JOSM
Ranked 4 of 9 map editors by recommenders
Power users recommend it as the main desktop OpenStreetMap editor for advanced, capable mapping. Common caveat: it is clunky and hard for beginners.
Power users recommend it as the main desktop OpenStreetMap editor for advanced, capable mapping. Common caveat: it is clunky and hard for beginners.
22 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Powerful desktop editor for advanced mapping
“JOSM is a great power user tool, but this article's recommendation to use it for your first edit is misguided.”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “On desktop, JOSM is the main one, though it takes a bit of figuring out.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “CoMaps: The Offline App That Guided Rescuers Without a Signal in Venezuela” “something like the JOSM desktop editor that has more capability”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “State of the Map 2026” - Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
- Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “From quest‑hunting to cartography: a guide to contributing to OpenStreetMap”
Strong for detailed desktop mapping
“Yes, josm is an ugly java tool but this did not prevent me from doing a lot of mapping back in the days.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “which is, for some things, way better than doing it on-the-walk with a smartphone”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “CoMaps integration with the wider FLOSS ecosystem”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not recommended for first-time users
“JOSM is a great power user tool, but this article's recommendation to use it for your first edit is misguided.”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “Didn't know what the hell I was looking at or for, and uninstalled JOSM.”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “almost anything except JOSM would have been a better starting point”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” - Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
- Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
- Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
Clunky, dated, ugly interface
“Yes, josm is an ugly java tool but this did not prevent me from doing a lot of mapping back in the days.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “It's hard to boot, clunky, and quite clearly has never seen a proper UI/UX designer”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Organic Maps” “that monstrosity of system-hogging, clunk, slow, 1990's UIs”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” Heavy download, may not run
“This app cannot run on this machine”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “300mb java monster application”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” Overkill for simple tasks
“with no real benefit for those tasks vs the editor on the site”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” “just totally unnecessary overkill”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
Other map editors people recommend
The four most recommended other map editors, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every Door | 22 | 4 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
| MapComplete | 16 | 3 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| iD editor | 12 | 3 | 80% | 6 | — | Approved |
| JOSMThis page | 11 | 11 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
| Vespucci | 8 | 2 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
19 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“with no real benefit for those tasks vs the editor on the site”
“Yes, josm is an ugly java tool but this did not prevent me from doing a lot of mapping back in the days.”
“just totally unnecessary overkill”
“that monstrosity of system-hogging, clunk, slow, 1990's UIs”
“almost anything except JOSM would have been a better starting point”
“This app cannot run on this machine”
“I do not recommend JOSM to a new user.”
“Didn't know what the hell I was looking at or for, and uninstalled JOSM.”
“300mb java monster application”
“JOSM is a great power user tool, but this article's recommendation to use it for your first edit is misguided.”
“I mainly chose JOSM for this tutorial because of its filter”
“Using JOSM for your 1st edit is definitely not recommended.”
“I would honestly not recommend beginners use JOSM”
“JOSM is great when you get really into”
“which is, for some things, way better than doing it on-the-walk with a smartphone”
“something like the JOSM desktop editor that has more capability”
“On desktop, JOSM is the main one, though it takes a bit of figuring out.”
“It's hard to boot, clunky, and quite clearly has never seen a proper UI/UX designer”
“the powerful desktop editor JOSM”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.