Implementing user-friendly, effective map functionalities can be a challenging task. But, if you know the correct tools, you can make it a whole lot easier.

So, in this article, I will introduce the 5 best map libraries for React with feature comparisons to help you choose the best one for your next project.

0. Bonus: Bit

Before we start our list of recommended map components, here’s a tool that’s made exactly for your component-driven development — Bit.

Using Bit you can develop, source control, publish and collaborate on individual components. That opens up the way to more effective component-driven collaboration and better code reuse across all projects.

1. React Simple Maps — Lightweight Simple Maps for Basic Needs

This React library allows creating SVG maps quickly while taking care of panning, zooming, and rendering functions by the library itself.

React Simple Maps does not rely on the entire d3 library, but it wraps around d3-geo and topojson library, making React Simple Maps very lightweight.

Pros

• This library renders the map as an SVG, which makes it very easy to handle with HTML.
• Extensible with other React components.
• A lightweight library.

Cons

• Performance issues when working with extensive map data.
• Smaller developer community.

This is a well-maintained library and it has more than 44K weekly NPM downloads and 2.3K+ GitHub stars.

Suppose you are a beginner and trying to add a simple React map component for basic needs. In that case, I would recommend React Simple Maps for you.

You can easily install it using npm or yarn:

npm install --save react-simple-mapsyarn add --save react-simple-maps

2. Google Map React — React Maps with Google Map API

Google Map React library is one of the most popular map libraries available for React. This library is fully isomorphic and can render from the server-side.

Google Map React has more than 5K GitHub stars and around 184,000 weekly NPM downloads.

Pros

• Supports custom map markers with hover effects.
• Uses the content-rich Google Map API to fetch map data.
• Isomorphic rendering — map rendering support on both client and server-side.
• If the API is not responding, Google Map React can render basic map components locally in the browser.

Cons

• Requires setting up a Google developer account and API key.
• For production and extensive use, you need to purchase Google Map Service.

If you are looking for a hassle-free map component to integrate with your React app, Google Map React is the perfect solution, and it can be installed using npm or yarn.

npm install --save google-map-reactyarn add google-map-react

3. Deck.gl — Powerful Map Library with Animations

Deck.gl is one of the most advanced high-performance React map libraries available for free. This is based on WebGL and capable of visualizing large-scale map data.

Deck.gl is a highly customizable map library for almost any map requirement because of its easily extensible architecture.

Pros

• Highly extensible and customizable library.
• Performant rendering and updating of large data sets.
• Interactive event handling such as picking, highlighting, and filtering.
• In-built support for different layer types such as icons, polygons, texts; and different views such as first-person, orthographic.
• Supports integrations with major base map providers, including Mapbox, Google Maps, and more.

Cons

• Heavy memory demand from clients’ machines to render a map.
• Less browser compatibility and less cross-platform support.

Deck.gl has more than 45K weekly downloads and over 8K stars on GitHub. It provides good documentation, including all the details about its features and installation.

If you plan to design a React app to process and display a large amount of map data, this might be the best option for you.

You can easily install Deck.gl using NPM or Yarn:

npm install deck.gl --saveyarn add deck.gl

Note: It is reccomended to run a performance test and a usability test for application after integrating this library.

4. React Leaflet — Mobile Responsive Maps for Basic Needs

React Leaflet is a simple map library with out-of-the-box layers customisation support.

This library wraps the existing javascript Leaflet library as a React component, making it simple and mobile-friendly.

Pros

• Simple library with fine-tuned basic features.
• Cross-browser and platform support.
• Layer customizations.
• Mobile responsiveness.

Cons

• Server-side rendering is not supported.
• Direct DOM calls are made during the loading phase, which might be a bummer for handling extensive map data.

React Leaflet has more than 149K weekly NPM downloads and 3.7K GitHub stars.

You can use NPM or Yarn to install React Leaflet:

npm install react react-dom leaflet
npm install react-leafletyarn add react react-dom leaflet
yarn add react-leaflet

5. Pigeon Maps — Performance-First Maps

Pigeon Maps is a lightweight map library developed with the primary objective of providing a performance-first, React-centric extendable map engine.

Pigeon Maps come with Open Street Maps(OSM), MapTiler, and few more map tile providers. But it allows you to integrate with custom map tile providers as well.

Pros

• Lightweight and fast map rendering.
• Custom map tile provider support.
• Mobile optimized map controls.

Cons

• Less extensibility with other components.
• Advanced map customizations are not possible.

Piegon Map has 3.1K GitHub stars with over 3000weekly GitHUb downloads.

If you are looking for a responsive, mobile, and performance-optimized map library, Pigeon Map is your go-to.

You can easily install Pigeon Map using NPM or Yarn:

npm install —-save pigeon-mapyarn add pigeon-maps

Final Thoughts

The above map libraries are only a subset of many available for React. However, I presented 5 handpicked libraries together with their pros and cons. You can find their popularity on GitHub in the below chart.

I hope my suggestions will help you choose the best map library for your project. And don’t forget to share your thoughts after working with these libraries.

Thank you for Reading!!!