What is the advantage of using Stadia Maps over MapBox?
I'm asking because I am a a longtime MapBox subscriber, they develop various client libraries, provide support, and there is interface for map styling. This looks like direct competition.
Good question! We are in direct competition with MapBox, and they are perhaps our biggest competition just based on data sources we use and goals, etc.
We believe there are advantages, though some apply mainly for specific applications:
- Price: We use tier-based plans and soft-limiting instead of purely "you pay for what you use", this allows for consistent bills, even if your traffic isn't always consistent. Thus it's very easy to see how much it would cost each month, without a fancy calculator and ready knowledge of how users behave.
- Asset Tracking: We do not require $500 / month plus usage to use our maps in an internal or asset-tracking application.
- Goals: We want to build a sustainable, bootstrapped business without the requirements of venture capital, etc. This is a key philosophical difference. MapBox is venture-funded and recently raised again, while we're bootstrapped and don't plan to raise VC money. This allows us to exist by providing a quality service to our customers without the need to grow exponentially or incessantly. (This is not a knock against venture funded companies; we just believe there's more than enough room for both philosophies in map services companies.)
> MapBox is venture-funded and recently raised again, while we're bootstrapped and don't plan to raise VC money.
This could be really important. Mapbox is a Softbank rocketship, which is trying to get to the stratosphere but has a big chance of exploding on the way up. If they can't figure out how to become a $10B+ public company, best case they are bought by e.g. Google and shut down 14 months later.
Whereas if Stadia can hit break-even and become sustainable, they could have a smaller but more reliable platform that sticks around.
I'm asking because I am a a longtime MapBox subscriber, they develop various client libraries, provide support, and there is interface for map styling. This looks like direct competition.