Those are the most popular sources, and I've used both!
The first one is the official OpenStreetMap data, which contains the "planet file" - i.e. all the data for the entire world. But because OSM has so much stuff in it, the planet file is a whopping 76 GB, which can take a long time to process for most tasks. I also recommend using the torrent file for faster download speeds.
As a result of the planet's size, the German company Geofabrik provides unofficial "extracts" of the data, which are filtered down to a specific region. E.g. all the data in a particular continent, country, or U.S. state. If you click on the "Sub Region" link it will show countries, and if you click on those it will show states.
The first one is the official OpenStreetMap data, which contains the "planet file" - i.e. all the data for the entire world. But because OSM has so much stuff in it, the planet file is a whopping 76 GB, which can take a long time to process for most tasks. I also recommend using the torrent file for faster download speeds.
As a result of the planet's size, the German company Geofabrik provides unofficial "extracts" of the data, which are filtered down to a specific region. E.g. all the data in a particular continent, country, or U.S. state. If you click on the "Sub Region" link it will show countries, and if you click on those it will show states.