OSRM

What OSRM is

OSRM is a free, open-source routing engine written in modern C++ for calculating shortest paths across road networks. It can import OpenStreetMap data and prepare transportation behavior through Lua profiles. Supplied profiles commonly cover car, bicycle, and walking travel, while profiles can be customized for other routing needs. The project says continental-sized networks can be handled within milliseconds. Its services include nearest-road lookup, route calculation, distance and duration tables, map matching, trip optimization, and vector tiles. Developers can access these capabilities through an HTTP API, a C++ library interface, or a Node.js wrapper. OSRM can run as an API service or be self-hosted on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The project recommends Docker images as the quickest way to establish a routing engine. Python binding wheels are distributed for Linux x86_64 and aarch64, macOS arm64, and Windows x86_64; other platforms may require compiling from source. The trip service approximates the Traveling Salesman Problem and requires every input coordinate to connect to the network. OSRM is licensed under the simplified 2-clause BSD license and is maintained by its community, with Discord and GitHub used for support and project activity.

Who it suits

OSRM suits developers building routing, mapping, logistics, or travel applications that need road-network calculations. It is also suitable for teams wanting OpenStreetMap imports, customizable travel profiles, API access, or a self-hosted engine across supported operating systems.

Limits

The community demo is limited to reasonable non-commercial use at no more than one request per second, with no uptime, latency, or data-update guarantees. Trip optimization requires all input coordinates to be connected.

Getting started

1. Open the OSRM website
2. Choose API use or self-hosting on a supported platform
3. Use a Docker image for the quickest self-hosted setup
4. Import OpenStreetMap data and prepare it with a Lua profile
5. Connect through the HTTP API, C++ library, or Node.js wrapper

Verdict

Choose OSRM when you need an open-source road-routing engine with OpenStreetMap imports, customizable profiles, and several developer interfaces. Look elsewhere if you need guaranteed demo-server service levels or cannot build software for an unsupported platform.