# Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) vs photon-docker

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) | photon-docker |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 ✓ | 48/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 7 in Navigation | #5 of 8 in Geospatial |
| GitHub stars | 8 179 ✓ | 319 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +74 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 ✓ | 11 |
| Latest release | v26.10.0 · 1 Oct 2026 | 2.5.0 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C++ | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) scores 71/100 against 48/100 for photon-docker, so it is the safer default.

Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 11 for photon-docker.

Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) is growing faster right now (+74 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM)](https://selfhost.directory/project/open-source-routing-machine-osrm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/open-source-routing-machine-osrm.md)
- [photon-docker](https://selfhost.directory/project/photon-docker) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/photon-docker.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/open-source-routing-machine-osrm-vs-photon-docker