Which open elevation dataset should I use?

28 November 2023

Which open elevation dataset should I use?

Download all the datasets covering your domain and compare each one against known ground-truth values, using measurements of quality that align with your usecase.

That sounds like a lot of work.

You could hire a geospatial consultant to do this for you!

OK but which open dataset should I use?

The best global open elevation dataset (in general, for most usecases, at time of writing) is the Copernicus Elevation Model. It’s 30m resolution, and covers all latitudes. It’s of vastly higher quality than other global datasets (such as SRTM, Mapzen, Aster, AW3D30). At GPXZ we use Copernicus as our base data layer for land elevation.

You can download (a slightly outdated version of) the dataset from AWS and host your own API with OpenTopoData.

Which open elevation API should I use?

The GPXZ API serves up the best global dataset of open elevation data. We’re a paid service, but the data you get is open so you’re free to store, modify, and use the results for commercial purposes.

Which free open elevation API should I use?

OpenTopoData is our sister project: we run a free public elevation API with a small daily quota. You should probably use the Mapzen data source: it’s the best-quality source on the public API.