The Lens

Mapbox GL JS renders interactive, GPU-accelerated maps in the browser that you can tilt, rotate, fly through, and layer custom data on. It renders vector tiles using WebGL, which means smooth 60fps panning and zooming with 3D building extrusions, custom styling, and data visualization layers.

Here's where it gets complicated. Mapbox GL JS v1 was open source (BSD). Version 2+ switched to a proprietary license. You can view the source code, but you can't use it without a Mapbox access token, and that token ties you to Mapbox's pricing. Free tier: 50,000 map loads/month. After that, $5 per 1,000 loads.

There's no self-hosting option for v2+. You need Mapbox's tile servers and API. The library itself loads from npm but phones home for tiles and authentication. Solo developers and small projects: the free tier is generous. 50K loads covers most side projects and small apps. Medium teams: costs become real. A site with 500K map loads/month runs ~$2,250/mo. That adds up fast.

The catch: the license switch burned the community hard. MapLibre GL JS forked from the last open source version and is actively maintained. If you want truly free maps, start there instead.

### Free Tier 50,000 map loads/month. Includes Streets, Outdoors, Satellite, and custom styles. Geocoding: 100,000 requests/month free. Directions: 100,000 requests/month free. This covers most small projects and prototypes.

### Paid - Map loads beyond 50K: $5.00 per 1,000 loads - Geocoding beyond 100K: $5.00 per 1,000 requests - Directions beyond 100K: $5.00 per 1,000 requests - Volume discounts kick in at higher tiers

### Cost Examples - Personal blog with a map: $0/mo (well under 50K loads) - Small SaaS with maps: 100K loads/mo = ~$250/mo - Medium traffic app: 500K loads/mo = ~$2,250/mo - High traffic: 1M+ loads/mo = $4,000+/mo (talk to sales for volume pricing)

### What You Can't Self-Host Map tiles, geocoding API, directions API, all served from Mapbox infrastructure. The JS library runs client-side but requires a Mapbox token and their tile servers. No way around this with v2+.

### The MapLibre Alternative MapLibre GL JS is the open source fork of Mapbox GL JS v1. Completely free. You bring your own tile server (or use free tile providers). No access tokens, no usage-based pricing. The trade-off: you lose some v2+ features like 3D terrain and globe view.

### Verdict Free tier is generous for small projects. Costs scale linearly with traffic. If maps are core to your product, budget for it or switch to MapLibre.

Mapbox GL JS

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Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid

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