Short version. Traccar is the device gateway everyone should start from — Java, Apache-2.0, 200+ protocols and 2,000+ device models. OpenGTS is the older Apache-2.0 alternative with long-tail device support. Fleetbase is a logistics operations suite, AGPL-3.0, PHP. Wialon Local is proprietary and self-hosted, sold as a licence. Routly is AGPL-3.0 fleet telemetry that reads from a gateway rather than replacing one. They are not five versions of the same thing.
The question that sorts them
Before any table: do you need to decode device protocols, or do you already have something that does?
That single question splits the list. Traccar and OpenGTS terminate device connections and turn bytes into positions. Fleetbase and Wialon Local do that and much else. Routly does not do it at all and reads from whatever does.
Answer it first and three of the five stop being candidates.
Side by side
| Traccar | OpenGTS | Fleetbase | Wialon Local | Routly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 + commercial | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 + commercial |
| Source provided | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Stack | Java | Java | PHP | Undisclosed | Node + React |
| Device protocols | 200+ | Large, legacy-heavy | Via integration | Very large, certified | None — reads from a gateway |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free, or $2,500–$25,000 commercial | Licence plus annual maintenance | Free, or quoted |
| Fee tracks fleet size | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Centre of gravity | Tracking | Tracking | Orders and dispatch | Full platform | Telemetry and reporting |
| Multi-tenant | Single tenant | Limited | Modular | Yes | Isolated organisations |
| Community size | 7.6k stars | Long-established, quiet | 2.5k stars | Commercial ecosystem | Small |
Two rows deserve reading twice. Licence is where Wialon Local separates from the rest: it is self-hosted but proprietary, so you host a binary rather than own the code, and it is still licensed by unit count with maintenance on top. And community size is where we are the weakest of the five, which is a legitimate reason to pick something else.
What each is actually for
Traccar — the default starting point
Java, Apache-2.0, a decade old, 200+ protocols and 2,000+ device models. Live positions, track history, basic reports and geofences.
Choose it when you want tracking and little else, for one fleet, and you are comfortable in the database when a question arises the interface cannot answer. For a very large number of fleets that is the whole requirement, and it costs nothing.
Where it runs out is the layer above tracking: commercially meaningful trips, fuel-loss detection, driver scoring, scheduled reports, and isolating customers from each other. The long version, and what happens past a thousand devices.
OpenGTS — the legacy device specialist
Also Java, also Apache-2.0, older, and with device coverage that reaches hardware nothing modern bothers with.
Choose it when you have older or unusual trackers that Traccar does not speak, and legacy compatibility is the deciding constraint. Otherwise Traccar is the more actively developed of the two.
Fleetbase — logistics operations
AGPL-3.0 with a published commercial licence at $2,500–$25,000, PHP, modular: orders, dispatch, routing, driver apps, a storefront layer.
Choose it when your business is deliveries or field service and the core is jobs rather than vehicles. Telematics is one module among several. It is also the largest open-source community in this list after Traccar, which counts. The longer comparison.
Wialon Local — self-hosted, but not open
Gurtam’s on-premise product: a server-based version you host on your own hardware. Very large certified device range, mature reporting, an established partner ecosystem.
Choose it when you need one vendor accountable for device, platform and support, and data residency is the reason you are self-hosting rather than cost or control.
Be clear about what it is not. It answers “where does the data physically live”. It does not give you source, does not let you change behaviour, and does not stop the fee tracking the fleet. Hosting something and owning it are different. Routly against both Wialon products.
Routly — telemetry and what you sell on it
AGPL-3.0, Node and React over PostgreSQL and ClickHouse. Trips classified, fuel drains separated from ordinary burn, driver scoring, reports emailed on a schedule, and every customer an isolated organisation with their own logo on what you send them.
Choose it when you already have a gateway and want the application layer above it, or you are a provider who needs multi-tenancy rather than one deployment per customer.
Do not choose it if you need device decoding — it has none — or if community size is a deciding factor, because ours is the smallest here.
Three ways people actually combine these
The list reads like five options. In practice the useful configurations are:
- Traccar alone. One fleet, tracking only. Free, proven, done.
- Traccar or Flespi, plus an application layer. The gateway decodes; something above it does trips, fuel, scoring, reports and tenancy. This is the arrangement Routly is built for.
- A commercial platform. Wialon, Navixy or similar, where one vendor carries it and you pay per unit for that. Whether that is the right trade is arithmetic, not ideology.
What “open source” is doing in this comparison
Four of the five are open source, and the licences are not interchangeable.
Apache-2.0 — Traccar, OpenGTS — asks nothing of you. Modify it, resell it, keep your changes private.
AGPL-3.0 — Fleetbase, Routly — asks for your modifications back if you serve a modified version to others over a network. Running it unmodified, or modifying it for internal use, triggers nothing. If you plan to resell, read what that means commercially before you build rather than after.
Proprietary — Wialon Local — gives you a binary on your hardware. Self-hosted, not open.
Frequently asked
Which is the best open-source fleet management software?
There is no single answer, which is why this is a comparison rather than a ranking. For device tracking, Traccar. For logistics operations, Fleetbase. For telemetry and commercial reporting on top of an existing gateway, Routly.
Can I run more than one?
Yes, and the common pairing is a gateway plus an application layer. Traccar’s position forwarder sends a copy onward with four lines of configuration.
Is self-hosting cheaper?
Above a certain fleet size, substantially — and below it, no. The crossover arithmetic is here, and it depends on your per-unit price and your ops cost.
Which has the largest community?
Traccar, by a wide margin, at 7.6k GitHub stars and a busy forum. If community support is your main safety net, that matters more than a feature table.
Are we biased?
We build one of the five. The way to discount for it is to check the claims: every figure above links to the project’s own repository, documentation or a published survey, and the two places where we say Routly is the weakest option are in the same table as everything else.
