this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026
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So everyone's switching to foss alternatives, right?
OSM?
Spread the word, share with your friends, etc.
I recommend CoMaps on Android, (or Organic Maps, which CoMaps forked from when Organic started enshitifying)
CoMaps is awesome.
Curious for myself and the people on the thread, looks like it's based on OSM still. What does CoMaps offer over OSMAnd?
OSM is not really a map app, it's a collaborative geo database. You can build apps of top of it, there are many many such apps. The https://openstreetmap.org/ website isn't really a map app and is mainly tailored for the needs of OSM contributors and editors.
CoMaps is a map app that uses OSM data, and packages it in a nice, offline-first, private, and Open Source app that is quite good and easy to use.
https://cartes.app/ is another app that uses OSM data, but works closer to your regular maps, being online-first, which has its pros and cons. Still quite private and Open Source though.
OSM is not really a map app, it's a collaborative geo database. You can build apps of top of it, there are many many such apps. The https://openstreetmap.org/ website isn't really a map app and is mainly tailored for the needs of OSM contributors and editors.
CoMaps is a map app that uses OSM data, and packages it in a nice, offline-first, private, and Open Source app that is quite good and easy to use.
https://cartes.app/ is another app that uses OSM data, but works closer to your regular maps, being online-first, which has its pros and cons. Still quite private and Open Source though.
I should've been more specific, my fault 😅 OSMAnd vs CoMaps lol, my fault
I wasn't saying it was different from OSM, I was suggesting it as an OSM client.
It offers superior user experience that is almost on par with Google Maps but without being Google Maps (and some things it does better, like more detailed instructions).
It does highlight a lot of glaring issues with the OSM data itself though, be prepared for that - OSM lacks tons and tons of individual street addresses, which is very frustrating. I add them when I can but its too much on my own.
Well, shit.
edit: To be clear, CoMaps and OpenStreetMaps is still leagues better than Google Maps for privacy, respecting users, etc and I recommend people switch. But it’s still a community-run project which means the community needs to participate to keep it awesome.
If we read the rest of that thread they are ~~but~~ not changing the name. They are adding a tag stating it has an alternate name.
Edit: fixed typos.