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The best free geocoding APIs available: Ultimate list
June 27, 2024
DVS Roopesh
Finding the best free geocoding API can significantly enhance the accuracy and efficiency of your location-based applications. Whether you’re working on mapping services, logistics, or location data visualization, a reliable geocoding API is essential. In this guide, we’ll explore the best free geocoding APIs available, highlighting their key features, free tier limitations, and pricing plans to help you make an informed decision.
Overview: A reliable geocoding API known for its global coverage and precision.
Features: Global coverage, dynamic address sub-fields, lightning-fast conversion, easy integration including environmental data (air quality, pollen, weather, natural disasters heatmaps), scalable infrastructure, high accuracy, and precision.
Free Tier: Up to 3000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Starting from $0.83 per 1000 requests.
Documentation: Ambee’s geocoding API documentation.
Overview: A business-oriented mapping platform with built-in geocoding capabilities.
Features: Fully customizable maps, support for small or large data sets, customizable map positions and zoom levels, and the ability to hide/restrict data viewing.
Free Tier: Up to 2500 requests per day.
Paid Plans: 45 days pass—$250, Pro—$1250, Team—$2500, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://answers.maptive.com/
Overview: Known for simplicity and ease of use, ideal for quick integration.
Features: Real-time geocoding of global addresses, scalable cloud infrastructure, response times of 10-100ms, supports forward and reverse geocoding, batch processing capabilities.
Free Tier: Up to 25,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Basic—$9.99, Professional—$49.99, Business—$99.99, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://positionstack.com/
Overview: A reliable IP address to location API and database service.
Features: Real-time IP address to location JSON API, supports IPv4 and IPv6 lookups.
Free Tier: Up to 100 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Basic—$11.99, Professional—$52.99, Professional Plus—$84.99, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://ipstack.com/documentation
Overview: Open-source geocoding plugins and APIs licensed under the GNU General Public License.
Features: Includes OSM Place Search for address lookups.
Free Tier: No usage limits as it is open-source.
Paid Plans: Not available.
Documentation: https://www.qgis.org/en/docs/
Overview: A highly reliable and widely used geocoding API with detailed results.
Features: Converts addresses to coordinates and vice versa (reverse geocoding), autocomplete functionality, supports multiple languages, and provides detailed place information.
Free Tier: Up to 28,500 requests per month.
Paid Plans: $5.00 per 1,000 requests for up to 100,000 requests, $4.00 per 1,000 requests for 100,001–500,000 requests, custom pricing for 500,000+ requests.
Documentation: https://developers.google.com/maps/
Overview: Converts addresses into coordinates displayed on a map for visualizing search results and viewing address lists.
Features: Allows users to visualize search results and view address lists.
Free Tier: Up to 10,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://docs.traveltime.com/api/
Overview: Offers batch geocoding using services like Google, supporting various data formats.
Features: Batch geocoding of multiple addresses.
Free Tier: Free to use with limitations on batch processing.
Paid Plans: Not available.
Documentation: https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/tutorials/
Overview: A cost-effective geocoding service popular among startups and small businesses.
Features: High-accuracy geocoding, reverse geocoding, maps, batch geocoding, multiple language support.
Free Tier: Up to 5,000 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Maps Lite—$45, Developer—$100, Startup—$200, Growth Plus—$500, Business Plus—$950, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://docs.locationiq.com/docs/
Overview: Provides high-quality geocoding with global data coverage and customization options.
Features: High-quality geocoding, global data coverage, customization options, and additional location-based services.
Free Tier: Up to 100,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: $5.00 per 1,000 requests for 1-500,000 requests, $4.00 per 1,000 requests for 500,001+ requests, contact for custom pricing for 1,000,000+ requests.
Documentation: https://docs.mapbox.com/api/maps/
Overview: Free and open-source geocoding service based on OpenStreetMap data.
Features: Global coverage and flexible customization options.
Free Tier: No official limits, but usage policies recommend moderate use.
Paid Plans: Not available.
Documentation: https://nominatim.org/release-docs/latest/api/Overview/
Overview: A robust geocoding API from a company known for its GPS devices.
Features: Reliable geocoding services with global coverage, reverse geocoding, batch processing capabilities, and detailed place information.
Free Tier: Up to 2,500 non-tile and 50,000 tile requests per day.
Paid Plans: €0.75 per 1,000 requests, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://developer.tomtom.com/
Overview: A powerful mapping service with a robust and feature-rich geocoding API.
Features: Comprehensive geocoding with rich location data, high accuracy, detailed results, and forward and reverse geocoding.
Free Tier: Up to 30,000 transactions per month.
Paid Plans: $0.830 per 1,000 requests for 30,001 to 5,000,000 requests, $0.660 per 1,000 requests for 5,000,001 to 10,000,000 requests, contact for custom pricing for 10,000,001+ requests.
Documentation: https://www.here.com/docs/
Overview: Combines multiple data sources, ideal for those who prefer open data.
Features: Global coverage, forward and reverse geocoding, supports multiple languages and formats.
Free Tier: Up to 2,500 requests per day.
Paid Plans: X-Small—$50 per month, Small—$125 per month, Medium—$500 per month, Large—$1,000 per month, Enterprise—from $2,000 per month.
Documentation: https://opencagedata.com/api
Overview: Offers reliable geocoding services— a veteran in the online maps industry.
Features: Geocoding and reverse geocoding services, detailed place information, and support batch geocoding.
Free Tier: Up to 15,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Basic—$119 per month, Plus—$249 per month, Business—$499 per month, Business Plus—$949 per month, Enterprise—contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: hhttps://developer.mapquest.com/
Overview: Offers high-accuracy geocoding with customizable options.
Features: High-accuracy geocoding with customizable options.
Free Tier: Up to 3,000 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://apidocs.geoapify.com/docs/
Overview: Provides enterprise-level geocoding services with high precision.
Features: Enterprise-level geocoding services with high precision.
Free Tier: Available with limited requests.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://docs.shippingapi.pitneybowes.com
Overview: Offers geocoding and routing services.
Features: Geocoding and routing services.
Free Tier: Up to 2,000 requests.
Paid Plans: Territory Manager—€6,000, API—from €6,000.
Documentation: https://mynomadia.com/doc/gcweb/
Overview: An open-source geospatial JavaScript library with geocoding capabilities.
Features: Open-source geospatial JavaScript library with geocoding capabilities.
Free Tier: No specific limits as it is open-source.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://openlayers.org/doc/
Overview: Provides high-accuracy geocoding and reverse geocoding services.
Features: High-accuracy geocoding and reverse geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 2,500 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Basic—$50, Professional—$900, Enterprise—custom pricing.
Documentation: https://developer.precisely.com/
Overview: A basic but reliable geocoding API for US addresses.
Features: Reliable for US addresses and straightforward API.
Free Tier: Free to use with no explicit limits.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/technical-documentation/
Overview: Provides high-accuracy geocoding with global coverage.
Features: High-accuracy geocoding with global coverage.
Free Tier: Available with limited requests.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://developers.sygic.com/maps-sdk/
Overview: Accurate geocoding and address validation services.
Features: Provides high-accuracy geocoding and address validation.
Free Tier: Up to 1,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Business—$20, Professional—$200, Unlimited—contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://www.smarty.com/docs
Overview: Geocoding with boundary data for various regions.
Features: Integrates boundary data with geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 50 requests per day.
Paid Plans: $27 for 5,000 requests per day, $55 for 20,000 requests per day, and $95 for 200,000 requests per day.
Documentation: https://www.boundaries.io/
Overview: Focuses on city data for geocoding.
Features: Specializes in geocoding and information on city data.
Free Tier: Up to 86,400 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Pro—$10 per month, Pro GQL—$15 per month, Ultra—$25 per month, Ultra GQL—$30 per month, Self-Hosted—$50 per month.
Documentation: http://geodb-cities-api.wirefreethought.com/
Overview: Geocoding and routing services with travel time data.
Features: Includes geocoding, routing, and travel time calculations.
Free Tier: Up to 1,500 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Professional—44.12€ per month, Ultra—89.14€ per month, Mega—359.25€ per month.
Documentation: https://truewayapi.com/
Overview: Integrates geocoding with weather data.
Features: Combines geocoding services with weather data.
Free Tier: Up to 1,000,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://openweathermap.org/api/
Overview: Free and simple geocoding services.
Features: Provides straightforward geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 1,000,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: For 3,000,000 requests per month—$39, for 12,500,000 requests per month—$100, for 25,000,000 requests per month—$170.
Documentation: https://geocode.maps.co/
Overview: Geocoding with distance matrix calculations.
Features: Includes geocoding and distance matrix features.
Free Tier: Up to 1,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: $2 per 1,000 requests up to 100,000 requests, $1.6 per 1,000 requests for 100,001-300,000 requests, $1.25 per 1,000 requests for 300,001-500,000 requests, $1 per 1,000 requests for over 500,000 requests.
Documentation: https://distancematrix.ai/geocoding-api
Overview: High-accuracy geocoding with global coverage.
Features: Provides global geocoding services with high accuracy.
Free Tier: Up to 100,000 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Flex—$25 for 500,000 requests, Unlimited—$295 for 5,000,000 requests, Enterprise—contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://docs.maptiler.com/client-js/geocoding/
Overview: Integrates geocoding with weather forecast data.
Features: Provides geocoding services with weather data integration.
Free Tier: Up to 10,000 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Standard—€29 per month, Professional—€99 per month, Enterprise—contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://open-meteo.com/en/docs/geocoding-api
Overview: Comprehensive geocoding services with global data.
Features: Offers extensive geocoding services with a wide range of data.
Free Tier: Available with limited requests.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://developer.mappls.com/
Overview: Geocoding with location context and region data.
Features: Integrates location context and regional data with geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 100,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Core pricing starts at $0.50 per 1K calls, and premium pricing starts at $2 per 1K calls.
Documentation: https://radar.com/documentation/
Overview: Full suite of geocoding services and geospatial data.
Features: Provides comprehensive geocoding services along with extensive geospatial data.
Free Tier: Up to 20,000 requests per user.
Paid Plans: $4 per every 1,000 requests.
Documentation: https://developers.arcgis.com/
Overview: Geocoding with public transport data.
Features: Combines geocoding services with public transportation data.
Free Tier: Available with limited requests.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://digitransit.fi/en/developers/apis/
Overview: Comprehensive geocoding and location services.
Features: Provides geocoding and location services within the AWS ecosystem.
Free Tier: Up to 10,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: The price for commercial data providers is $0.040 per 1,000 requests, and for open data, it is $0.035 per 1,000 requests.
Documentation: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/
Overview: Simple and fast geocoding services.
Features: Offers quick and straightforward geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 10,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Learner—$23 per month, Developer—$49 per month, and Business—$159 per month.
Documentation: https://api-ninjas.com/api/geocoding
Overview: Geocoding service provided by Texas A&M University.
Features: Accurate geocoding services offered by an academic institution.
Free Tier: Up to 2,500 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://geoservices.tamu.edu/Services/
Overview: High-accuracy geocoding and address validation.
Features: Provides precise geocoding and address validation services.
Free Tier: Up to 700 requests over 14 days.
Paid Plans: Start-up—$19, Growth—$114, Advanced—$800, Ultimate—$1,650.
Documentation: https://www.loqate.com/developers/
Overview: Geocoding services are part of the Azure ecosystem.
Features: Integrates with Microsoft Azure for comprehensive geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 5,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Up to 500K requests $4.50. Custom pricing for more than 500K requests.
Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/
Overview: Geocoding and mapping services with high accuracy.
Features: Offers precise geocoding and mapping services.
Free Tier: Available with limited requests.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://developer.trimblemaps.com/
Overview: User-friendly geocoding service suitable for small projects and prototypes.
Features: Accurate geocoding and data enrichment, easy-to-use API, forward and reverse geocoding, data appending capabilities.
Free Tier: Up to 2,500 requests per day.
Paid Plans: Pay as You Go at $0.50 per 1,000 lookups, Unlimited starts at $1,000 per month, and Enterprise starts at $2,500 per month.
Documentation: https://www.geocod.io/docs/
Overview: Geocoding focused on locality data.
Features: Specializes in location data for geocoding.
Free Tier: Up to 10,000 requests per month.
Paid Plans: Pay As You Go at $2.50 per 1,000 requests, Pay Monthly starts at $40 per month.
Documentation: https://developers.woosmap.com/
Overview: Comprehensive geocoding services by Yandex.
Features: Provides extensive geocoding services.
Free Tier: Up to 250,000 requests per year.
Paid Plans: Basic—$13,000 per year, Advanced—from $13,000 per year.
Documentation: https://yandex.com/dev
Overview: Geocoding and address validation services.
Features: Accurate geocoding and address validation.
Free Tier: Up to 100 requests on sign-up.
Paid Plans: Essential—$18 per month, Business—$40 per month, Growth—$200 per month, Enterprise—contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://avdocs.postgrid.com/#geocoding
Overview: Enterprise-level geocoding and location services.
Features: Provides robust geocoding and location services.
Free Tier: Up to 100 requests per user.
Paid Plans: Pay as you go—$2.50 per 1,000 requests, or Pay Monthly—starting at $40 per 25,000 requests.
Documentation: www.valueserp.com/docs/locations-api/overview
Overview: Enterprise-level geocoding and location services.
Features: Comprehensive geocoding services for enterprise applications.
Free Tier: Not available.
Paid Plans: Contact for custom pricing.
Documentation: https://help.sap.com/docs/
Overview: Fast and reliable geocoding service trusted by governments and major corporations worldwide.
Features: Forward and reverse geocoding, batch processing for up to 1000 addresses, high accuracy.
Free Tier: Up to 250 requests per day.
Paid Plans: 25,000 calls daily—$30.00 per month, 50,000 calls daily—$55.00 per month.
Documentation: https://geocode.farm/our-apis/
When choosing a free geocoding API, consider the following factors:
Selecting the right geocoding API is crucial for the success of your location-based application. Each of the APIs listed above offers unique features and benefits. We recommend thoroughly exploring their documentation and testing their free tiers to find the best fit for your specific project needs.
Ready to enhance your application with accurate geocoding? Start by trying out Ambee’s Geocoding API today!
For personalized recommendations or further assistance, feel free to contact our team of geocoding experts.
