Addrova

Reverse geocoding API: what to compare

Reverse geocoding turns coordinates into the nearest address. Providers differ less in the idea than in the details that decide whether the answer is usable. This page lists them. It compares criteria, not accuracy: we publish no accuracy benchmark yet.

The criteria

  1. What comes back. A full address, a street, a locality? Does the answer say which? A coordinate in a field has no house number to find.
  2. Distance. Is the distance from your point to the returned address given? Without it you cannot reject a faraway match.
  3. Several candidates. Can you ask for more than one, and are they ordered?
  4. Confidence. Is there a score, and what does it mean?
  5. Coordinates sent in the URL. Reverse calls often carry coordinates in the query string, which proxies may log.
  6. Rate limits and cost. Per second, per day, per month; and whether reverse costs the same as forward.
  7. Storage and attribution rules. May you keep the address you got for a coordinate, and what must you display?
  8. Coverage and source. Official registers or open map data, and for which countries.

How Addrova's reverse endpoint answers

GET /v1/reverse?lat=…&lon=…&limit=… returns candidates with the label, the components, the location, the precision (rooftop for an address point, street for a street geometry, centroid for a hamlet or similar named place, locality for a town centroid), a confidence with a level, the sources, and the distance in metres from your point. Every response carries the attribution of its sources. See the API reference.

Two cautions, from the API's own design:

  • Coordinates go in the URL on this endpoint. Addrova writes no coordinate to its logs (claim ZL-10), but a proxy you do not control might; prefer a server-side call.
  • A confidence value is shown only for a country whose confidence is calibrated; elsewhere, read the level, not a percentage.

A short test you can run

  1. Take 200 points whose address you know, including rural ones and points between two buildings.
  2. For each provider, record the precision, the distance and whether the house number is right.
  3. Count the answers you would have to reject because the distance is too large.

FAQ

Does reverse geocoding cost the same as forward? It depends on the provider; check each pricing page. With Addrova, a reverse call is one request on your plan.

Can I store reverse results? Addrova allows permanent storage with attribution. Check each other provider's terms.