An overview of basemap services, capabilities, and best practices for developing mapping applications.
ArcGIS Basemap services
ArcGIS Basemap services are location services hosted by Esri that provide basemap data sources for building mapping applications. There are two different types of services: the ArcGIS Basemap Styles service and ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service.
ArcGIS Basemap Styles service
The ArcGIS Basemap Styles service is a data source that provides basemap styles and data for the world. The style format is a Mapbox style or ArcGIS web map and the data are served as vector tiles and/or map tiles depending on the style used. The service supports all of the styles in the ArcGIS Basemap styles and Open Basemap styles family. This includes popular styles such as arcgis/streets, arcgis/navigation, arcgis/outdoor, arcgis/light-gray, arcgis/imagery (satellite), and open/osm-style. You can use the default styles or you can create your own custom styles with the ArcGIS Vector Tile Style Editor. The service also supports displaying styles with a preferred language, worldview, or with places.
Key features
- Styles are available as Mapbox styles and ArcGIS web maps
- Basemap data are vector tiles and/or map tiles
- Style support for all ArcGIS Basemap styles and Open Basemap styles
- Full support for satellite imagery
- Support for accessing and displaying custom styles
- Server-side style preference support for language, worldview, and places
- Requires ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online
To learn more about the service, go to Introduction to the Basemap Styles service.
ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service
The ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service is a data source that provides basemap data as pre-rendered and pre-styled map tiles for the world. Map tiles are also known as raster tiles. The service supports key ArcGIS Basemap styles such as arcgis/streets, arcgis/navigation, arcgis/light-gray, and arcgis/outdoor. The service also supports displaying some styles with a preferred language and worldview.
Key features
- Basemap data are pre-rendered map tiles
- Map tiles are available for different styles
- Style support for key ArcGIS Basemap styles
- Server-side style preference support such as language and worldview
- Requires for ArcGIS Location Platform
To learn more about the service, go to Introduction to the Static Basemap Styles service.
Compare basemap services
The table below shows the key differences between the services.
| Basemap Styles service | Static Basemap Tiles service | |
|---|---|---|
| Product support | ||
| ArcGIS Location Platform | ||
| ArcGIS Online | ||
| ArcGIS Enterprise | ||
| Style families | ||
| ArcGIS Basemap styles | 1 | |
| Open Basemap styles | ||
| Style groups | ||
| Streets | 1 | |
| Topography | 1 | |
| Satellite | 2 | |
| Reference | 1 | |
| Creative | 1 | |
| Style response | ||
| Mapbox styles | ||
| ArcGIS web maps | ||
| Pre-rendered map tiles | ||
| Data type | ||
| Vector tiles | ||
| Map tiles | 3 | |
| Data providers | ||
| Esri and partners | ||
| Open source | ||
| Data updates | ||
| Monthly | ||
| Server styling preferences | ||
| Languages | 4 | |
| Worldviews | 5 | |
| Basemap places | ||
| Developer options | ||
| Client-side style customization | ||
| Display custom styles | ||
| Display satellite imagery | 2 | |
| Dynamic feature rendering at all scales | ||
| Web and native clients | 6 | |
| WebGL clients | ||
| Retina/HiDPI screens | 7 | |
| Older and classic clients | ||
| Low bandwidth usage | ||
| Header and token parameter authentication | ||
| API support | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for .NET | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Kotlin | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Swift | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Flutter | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Java | ||
| ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Qt | ||
| Esri Leaflet | ||
| MapLibre GL JS | ||
| OpenLayers | ||
| CesiumJS | ||
- 1. Only select styles
- 2. Only satellite labels
- 3. Only if data sources are map tile services
- 4. Limited language options available
- 5. United States of America worldview only for select styles.
- 6. Requires ArcGISTiledLayer for ArcGIS SDKs for Native Apps clients
- 7. Not optimized for retina/HiDPI display
Select a service and style
The basemap service you use largely depends on the ArcGIS product and client API you are using, the display capabilities of the client, the functionality required, and the design requirements of the mapping application.
| Service and style | Selection criteria |
|---|---|
| Choose the correct basemap service | The Basemap Styles service is best for modern WebGL clients and APIs that support dynamic rendering at all zoom levels. It also provides the greatest number of styling options such as setting server-side style preferences, client-side styling, and creating custom styles. The Static Basemap Tiles service is best for non-WebGL clients and APIs, clients that prefer a single map tile data source, or clients that function in low bandwidth environments. To compare service capabilities, go to Compare basemap services. |
| Choose the best basemap style | To help choose a style, follow these suggested steps: 1. Select a style family based on data provider: * ArcGIS Basemap styles * Open Basemap styles 2. Select a style group: Streets, Topography, Satellite, Reference, or Creative. 3. Select the style with the most suitable cartographic design and data. For help, go to ArcGIS Basemap styles, Open Basemap styles or ArcGIS Basemap styles (map tiles). NOTE: If you need a more specific style, you can create your own custom basemap style. |
Best practices
When building mapping applications, consider the following to help provide the best user experience possible. These tips will also help reduce unnecessary tile requests, and ultimately, help reduce service usage costs.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Reduce basemap selection | Display the best basemap style when the application starts to prevent users from switching basemaps unnecessarily. Avoid large, mutli-basemap selection options. |
| Fetch basemap styles and data with JSON | Always access the Basemap Styles service to get the latest styles and data. Do not access the underlying data sources directly. |
| Set a reasonable start location and zoom level | Initialize the map extent to prevent users from having to zoom to the appropriate area. |
| Constrain geographic extents | Prevent users from accidentally panning or zooming to unnecessarily. |
| Limit map zoom levels | Prevent users from zooming to unnecessary scales. |
| Use repeatable map queries | Provide reusable and repeatable map zoom and extent queries that take advantage of client and CDN caches. |
What's next?
Learn more about each basemap service.