Format comparison
GML vs FlatGeobuf: OGC XML vs Modern Binary
GML and FlatGeobuf are both open geospatial formats, but they represent opposite design philosophies. GML prioritizes standards compliance and schema validation via verbose XML. FlatGeobuf prioritizes performance — compact binary encoding, spatial indexing, and HTTP range streaming.
Advertisement (728×90)
Bottom line
Use GML for OGC WFS compliance and government data exchange. Use FlatGeobuf for performance-critical web GIS delivery.
GML vs FlatGeobuf: feature comparison
| Feature | GML | FlatGeobuf |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | XML text | Binary |
| Standard body | OGC GML 3.x | OGC Community Standard |
| File size | Very verbose | Very compact |
| Schema validation | Yes (XSD) | No |
| Spatial index | No | Yes (Hilbert R-tree) |
| HTTP streaming | No | Yes |
| WFS server output | Yes | No |
GMLWhen to use GML
- OGC WFS services
- Government INSPIRE datasets
- Schema-validated data exchange
FlatGeobufWhen to use FlatGeobuf
- Web GIS data delivery via CDN
- Large datasets requiring fast spatial queries
- Modern cloud-native GIS pipelines
Convert between GML and FlatGeobuf
Frequently asked questions
Q.Can I convert GML to FlatGeobuf online?
Yes. Maparz converts GML to FlatGeobuf — upload your .gml and download a .fgb file.
Q.Is FlatGeobuf an OGC standard?
FlatGeobuf was adopted as an OGC Community Standard in 2021, so both GML and FlatGeobuf have official OGC status — but they target very different use cases.