# ArcGIS Location Platform vs LocationIQ

> ArcGIS Location Platform scores 65.4 (B) on agent readiness against LocationIQ's 60.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. LocationIQ leads on reliability and schema & documentation. Both do geo geocode. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

ArcGIS Location Platform scores 65.4 (B) on agent readiness against LocationIQ's 60.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. LocationIQ leads on reliability and schema & documentation. Both do geo geocode.

- ArcGIS Location Platform: grade B, 65.4/100, rank #259 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/arcgis.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/arcgis.json
- LocationIQ: grade C, 60.3/100, rank #405 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/locationiq.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/locationiq.json

## Which one, for what

### ArcGIS Location Platform (B)

Good for: Organisations already on Esri software, and work that needs demographic enrichment, service areas or fleet routing beside geocoding.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 64 against 55
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 3
- Transparency & trust, 72 against 61

Watch for: The agreement bars benchmarking availability, performance or functionality, and publishing benchmark results, without prior written permission from Esri and its licensors (sections 3.1.b.6 and 3.1.c.6.F).

### LocationIQ (C)

Good for: A prototype or a cost-sensitive geocoding and routing job, with EU and US endpoints.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 65
- Schema & documentation, 78 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No changelog, release notes or blog


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ArcGIS Location Platform | LocationIQ | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 65 | 83 | LocationIQ +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 78 | LocationIQ +17 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 74 | ArcGIS Location Platform +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 64 | 55 | ArcGIS Location Platform +9 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 30 | ArcGIS Location Platform +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 3 | ArcGIS Location Platform +80 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 61 | ArcGIS Location Platform +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **65.4 · B** | **60.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ArcGIS Location Platform | LocationIQ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Esri | LocationIQ (Unwired Labs) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://geocode-api.arcgis.com` | `https://us1.locationiq.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| Price for geo geocode | $0.50 per 1,000 requests | not published |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the ArcGIS Location Platform Agreement. The ArcGIS REST JS client library is Apache-2.0 | none |
| Tools exposed | 8 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-29 | none |
| Terms last updated |  | 2026-03-31 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-07-31 | 2020-05-22 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 392 stars, 65k npm/wk, 33k PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 4.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**ArcGIS Location Platform.** Per-unit prices are public for every service, with a monthly free tier of 20,000 geocodes and 20,000 routes, keys limited to chosen privileges and a 99.9 per cent SLA. No rate limits or OpenAPI description were found, results may not be stored unless the dearer stored geocode is bought, and the agreement bars benchmarking without written permission.

**LocationIQ.** 5,000 free requests a day with no card, commercial use allowed with a link back. No changelog, release notes or blog.

## Before you call either

### ArcGIS Location Platform

1. Send the token in an `X-Esri-Authorization: Bearer` or `Authorization` header. The docs' examples put it in a `token` parameter, which Esri's own best-practice page calls less secure.
2. Set `forStorage=true` on `findAddressCandidates` or `reverseGeocode` only when results will be kept. It needs pay-as-you-go and the Geocode (stored) privilege, and costs eight times the unstored rate.
3. Cap geocoding output with `maxLocations` (default and maximum 50) and `outFields`, because billing counts results returned and the default returns every field.
4. Page place searches with `pageSize` (maximum 20) and `offset`. A nearby or extent search costs $8 per 1,000 requests after 500 free a month.
5. Check the JSON body for an `error` object with `code`, `message` and `details`. Code 499 means the token is missing and 403 means it lacks the privilege.

### LocationIQ

1. Use eu1.locationiq.com for European users or data
2. Add format=json and limit=1 to keep responses small
3. On 429 Rate Limited Second wait a second, on Rate Limited Day stop until the next day
4. Call /balance before a large batch to see what's left of the day's quota
5. Redact the key parameter before logging request URLs

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, ArcGIS Location Platform or LocationIQ?

ArcGIS Location Platform scores 65.4 (B) on agent readiness against LocationIQ's 60.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. LocationIQ leads on reliability and schema & documentation.

### Do ArcGIS Location Platform and LocationIQ need an API key?

ArcGIS Location Platform takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. LocationIQ needs an API key.

### Can an agent call ArcGIS Location Platform and LocationIQ without installing anything?

Yes. ArcGIS Location Platform has a hosted endpoint at https://geocode-api.arcgis.com and LocationIQ at https://us1.locationiq.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-locationiq.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "arcgis", "b": "locationiq"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare arcgis locationiq`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/arcgis.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/locationiq.json

## Other comparisons with ArcGIS Location Platform or LocationIQ

- [Amazon Location Service vs ArcGIS Location Platform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-arcgis.md)
- [Amazon Location Service vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-locationiq.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Azure Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-azure-maps.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Geoapify Location Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-geoapify.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-google-maps-platform.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Mapbox APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-mapbox.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-mapquest.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-opencage.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-stadia-maps.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Azure Maps vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-locationiq.md)
- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-locationiq.md)
- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-locationiq.md)
- [LocationIQ vs Mapbox APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapbox.md)
- [LocationIQ vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.md)
- [LocationIQ vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-opencage.md)
- [LocationIQ vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-stadia-maps.md)
- [LocationIQ vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-tomtom.md)