Geospatial & location analytics · Originally Uber; open-source community project

kepler.gl

Open-source, browser-based tool for visually exploring and animating large geospatial datasets without writing code.

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kepler.gl is a WebGL-powered geospatial visualization tool originally built by Uber's data visualization team and released as open source; it runs entirely in the browser, or can be embedded via its React component built on deck.gl. Users drag and drop CSV, GeoJSON or GeoArrow files to build layered maps -- heatmaps, arcs, hexbin aggregations and time-animated trip playback -- without touching a database or GIS software. It is popular for exploring large point and trip datasets, sometimes millions of rows, interactively in the browser, making it a common first stop for analysts before moving deeper analysis into a database-backed tool like PostGIS or a full GIS such as QGIS.

At a glance

Vendor Originally Uber; open-source community project
Pricing model Open source + paid options
Free tier —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted
Open source Yes (MIT)
Best for Analysts exploring large geospatial or trip datasets visually without writing GIS code.

Pricing

Free, open-source and run standalone in the browser or self-hosted; no vendor pricing.

Pricing has not been verified yet — see the vendor's site.

Features

  • Drag-and-drop CSV, GeoJSON and GeoArrow map creation
  • GPU-accelerated rendering of large point and trip datasets
  • Time-animated playback for trip and movement data
  • Heatmap, hexbin, arc and trip layer types
  • Embeddable React component built on deck.gl
  • Exportable map configs and shareable map states

Integrations

Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026

Alternatives

CARTO Cloud-native location intelligence platform that runs spatial analysis directly inside cloud data warehouses. Mapbox Developer mapping platform providing customizable maps, navigation and location APIs billed on a pay-as-you-go basis. PostGIS Open-source spatial extension for PostgreSQL adding geographic objects, spatial indexing and GIS query functions.

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Terms to know

Data visualization Representing data graphically so that patterns, trends and outliers are easier to see than in a table of numbers.

Related guides

How to choose a geospatial analytics tool Pick a location-intelligence tool by the question you're asking — desktop analysis, a shared map, an embedded feature, or warehouse SQL — not the demo map. How to start with geospatial analysis Coordinate systems, geocoding, spatial joins, and the map design choices that mislead — the fundamentals before you pick a GIS tool.