# Cartes

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Cartes and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free, ad-free, open-source web map on OpenStreetMap, liked for search and privacy. Critics mainly note missing editing features and browser history pollution.

## Why people recommend it

- Privacy-focused, open-source, no ads (2 comments): "privacy focused and 100 % Web and open-source, no ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49507963)) "To fund an open-source and open-data business, yes." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48842765))
- Clean light and dark themes (2 comments): "I usually prefer lighter themes, but this one would be more than ok for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47961190)) "Very pretty! Muted palette in light mode, but nice dark mode too!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47964366))
- Useful UI over OpenStreetMap data (2 comments): "Both projects have a similar goal, to offer a more useful UI around using an OSM based map." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49921885)) "it's a step away from most OSM styles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47960662))

## What people warn about

- Lag, freezing, and heavy load (3 comments): "The site seems to be under heavy load, so I couldn't see it all." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50245685)) "God damn that sticks to your finger. Lovely touch latency." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48682176)) "The tab froze, tried multiple times." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49299776))
- Map moves pollute browser history (2 comments): "I also find it annoying when websites capture my choice to leave clicking the back button." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49309450)) "Every move/zoom in the map causes it to pollute the browser history." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49302019))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Google Maps](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-maps.md): 272 recommend
- [Apple Maps](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-maps.md): 145 recommend
- [Mapy.com](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mapy-com.md): 12 recommend
- [Magic Earth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/magic-earth.md): 7 recommend
- [Maps on WatchOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/maps-on-watchos-app.md): 7 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://cartes.app/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Cartes", https://hackerapproved.com/p/cartes-app/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).