esm7_obsidian-map-view/docs/vs-leaflet.md

Map View vs. Obsidian Leaflet

Users adding mapping capabilities to Obsidian may also want to look at the great Obsidian Leaflet plugin. Both plugins use Leaflet.js as their visual engine, but they represent different approaches.

What's Similar

• Both support creating maps from your notes or a folder of notes, with extensive customization options.
• Both support creating maps for specific use cases (e.g. trip planning), from a focused set of notes, and embedding maps in notes.

What's Different

	Map View	Obsidian Leaflet
Primary interface	GUI-driven view (like Obsidian's Graph View)	Code block-driven
Customization	Through a rich GUI	Mainly via code block parameters
Multiple locations per note	Yes — inline syntax with individual tags	Focused on one geolocation per note (more locations can be added to the map code block itself)
Purpose	Research & query tool — interactive filtering, trip planning, geographic insights	Presenting fine-grained customizable maps
Geolocation search	Built-in powerful location search tools	Not a focus
Display rules	Query-based rules: "color all #food/* items red", "give #food/pizza a pizza icon"	Icons assigned individually or by global tag
GPX / GeoJSON / overlays	Yes, via stand-alone files or inline	Yes
TTRPG / custom maps	Possible but less natural	More suitable

Which Should I Use?

• Map View is the better choice if you want to use your notes as a personal geographic database — collecting places, querying them with complex filters, and navigating your knowledge geographically.
• Obsidian Leaflet may be the better choice if you want maximum control over a specific map's visual presentation, especially for non-geographic maps (TTRPG, custom worlds).

The two plugins are not mutually exclusive — some users run both.