# Organic Maps: offline OpenStreetMap navigation for Android and iOS

> Organic Maps is a privacy-first offline maps app built on OpenStreetMap data, distributed through app stores and F-Droid. It suits hikers, cyclists and travellers who leave mobile data off; it is not a replacement for live traffic routing.

**organicmaps/organicmaps** — 🍃 Organic Maps is a free Android & iOS offline maps app for more than 6M travelers, tourists, hikers, and cyclists. It uses crowd-sourced OpenStreetMap data and is developed with love by the community. No ads, no tracking, no data collection, no crapware. Please donate to support the development!

- Repository: https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps
- Website: https://organicmaps.app
- Stars: 15,479 · Forks: 1,604
- Language: C++
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-09-21 · Updated: 2026-09-21 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/organicmaps-organicmaps

## What Organic Maps solves, and for whom

The problem is narrow and practical: you are somewhere with no usable mobile data, and you still need a map, a search box and turn-by-turn directions. Organic Maps answers that by shipping map data on the device rather than fetching it. The README describes it as a "privacy-first offline maps & GPS app for hiking, cycling, biking, and driving" and lists travellers, tourists, hikers and cyclists as the intended audience.

The data comes from OpenStreetMap, so the map reflects a crowd-sourced database rather than a commercial one. The README claims this yields "places that don't exist on other maps", which is plausible for trails and paths that commercial vendors deprioritise, but it also means coverage quality varies by region and depends on local mapping activity. The repository is C++ at its core with Java and Objective-C wrappers for the two mobile platforms, which tells you where the engineering effort sits: one shared rendering and routing engine, two thin platform shells.

## How the offline engine and the map downloads fit together

The repository layout separates concerns cleanly. The generator/ directory holds the tooling that turns OpenStreetMap extracts into the app's map format, libs/ holds the shared C++ libraries, and android/ and iphone/ hold the platform applications. The qt/ directory and the packaging/ directory exist as well, and the project's own README does not present a desktop product, so treat those as build and tooling paths rather than a shipped desktop app.

At runtime the flow is: you download a country or region file, the app stores it locally, and search, rendering and routing all read from that local file. The README states that "Countries and regions don't take a lot of space", which is the design goal behind the custom format, but it does not publish per-region sizes, so you cannot plan storage from the README alone. Routing works offline for walking, cycling and car profiles, and the README lists contour lines, elevation profiles, peaks and slopes as map features, plus subway maps and public transport routes.

Import and export are handled through standard formats. Bookmarks and tracks move in and out as KML, KMZ, GPX or GeoJSON, which matters if you already record tracks in another tool. Wikipedia articles for places of interest are attached to map objects. None of this requires an account: the README explicitly lists no registration, no push notifications and no phoning home.

## Installing Organic Maps on Android or iOS

The README points at app stores rather than a source build for end users. On iOS the App Store listing is the distribution channel. On Android there are five: Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, F-Droid, Accrescent, and GitHub releases through Obtainium, which the project documents in its wiki. F-Droid is the usual choice if you want the build to come from a reproducible open-source channel.

There is no shell install command to run. What you do instead is install the app, then download a region before you leave connectivity behind. The README does not document the download screen step by step, so the exact tap sequence is not something this article can quote.

If you are building the app yourself rather than installing it, the entry point is the repository build system. The top level carries CMakeLists.txt, CMakePresets.json and INSTALL.md, and the README does not restate the build steps, so INSTALL.md is the file to read.

```bash
git clone --recursive https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps.git
cd organicmaps
```

The --recursive flag matters because the repository has a .gitmodules file, meaning 3party dependencies are submodules. A plain clone leaves them empty and the build will fail. The repository also carries a pyproject.toml used only for the black formatter and a package.json used only for prettier over docs and workflow files, so neither is a runtime dependency of the app.

## Where Organic Maps is the wrong tool

Offline-first is a constraint, not a feature you can switch off. Because the map is a downloaded file, it is as current as the last time you updated it. There is no live traffic layer, no incident reporting, and no re-routing around a jam, which is exactly the job Waze exists to do. If your driving depends on congestion data, this is the wrong app.

Search quality tracks OpenStreetMap coverage. In a well-mapped city the offline search is fast and useful; in a region with sparse OSM data, addresses and business names will be missing, and no amount of client-side engineering fixes an absent record. The README does not describe a mechanism for reporting a missing place from inside the app, so correcting the data means going to OpenStreetMap itself.

Storage and update discipline are on you. The README does not document automatic background map updates, and it does not publish region file sizes, so the honest position is that you should check the size of a region before downloading it on a device with little free space. Finally, there is no desktop application in the README's distribution list. If your workflow is planning routes on a laptop, this is not that product.

## How it differs from OsmAnd and from Google Maps

OsmAnd is the closest comparison, and the two make opposite bets. OsmAnd exposes a large configuration surface: plugin toggles, rendering profiles, contour and hillshade settings, and a paid tier that gates some features and download limits. Organic Maps takes the other position. The README's list of negatives (no ads, no tracking, no registration, no mandatory tutorials, no push notifications) reads as a deliberate decision to keep the settings surface small. If you want to tune how the map renders, OsmAnd gives you the dials; Organic Maps largely does not.

Against Google Maps the difference is architectural rather than cosmetic. Google Maps streams tiles and search results from a server, which is why it knows about traffic and newly opened businesses, and also why it knows where you are. Organic Maps holds the data locally and, per the README, does not collect or transmit it. You trade freshness and live conditions for offline operation and no server-side record of your movement.

On privacy claims specifically, the README links third-party audits rather than asserting the point: Exodus Privacy for the Android build and TrackerControl for the iOS build. Those are external reports you can open and read, which is a stronger form of evidence than a promise in a README.

## Maintenance, licensing and what a fork actually costs

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-21, so the codebase is being changed continuously. Recent releases in the repository are Android builds dated 2026-08-27, 2026-07-23 and 2026-07-15. The README states that development is funded by donations and by named sponsors including NLnet, Google Summer of Code, Mythic Beasts, 44+ Technologies and FUTO, and it says plainly that "The current level of voluntary donations falls significantly short of covering efforts needed". That is a candid statement about project finances and worth reading as one.

Licensing needs care. The repository's licence field reports NOASSERTION, which means the platform could not classify it automatically, and the top level carries LICENSE, LICENSES/, LEGAL, NOTICE and DATA_LICENSE.txt as separate files. The practical reading is that code and map data are covered by different terms: the map data derives from OpenStreetMap, which has its own attribution requirements, and the DATA_LICENSE.txt file is where those live. This is not legal advice, and anyone planning to redistribute the app or the data should read those files directly rather than infer terms from the repository's licence field.

The upgrade cost for a user is low, since store and F-Droid builds update like any other app. The upgrade cost for a contributor is higher: the shared engine is C++, and a change to rendering or routing touches libs/ and both platform shells.

## Conclusion

Adopt Organic Maps if you navigate on foot, by bike or by car in places with weak signal and you want your location to stay on the device. Skip it if you need live traffic, constantly refreshed business listings, or a desktop mapping application, because the project ships Android and iOS apps and nothing else. Before relying on it for a trip, download the region you need, check that your device has enough free storage for it, and confirm that the routing profile you want (walking, cycling or car) produces a sensible route for one real journey.

## FAQ

### Is Organic Maps free?

Yes. The README describes the app as "Absolutely free" with no ads and no tracking, and it is distributed through the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, F-Droid, Accrescent and GitHub releases. Development is funded by donations and institutional sponsors.

### Is the Organic Maps app safe?

The README states that the app has no ads, no tracking, no data collection and no phoning home, and it links third-party audits: Exodus Privacy for the Android build and TrackerControl for the iOS build. Those reports are external and can be read directly.

### How do I install Organic Maps?

Install it from an app store: the App Store on iOS, or Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, F-Droid, Accrescent or GitHub releases via Obtainium on Android. Building from source means cloning the repository with submodules and following INSTALL.md.

### How do I use Organic Maps offline?

The app works from map data stored on the device, so you download the country or region you need and search, render and route locally afterwards. The README does not publish per-region file sizes, so check the download size against your free storage before you travel.

### How does Organic Maps compare with Google Maps?

Organic Maps stores OpenStreetMap data on the device and, per the README, does not collect or transmit your data, while Google Maps streams tiles and search results from a server. The trade is that Organic Maps has no live traffic layer and its map is only as current as your last download.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps/issues)
- [organicmaps/organicmaps on GitHub](https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps)
- [Project website](https://organicmaps.app)
- [README](https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/organicmaps-organicmaps