High performance routing engine designed to run on OpenStreetMap data and offering an HTTP API, C++ library interface, and Nodejs wrapper.
License: BSD-2-Clause. Built with: C++, Gherkin, JavaScript, Lua, CMake, Python, Shell, Batchfile, Makefile, AGS Script. Website: http://project-osrm.org/. Source: https://github.com/Project-OSRM/osrm-backend.
sudo apt install build-essential git cmake pkg-config \ libbz2-dev libxml2-dev libzip-dev libboost-all-dev \ lua5.2 liblua5.2-dev libtbb-dev
Self-hosting gives you three things SaaS can’t: data ownership (the files live on disks you control), cost predictability (a one-time setup vs. recurring per-seat fees that grow with your household or team), and longevity (open-source means the app keeps working even if the maintainers move on, since you can pin a working version). The trade-off is that you take on the operational work of running a server, applying updates, and handling backups.
Most self-hosted apps run comfortably on modest hardware — a Raspberry Pi 4, a mini PC, a NAS with Docker support, or a small VPS is usually enough for personal or family use. CPU and RAM requirements scale with how many simultaneous users or how much data you push through Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM). Storage requirements depend on the kind of data you keep; check the README for guidance on data retention.
Last verified: 2026-05-21