OpenStreetMap web editor
Shares rank 5 of 7 map editors by recommenders
A free, browser-based editor for OpenStreetMap that people find easy to learn for their first edits. One critic found it confusing and difficult.
5 people recommended OpenStreetMap web editor in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
3 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”.
Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 3 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 3 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 3 of its 5 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 5 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Beginner-friendly and easy to learn
“the web editor is probably the most beginner-friendly editor”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “CoMaps – FOSS Offline Maps” “OpenStreetMap iD is probably the easiest to learn.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “StreetComplete: Fixing OpenStreetMap, one tiny quest at a time” Good for quick first edits
“in about ten minutes used the visual editor to paint in the driveway”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap” Works directly on openstreetmap.org
“just use the editor on openstreetmap.org”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Make your first edit to OpenStreetMap”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Confusing and difficult to use
“I tried editing through OSM and found it confusing and difficult.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “MapComplete – Contibute to OpenStreetMaps”
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 | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every Door | 19 | 2 | 4 | 83% | 8 | — | Approved |
| MapComplete | 16 | 0 | 2 | 89% | 7 | — | Approved |
| iD editor | 11 | 0 | 3 | 79% | 6 | — | — |
| JOSM | 9 | 2 | 11 | 45% | 4 | — | — |
| OpenStreetMap web editorThis page | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“in about ten minutes used the visual editor to paint in the driveway”
“just use the editor on openstreetmap.org”
“OpenStreetMap iD is probably the easiest to learn.”
“the web editor is probably the most beginner-friendly editor”
“I tried editing through OSM and found it confusing and difficult.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.