{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "azure-maps", "name": "Azure Maps", "vendor": "Microsoft Azure", "vendorUrl": "https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/azure-maps", "kind": "http-api", "category": "maps", "summary": "Microsoft Azure's mapping service. Its REST APIs at `atlas.microsoft.com` cover geocoding, reverse geocoding, place search, routing with traffic, map tiles, time zones and weather, with access by subscription key, SAS token or Microsoft Entra ID.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/azure-maps", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/azure-maps.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/azure-maps.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/azure-maps.json", "repo": "https://github.com/Azure/azure-rest-api-specs", "license": "Proprietary service under Microsoft's Product Terms. The Azure SDK client libraries are MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://atlas.microsoft.com", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "azure-maps-search" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "azure-maps-route" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@azure-rest/maps-search" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@azure-rest/maps-route" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Self-serve. A person creates an Azure subscription and an Azure Maps account in the portal, which issues a primary and a secondary subscription key. The key goes in the `subscription-key` header or as a URL parameter and reaches every REST API on the account. Microsoft Entra ID tokens (scope `https://atlas.microsoft.com/.default`, with the `x-ms-client-id` header) are authorised by Azure roles such as Azure Maps Data Reader or a custom role for one service. SAS tokens (`Authorization: jwt-sas`) last 24 hours at most and carry a rate cap and allowed regions. `disableLocalAuth` turns keys and SAS tokens off.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "$4.50 per 1,000 transactions on every Gen2 meter, after a free monthly amount of 5,000 transactions for Search, Geolocation, Timezone and base map tiles and 1,000 for Routing, Traffic, Weather, imagery tiles and static images (https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices, read 8 October 2026). Fifteen tiles count as one transaction, four route matrix cells as one, and ten autocomplete requests as one. The pricing page says discounts start at 100,000 transactions a month through sales. An Azure account needs a card for identity checks, so there is no card-free start. Gen1 pricing retired on 15 September 2026.", "priceSummary": "$4.50 / 1k req", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the Azure Maps docs, the OpenAPI documents or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 9084, "pypiWeekly": 24564, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/maps/", "openapi": "https://github.com/Azure/azure-rest-api-specs/blob/main/specification/maps/data-plane/Search/stable/2026-01-01/search.json", "capabilities": [ "geo.geocode", "geo.reverse", "geo.places", "geo.routing", "geo.tiles", "weather.current", "weather.forecast" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "freemium", "free-tier", "card-required", "openapi", "oauth", "python", "typescript", "dotnet", "java", "enterprise", "sla", "eu" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.9, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 236, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 67, "payments": 20, "reliability": 81, "schema": 83, "security": 66, "transparency": 74 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Azure Maps publishes OpenAPI documents for every service, per-service rate limits, a 99.9 per cent SLA and written rules on storing results, and Entra ID roles can limit a caller to one service. Place search exists only in Search 1.0, which the newer version has superseded, and the REST client libraries are all beta.", "bestFor": "Teams already on Azure that want geocoding and routing under Entra ID roles and one flat price.", "strengths": [ "Public OpenAPI documents for Search, Route, Render, Traffic, Weather, Timezone and Geolocation in `Azure/azure-rest-api-specs`, with examples on every operation", "Three credential types. Entra ID with built-in and custom roles, SAS tokens with a 24-hour limit, a rate cap and allowed regions, and two rotatable keys", "Default rate limits published per service, 500 requests a second for search, 250 for reverse geocoding and 50 for routing", "The product terms state storage rules in writing. Geocodes may be kept while the Azure account is active, other results for six months at most", "Responses with 5xx, 401, 403, 408 and 429 are not billed, and the October 2026 SLA commits to 99.9 per cent" ], "weaknesses": [ "Place and category search exist only in Search 1.0. Search 2026-01-01, which supersedes it, has geocoding, autocomplete, reverse geocoding and polygons", "Every REST client library is a beta. `azure-maps-search` on PyPI was last released on 12 December 2024", "The authentication guide tells callers to put the subscription key in the URL, and the key reaches every REST API on the account", "An Azure account needs a card and a browser signup before the free monthly transactions apply", "No Retry-After header or backoff guidance for 429 was found in the reviewed documentation, and no API changelog page" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the key in the `subscription-key` header, or use `Authorization: Bearer` with `x-ms-client-id`. The key also works as a URL parameter, which leaks into logs.", "Call `GET /geocode?api-version=2026-01-01` for addresses. It can return 200 with no results, so check `confidence`, `matchCodes` and the entity type before use.", "Use Search 1.0 (`/search/poi/json`, `/search/nearby/json`, `/search/fuzzy/json`) for places. The 2026-01-01 version has no place search.", "Use `eu.atlas.microsoft.com` or `us.atlas.microsoft.com` to keep request data in that geography.", "Don't store route or tile results beyond six months, and never for serving several users. The product terms allow keeping geocodes while the account is active." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 67.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 67, "payments": 20, "reliability": 81, "schema": 83, "security": 66, "transparency": 69 }, "provenanceScore": 78 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install azure-maps-search # or: npm i @azure-rest/maps-search", "http": "curl \"https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2026-01-01\u0026query=15127%20NE%2024th%20Street%2C%20Redmond%2C%20WA\" \\\n -H \"subscription-key: $AZURE_MAPS_KEY\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/geo.geocode", "tool": "https://letme.dev/azure-maps" }, "sameCompany": [ "azure-foundry-fine-tuning", "azure-ai-content-safety", "azure-speech-to-text", "azure-text-to-speech", "microsoft-agent-framework", "microsoft-execution-containers", "microsoft-entra-agent-id", "azure-key-vault", "azure-document-intelligence", "azure-devops-mcp", "microsoft-learn-mcp", "playwright-mcp", "azure-mcp", "azure-translator", "microsoft-graph-calendar", "azure-blob-storage", "onedrive-sharepoint", "microsoft-teams", "dynamics-365-sales", "power-automate", "foundry-local", "microsoft-advertising-api", "microsoft-excel-graph", "outlook-mail-graph" ], "area": "everyday", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Search (geocoding, reverse geocoding, places)", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "5,000 free a month. Ten autocomplete requests count as one" }, { "item": "Routing", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "1,000 free a month. Four matrix cells count as one" }, { "item": "Base map tiles", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "5,000 free a month. One transaction is 15 tiles" }, { "item": "Traffic", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "1,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Weather", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "1,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Static map images", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 4.5, "note": "1,000 free a month" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Microsoft Corporation", "domain": "microsoft.com", "domainRegistered": "1991-05-02", "domainNote": "The API answers at atlas.microsoft.com, with eu.atlas.microsoft.com and us.atlas.microsoft.com for a chosen geography. Docs are on learn.microsoft.com.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/MicrosoftAzure/MCA", "privacy": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement", "statusPage": "https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "expired", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The Product Terms page for Microsoft Azure carries the Azure Maps service-specific terms (navigation, database, caching and storage, attribution, print and broadcast rules) and points to the Data Protection Addendum and the SLA. Our reader saw no effective date on the page.", "The privacy statement (last updated September 2026) names Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052, and Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited in Dublin. It lists Microsoft Azure among the enterprise online services and says the customer's agreement controls where the two conflict.", "No changelog for the REST APIs was found in the Azure Maps docs. The release notes there cover the Web SDK map control, drawing tools and spatial module only, and the docs link to the general Azure updates page.", "https://www.microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt shows Expires 2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z. It points to the MSRC researcher portal, the bounty policy and the coordinated disclosure policy.", "RDAP for microsoft.com gives a registration date of 1991-05-02.", "The Azure status page is shared by all Azure services and its history lists only broad incidents." ], "score": 78 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/azure-maps.json", "live": { "slug": "azure-maps", "probe": { "target": "https://atlas.microsoft.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T02:54:47.421017578Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 223, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 92.37, "uptime30d": 92.73, "p50ms24h": 311, "p95ms24h": 733, "samples24h": 249, "samples30d": 330, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 50, "ok": 45 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 233 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 30, "ok": 28 } ], "outages": [ { "start": "2026-10-09T21:15:56.246049703Z", "end": "2026-10-09T21:34:12.491890137Z", "note": "HTTP 503 server error" } ] }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@azure-rest/maps-route", "version": "1.0.0-beta.5", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:41:50.985227054Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@azure-rest/maps-search", "version": "2.0.0-beta.3", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:41:50.001025557Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "azure-maps-route", "version": "1.0.0b3", "released": "2024-12-12", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:41:48.179006303Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "azure-maps-search", "version": "2.0.0b2", "released": "2024-12-12", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:41:47.918940067Z" } ], "githubStars": 3100, "npmWeekly": 6893, "pypiWeekly": 24496, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://microsoft.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "expired", "expires": "2026-09-23T16:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:16.790821018Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/MicrosoftAzure/MCA", "kind": "terms", "status": 502, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:52:20.023098983Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T02:54:47.421017578Z" } }, "answer": "Azure Maps scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "here-location-services", "name": "HERE Location Services", "vendor": "HERE Technologies", "vendorUrl": "https://www.here.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "maps", "summary": "HERE Technologies' REST APIs for geocoding, place search, routing, matrix and isoline routing, traffic, transit and map tiles, called with an API key or OAuth token. A hosted MCP server, HERE Location Reasoning, exposes 13 of these operations as tools.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/here-location-services", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/here-location-services.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/here-location-services.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/here-location-services.json", "license": "Proprietary service under the HERE Platform Terms", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1", "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Self-serve. A HERE platform account, created in a browser with email verification, lets a person register an app and create up to two API keys, OAuth 2.0 credentials or OAuth 2.1 `private_key_jwt` credentials. REST calls take the key as the `apiKey` query parameter or a bearer token from https://account.api.here.com/oauth2/token. Location Reasoning needs a bearer token on `tools/call` and an account entitlement, and returns 403 without one.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "HERE's docs say a new organisation can get started for free on the Base Plan. The price table at here.com/get-started/pricing is drawn by script and was not read, so no allowance or per-request price is quoted. Support plans run from $50 a month (Developer). Location Reasoning is also sold through AWS Marketplace (checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs index, the Location Reasoning guides or the Platform Terms (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 13, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.here.com", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.here.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.here.com/geocoding-and-search/reference/get_geocode.md", "capabilities": [ "geo.geocode", "geo.reverse", "geo.places", "geo.routing", "geo.tiles" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "mcp", "official", "openapi", "llms-txt", "oauth", "free-tier", "enterprise", "eu", "sla", "closed-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-09", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 58, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 591, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 60, "payments": 10, "reliability": 57, "schema": 87, "security": 65, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "10 July 2026. The Routing v8 changelog marks `mlDuration` as Deprecated and says `return=mlDuration` is still accepted but no longer returns a value. HERE's lifecycle policy says a deprecated feature continues to operate for 6 to 12 months after notice. Three points (https://docs.here.com/routing/docs/routing-v8-changelog.md)" ], "verdict": "Each endpoint page carries an OpenAPI 3.0 definition as Markdown, and HERE publishes 99.9 per cent monthly availability targets and a six-month deprecation policy. The Platform Terms of September 2023 forbid using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, and the price table could not be read.", "bestFor": "Fleet and logistics work that needs truck routing, large matrices, isolines, traffic and transit from one vendor with an SLA.", "strengths": [ "Every endpoint page has a Markdown twin holding its OpenAPI 3.0 definition, indexed from `llms.txt` files per product", "99.9 per cent monthly availability targets published for Geocoding and Search v7 and Routing v8", "Lifecycle policy promises six months' notice before a product is discontinued and 6 to 12 months for a deprecated feature", "OAuth 2.1 `private_key_jwt` credentials alongside API keys, with two keys an app for rotation and trusted-domain limits", "ISO 27001, 27701, 27017, 27018 and 42001 certificates, TISAX AL3, and SOC 2 Type 2 for Platform Foundation and Workspace" ], "weaknesses": [ "Platform Terms section f forbids using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, generative AI included. This matters before any probe is run", "The Base Plan price table is drawn by script, so per-request prices, free allowances and rate limits were not read", "API keys travel in the `apiKey` query parameter", "Results may be cached or stored outside the platform for 30 days at most, and only as HTTP caching headers allow", "Location Reasoning returns 403 unless the account is entitled, and the docs send the reader to an account representative or AWS Marketplace", "The acceptable use policy of January 2022 lists benchmarking and scraping among prohibited activities" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `Authorization: Bearer` with an OAuth token where logs are kept. The `apiKey` query parameter puts the secret in every URL", "Do not store results for more than 30 days, and follow the HTTP caching headers on each response", "Treat 429 and 503 as throttling. HERE says a traffic surge can be throttled for about 10 minutes below the account's quota", "Read `code`, `cause` and `action` in the error body, and quote `correlationId` to support", "For Location Reasoning, send `initialize`, keep the `Mcp-Session-Id` header on later calls, and send a bearer token on `tools/call`" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 58 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 60, "payments": 10, "reliability": 57, "schema": 87, "security": 65, "transparency": 52 }, "provenanceScore": 73 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1/geocode?q=240+Washington+St.%2C+Boston\u0026limit=4\u0026apiKey=$HERE_API_KEY\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/geo.geocode", "tool": "https://letme.dev/here-location-services" }, "area": "everyday", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "HERE Europe B.V.", "domain": "here.com", "domainRegistered": "1995-06-11", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "https://www.here.com/en-gb/terms/here-platform-terms-september-2023", "privacy": "https://www.here.com/en-gb/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.here.com/status", "changelog": "https://docs.here.com/routing/docs/routing-v8-changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The HERE Platform Terms, effective 18 September 2023, name HERE Europe B.V., Kennedyplein 222-226, 5611 ZT Eindhoven, as contracting party, and HERE North America, LLC, Chicago, for customers in the Americas.", "The privacy policy, effective 29 August 2024, names HERE Global B.V. as controller and says it does not apply to personal data processed on behalf of customers. The Platform Terms incorporate it and a Data Processing Agreement published as a PDF.", "The APIs answer on hereapi.com (for example geocode.search.hereapi.com and router.hereapi.com) and the MCP server on hlr.here.ai, both second domains of the vendor.", "www.here.com/.well-known/security.txt returned the site's error page. The security page gives security@here.com and a 90-day disclosure window.", "RDAP for here.com gives a registration date of 1995-06-11.", "legal.here.com/en-gb/terms/here-platform redirects to the September 2023 terms on www.here.com." ], "score": 73 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/here-location-services.json", "live": { "slug": "here-location-services", "probe": { "target": "https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T02:54:57.537414358Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 60, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 55, "p95ms24h": 124, "samples24h": 115, "samples30d": 115, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 85, "ok": 85 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 30, "ok": 30 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.here.com/status", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T00:50:40.516930569Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.here.com/routing/docs/routing-v8-changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:37:28.07952108Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c940c6209b7e" }, { "url": "https://www.here.com/en-gb/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:50:53.049981302Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "bbe0eed0a23e" }, { "url": "https://www.here.com/en-gb/terms/here-platform-terms-september-2023", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:50:55.117836401Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "466d77d5e000" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T02:54:57.537414358Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Microsoft Azure", "b": "HERE Technologies", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://atlas.microsoft.com", "b": "https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$4.50 per 1,000 requests", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for geocoding" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under Microsoft's Product Terms. The Azure SDK client libraries are MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under the HERE Platform Terms", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "13", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-30", "b": "2026-09-09", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2023-09-18", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-09-01", "b": "2024-08-29", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "9.1k npm/wk, 25k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Azure Maps scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Azure Maps or HERE Location Services?" }, { "answer": "Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Azure Maps and HERE Location Services need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Azure Maps has a hosted endpoint at https://atlas.microsoft.com and HERE Location Services at https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call Azure Maps and HERE Location Services without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 81 against 57", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 10", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 67 against 60", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 63" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where HERE Location Services loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Teams already on Azure that want geocoding and routing under Entra ID roles and one flat price.", "slug": "azure-maps", "watchFor": "Place and category search exist only in Search 1.0. Search 2026-01-01, which supersedes it, has geocoding, autocomplete, reverse geocoding and polygons" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Fleet and logistics work that needs truck routing, large matrices, isolines, traffic and transit from one vendor with an SLA.", "slug": "here-location-services", "watchFor": "Platform Terms section f forbids using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, generative AI included. This matters before any probe is run" } ], "job": { "capability": "geo.geocode", "name": "Geocoding" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-azure-maps.json", "title": "Amazon Location Service vs Azure Maps", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-azure-maps" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-here-location-services.json", "title": "Amazon Location Service vs HERE Location Services", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-here-location-services" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-azure-maps.json", "title": "ArcGIS Location Platform vs Azure Maps", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-azure-maps" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-here-location-services.json", "title": "ArcGIS Location Platform vs HERE Location Services", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-here-location-services" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-geoapify.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs Geoapify Location Platform + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-geoapify" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-google-maps-platform.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-google-maps-platform" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-locationiq.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs LocationIQ", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-locationiq" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapbox.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs Mapbox APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapbox" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapquest.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs MapQuest", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapquest" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-opencage.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs OpenCage Geocoding API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-opencage" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-radar.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs Radar", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-radar" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-stadia-maps.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs Stadia Maps", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-stadia-maps" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-tomtom.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-tomtom" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-here-location-services.json", "title": "Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs HERE Location Services", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-here-location-services" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs HERE Location Services", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-locationiq.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs LocationIQ", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-locationiq" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapbox.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs Mapbox APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapbox" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapquest.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs MapQuest", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapquest" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-opencage.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs OpenCage Geocoding API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-opencage" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-radar.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs Radar", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-radar" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-stadia-maps.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs Stadia Maps", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-stadia-maps" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-tomtom.json", "title": "HERE Location Services vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-tomtom" } ], "scores": [ { "azure-maps": 81, "by": 24, "edge": "azure-maps", "here-location-services": 57, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "azure-maps": 83, "by": 4, "edge": "here-location-services", "here-location-services": 87, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "azure-maps": 73, "by": 1, "edge": "here-location-services", "here-location-services": 74, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "azure-maps": 66, "by": 1, "edge": "azure-maps", "here-location-services": 65, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "azure-maps": 20, "by": 10, "edge": "azure-maps", "here-location-services": 10, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "azure-maps": 67, "by": 7, "edge": "azure-maps", "here-location-services": 60, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "azure-maps": 74, "by": 11, "edge": "azure-maps", "here-location-services": 63, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Azure Maps scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do geocoding.", "verdicts": { "azure-maps": "Azure Maps publishes OpenAPI documents for every service, per-service rate limits, a 99.9 per cent SLA and written rules on storing results, and Entra ID roles can limit a caller to one service. Place search exists only in Search 1.0, which the newer version has superseded, and the REST client libraries are all beta.", "here-location-services": "Each endpoint page carries an OpenAPI 3.0 definition as Markdown, and HERE publishes 99.9 per cent monthly availability targets and a six-month deprecation policy. The Platform Terms of September 2023 forbid using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, and the price table could not be read." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.min.md" }, "markdown": "Azure Maps scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do geocoding.\n\n- Azure Maps: grade B, 67.9/100, rank #236 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/azure-maps.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/azure-maps.json\n- HERE Location Services: grade C, 58/100, rank #591 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/here-location-services.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/here-location-services.json\n- Best maps, geocoding and places APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/maps/index.md\n- All 78 maps comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/maps/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Azure Maps (B)\n\nGood for: Teams already on Azure that want geocoding and routing under Entra ID roles and one flat price.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 81 against 57\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 10\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 67 against 60\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 63\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where HERE Location Services loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: Place and category search exist only in Search 1.0. Search 2026-01-01, which supersedes it, has geocoding, autocomplete, reverse geocoding and polygons\n\n### HERE Location Services (C)\n\nGood for: Fleet and logistics work that needs truck routing, large matrices, isolines, traffic and transit from one vendor with an SLA.\n\nWatch for: Platform Terms section f forbids using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, generative AI included. This matters before any probe is run\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Azure Maps | HERE Location Services | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 81 | 57 | Azure Maps +24 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 87 | HERE Location Services +4 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 74 | HERE Location Services +1 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 65 | Azure Maps +1 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 10 | Azure Maps +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 60 | Azure Maps +7 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 63 | Azure Maps +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **67.9 · B** | **58 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Azure Maps | HERE Location Services |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Microsoft Azure | HERE Technologies |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://atlas.microsoft.com` | `https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| Price for geocoding | $4.50 per 1,000 requests | not published |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under Microsoft's Product Terms. The Azure SDK client libraries are MIT | Proprietary service under the HERE Platform Terms |\n| Tools exposed | none | 13 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-09 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | 2023-09-18 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-01 | 2024-08-29 |\n| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 9.1k npm/wk, 25k PyPI/wk | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Azure Maps.** Azure Maps publishes OpenAPI documents for every service, per-service rate limits, a 99.9 per cent SLA and written rules on storing results, and Entra ID roles can limit a caller to one service. Place search exists only in Search 1.0, which the newer version has superseded, and the REST client libraries are all beta.\n\n**HERE Location Services.** Each endpoint page carries an OpenAPI 3.0 definition as Markdown, and HERE publishes 99.9 per cent monthly availability targets and a six-month deprecation policy. The Platform Terms of September 2023 forbid using HERE Materials in connection with a machine learning or AI system, and the price table could not be read.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Azure Maps\n\n1. Send the key in the `subscription-key` header, or use `Authorization: Bearer` with `x-ms-client-id`. The key also works as a URL parameter, which leaks into logs.\n2. Call `GET /geocode?api-version=2026-01-01` for addresses. It can return 200 with no results, so check `confidence`, `matchCodes` and the entity type before use.\n3. Use Search 1.0 (`/search/poi/json`, `/search/nearby/json`, `/search/fuzzy/json`) for places. The 2026-01-01 version has no place search.\n4. Use `eu.atlas.microsoft.com` or `us.atlas.microsoft.com` to keep request data in that geography.\n5. Don't store route or tile results beyond six months, and never for serving several users. The product terms allow keeping geocodes while the account is active.\n\n### HERE Location Services\n\n1. Send `Authorization: Bearer` with an OAuth token where logs are kept. The `apiKey` query parameter puts the secret in every URL\n2. Do not store results for more than 30 days, and follow the HTTP caching headers on each response\n3. Treat 429 and 503 as throttling. HERE says a traffic surge can be throttled for about 10 minutes below the account's quota\n4. Read `code`, `cause` and `action` in the error body, and quote `correlationId` to support\n5. For Location Reasoning, send `initialize`, keep the `Mcp-Session-Id` header on later calls, and send a bearer token on `tools/call`\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Azure Maps or HERE Location Services?\n\nAzure Maps scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do Azure Maps and HERE Location Services need an API key?\n\nBoth take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.\n\n### Can an agent call Azure Maps and HERE Location Services without installing anything?\n\nYes. Azure Maps has a hosted endpoint at https://atlas.microsoft.com and HERE Location Services at https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"azure-maps\", \"b\": \"here-location-services\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare azure-maps here-location-services`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/azure-maps.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/here-location-services.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Azure Maps or HERE Location Services\n\n- [Amazon Location Service vs Azure Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-azure-maps.md)\n- [Amazon Location Service vs HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-here-location-services.md)\n- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Azure Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-azure-maps.md)\n- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-here-location-services.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs Geoapify Location Platform + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-geoapify.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-google-maps-platform.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-locationiq.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs Mapbox APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapbox.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapquest.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-opencage.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-radar.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-stadia-maps.md)\n- [Azure Maps vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-tomtom.md)\n- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-here-location-services.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-locationiq.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs Mapbox APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapbox.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapquest.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-opencage.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-radar.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-stadia-maps.md)\n- [HERE Location Services vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-tomtom.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Azure Maps vs HERE Location Services", "url": "" } ], "description": "Azure Maps scores 67.9 (B) to HERE Location Services's 58 (C) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Azure Maps B 67.9", "HERE Location Services C 58", "scores" ], "h1": "Azure Maps vs HERE Location Services", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.png", "path": "/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Azure Maps vs HERE Location Services for AI agents (2026)", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2600, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }