Free geocoding APIs compared
A free tier is a trial, a prototype budget or a real plan, depending on three things: the volume, whether you may store results, and whether commercial use is allowed. Here is what the public pages said on 18 October 2026. Prices and terms change: verify at the source. [À VÉRIFIER : relire chaque page le jour de la publication]
| Service | Free tier | Storing results | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Geocoding | 10,000 requests per month | Coordinates cacheable for a limited time; place IDs kept indefinitely | developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/policies |
| HERE Geocoding | 30,000 requests per month | Permanent geocoding sold separately | developers.here.com/plans |
| Mapbox Geocoding | 100,000 temporary requests per month | Temporary: caching forbidden | mapbox.com/pricing |
| OpenCage | 2,500 requests per day, for testing only | Permanent on paid plans | opencagedata.com/pricing |
| Geoapify | 3,000 credits per day, with attribution | Not addressed in the pages read | geoapify.com/pricing |
| Nominatim (public) | About one request per second, no heavy use | Governed by the usage policy and the ODbL | operations.osmfoundation.org/policies/nominatim |
| Addrova | 30,000 requests per month | Permanent, with attribution | this site; not live yet |
How to read the table
- Testing only means you cannot put it behind a product. OpenCage's free tier is for testing.
- Per day vs per month. 3,000 a day is up to about 90,000 a month, but a burst can hit the daily limit.
- Temporary results must be requested again each time. That is a hidden cost when your addresses do not change.
- Attribution is required with OpenStreetMap-based data.
What a free tier does not tell you
Accuracy on your addresses. Test a sample of your own, including the worst ones. Addrova publishes no accuracy comparison yet, so this page makes none.
Which one for what
- Occasional lookups within the rules: the public Nominatim, or the free national service for France (see BAN vs a commercial API).
- Prototype with a mapping product already chosen: that vendor's free tier.
- A small product that must keep its results: a service that allows storage.
FAQ
Is "free" free forever? Not necessarily. Terms change; read the date on this page.