Google Maps, and Leaflet, consider factors such as data visualization capabilities, geocoding and routing functionality, customization options, pricing structure, offline mapping capabilities, and community support to determine which platform best aligns with your specific mapping requirements.
I would like to input a spreadsheet with names and associated addresses into a map program to; pinpoint all of the locations on a map. How can I do that? On which map? Are there field size limitations? All help would be appreciated.
There is a subdivision that is about one(1) mile by 3/4 mile in size. Is there a map program that would create the most efficient way to drive all of the streets in the subdivision without a lot of doubling back?
You could use a low-code platform to read the spreadsheet and use them as input for the pin pointing. The most expert provider would HERE or TomTom for the best routing algoritmes. Input parameters would be dependent on the chosen provider.
I see your stack is mostly Google and I am not familiar with that. But we have implemented this through the M365 Teams/SharePoint, Excell, MS PowerPlatform, our WMS and Azure.
From a StackShare Community member: "We're a team of two starting to write a mobile app. The app will heavily rely on maps and this is where my partner and I are not seeing eye-to-eye. I would like to go with an open source solution like OpenStreetMap that is used by Apple & Foursquare. He would like to go with Google Maps since more apps use it and has better support (according to him). Mapbox is also an option but I don’t know much about it."
I use Mapbox because We need 3D maps and navigation, it has a great plugin for React and React Native which we use. Also the Mapbox Geocoder is great.
I use OpenStreetMap because that has a strong community. It takes some time to catch up with Google Maps, but OpenStreetMap will become great solution.
Google Maps is best because it is practically free (they give you $300 in free credits per month and it's really hard to go over the free tier unless you really mean business) and it's the best!
I use Google Maps because it has a lot of great features such as Google's rich APIs, geolocation functions, navigation search feature, street map view, auto-generated 3D city map.
I use OpenStreetMap because i have the control of the environment, using Docker containers or bare-metal servers.
Pros of CARTO
- Crisp UI1
- Great customer service1
- Comprehensive platform1
Pros of Google Maps
- Free253
- Address input through maps api136
- Sharable Directions82
- Google Earth47
- Unique46
- Custom maps designing3
Pros of Leaflet
- Light weight34
- Free29
- Evolutive via plugins12
- OpenStreetMap11
- Strong community10
- Choice of map providers7
- Easy API6
- Alternative to Google Maps3
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Cons of CARTO
Cons of Google Maps
- Google Attributions and logo5
- Only map allowed alongside google place autocomplete2
Cons of Leaflet
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