{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "google-maps-platform", "name": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP", "vendor": "Google", "vendorUrl": "https://mapsplatform.google.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "maps", "summary": "Geocoding, Places API (New) for text, nearby and detail search, Routes for routes and matrices, Address Validation, static maps and map tiles.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-maps-platform", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-maps-platform.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-maps-platform.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-maps-platform.json", "repo": "https://github.com/googlemaps/google-maps-services-python", "license": "Apache-2.0 (client libraries)", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://maps.googleapis.com", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@googlemaps/google-maps-services-js" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "googlemaps" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "An API key per Cloud project. The classic web services (Geocoding, Static Maps) take it as the key query parameter, Places API (New), Routes and Grounding Lite take it in the X-Goog-Api-Key header. Grounding Lite also accepts OAuth 2.0 with the maps-platform.mapstools scope.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Billed per 1,000 events with a free monthly cap on each SKU, 10,000 for Essentials, 5,000 for Pro and 1,000 for Enterprise SKUs. First-tier prices are Geocoding $5, Place Details Essentials $5, Pro $17 and Enterprise $20, Text Search Pro $32 and Enterprise $35, Nearby Search Pro $32, Autocomplete Requests $2.83, Address Validation Pro $17, Compute Routes and Route Matrix $5, $10 or $15 by tier, Static Maps $2, Dynamic Maps $7 and 2D Map Tiles $0.60. Text Search Essentials (IDs Only) is free with no cap. The Maps Grounding Lite SKU is $7 per 1,000 after 10,000 free, stepping down to $2.80 above 5 million (https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$5 / 1k req", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 5, "popularity": { "githubStars": 5000, "npmWeekly": 1193020, "pypiWeekly": 747555, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation", "capabilities": [ "geo.geocode", "geo.reverse", "geo.places", "geo.routing", "geo.tiles" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "mcp", "official", "oauth", "typescript", "python", "card-required", "enterprise", "closed-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-08-06", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 68.2, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 227, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 85, "schema": 77, "security": 67, "transparency": 72 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Maps Grounding Lite is GA, hosted, and takes an X-Goog-Api-Key header or OAuth with the maps-platform.mapstools scope. A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply.", "bestFor": "Best when the answer has to match what the user sees in Google Maps, for place details, opening hours and reviews.", "strengths": [ "Maps Grounding Lite is GA, hosted, and takes an X-Goog-Api-Key header or OAuth with the maps-platform.mapstools scope", "A 99.9 per cent monthly SLA with credits up to 50 per cent", "Field masks size responses and pick the SKU, and Text Search Essentials (IDs Only) is free with no cap", "Keys can be limited to named APIs and server IPs, and OAuth works for server traffic", "A 12-month deprecation policy with a dated deprecations page" ], "weaknesses": [ "A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply", "Coordinates may be cached for 30 days at most and only shown on a Google map", "No llms.txt at developers.google.com/maps", "Classic Geocoding and Static Maps take the key in the URL", "Places and Grounding Lite return reviews and AI summaries with no prompt-injection guidance" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send X-Goog-FieldMask on every Places (New) and Routes call, since a missing mask is an error and the fields you ask for set the SKU", "Resolve a name with Text Search and an IDs-only field mask (free), then fetch details for the one place you need", "Store place IDs, refetch details, and drop cached coordinates after 30 days", "Retry UNKNOWN_ERROR and OVER_QUERY_LIMIT with exponential backoff, and don't retry INVALID_REQUEST", "Put Google Maps attribution directly after any answer grounded in Grounding Lite results" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 68.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 50, "payments": 20, "reliability": 85, "schema": 77, "security": 67, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 78 }, "connect": { "http": "curl \"https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=10%20Downing%20Street%2C%20London\u0026key=$GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http google-maps https://mapstools.googleapis.com/mcp --header \"X-Goog-Api-Key: $GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "google-maps": { "headers": { "X-Goog-Api-Key": "${GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY}" }, "type": "http", "url": "https://mapstools.googleapis.com/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/geo.geocode", "tool": "https://letme.dev/google-maps-platform" }, "sameCompany": [ "gemini-api", "gemini-embedding", "vertex-ai-tuning", "google-model-armor", "google-imagen", "google-veo", "google-lyria", "google-speech-to-text", "gemini-live", "google-adk", "google-secret-manager", "google-cloud-document-ai", "google-weather-api", "chrome-devtools-mcp", "google-cloud-translation", "google-calendar-api", "firebase-cloud-messaging", "google-drive-api", "gemini-cli", "google-search-console", "google-ads-api", "google-forms", "google-sheets-api", "gmail-api" ], "area": "everyday", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Geocoding", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5, "note": "10,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Place Details Essentials", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5, "note": "10,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Place Details Pro", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 17, "note": "5,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Text Search Pro", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 32, "note": "5,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Autocomplete Requests", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 2.83, "note": "10,000 free a month" }, { "item": "Compute Routes Essentials", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 5, "note": "Pro $10, Enterprise $15" }, { "item": "Maps Grounding Lite", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 7, "note": "10,000 free a month, $2.80 above 5 million" }, { "item": "2D Map Tiles", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 0.6, "note": "100,000 free a month" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Google LLC or a regional Google entity, by billing country", "domain": "google.com", "domainRegistered": "1997-09-15", "endpointOnVendorDomain": false, "terms": "https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms", "privacy": "https://policies.google.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.cloud.google.com/maps-platform/", "changelog": "https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/release-notes", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "The terms name the contracting party through Google's entity table, and Section 21 lists regional entities for Australia, India, Indonesia and Mexico among others.", "The API and MCP endpoints sit on googleapis.com, Google's API domain, not google.com.", "google.com/.well-known/security.txt lists security@google.com and expires 2030-04-01.", "The Maps Platform terms were last modified 26 August 2026 and the service terms 10 June 2026." ], "score": 78 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-maps-platform.json", "live": { "slug": "google-maps-platform", "probe": { "target": "https://maps.googleapis.com", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:52.867115639Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 487, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 525, "p95ms24h": 1041, "samples24h": 250, "samples30d": 2251, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 109, "ok": 109 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.cloud.google.com/maps-platform", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T00:50:37.966501081Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "googlemaps/google-maps-services-python", "version": "v4.10.0", "released": "2023-01-26", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:51.894396685Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@googlemaps/google-maps-services-js", "version": "3.4.2", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:50.903798225Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "googlemaps", "version": "4.10.0", "released": "2023-01-26", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:55:51.707739637Z" } ], "githubStars": 4978, "npmWeekly": 965099, "pypiWeekly": 809667, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://google.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2030-04-01T00:00:00z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:39:28.443612679Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "google.com", "registered": "1997-09-15", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/google.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:50.737985829Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:35:53.242396899Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-06T16:07:25.318972035Z", "fingerprint": "963a87b8e709" }, { "url": "https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:35:51.669367189Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "b114dc62bf50" }, { "url": "https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:33:55.343358746Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:18.066917416Z", "fingerprint": "816ac8ce27d7" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:37:52.867115639Z" } }, "answer": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HERE Location Services leads on schema \u0026 documentation and maintenance \u0026 community.", "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": "2026-10-10T01:37:53.928879812Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 55, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 55, "p95ms24h": 124, "samples24h": 102, "samples30d": 102, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 85, "ok": 85 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 17, "ok": 17 } ] }, "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": "2026-10-10T01:37:53.928879812Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Google", "b": "HERE Technologies", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://maps.googleapis.com", "b": "https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$5 per 1,000 requests", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for geocoding" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0 (client libraries)", "b": "Proprietary service under the HERE Platform Terms", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "5", "b": "13", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-08-06", "b": "2026-09-09", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-26", "b": "2023-09-18", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "2024-08-29", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "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": "5k stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 748k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "2.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HERE Location Services leads on schema \u0026 documentation and maintenance \u0026 community.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP or HERE Location Services?" }, { "answer": "Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.", "question": "Do Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP and HERE Location Services need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://maps.googleapis.com and HERE Location Services at https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1.", "question": "Can an agent call Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP and HERE Location Services without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 57", "Agent ergonomics, 85 against 74", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 10", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 63" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where HERE Location Services loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Best when the answer has to match what the user sees in Google Maps, for place details, opening hours and reviews.", "slug": "google-maps-platform", "watchFor": "A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 77", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 60 against 50" ], "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-google-maps-platform.json", "title": "Amazon Location Service vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-google-maps-platform" }, { "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-google-maps-platform.json", "title": "ArcGIS Location Platform vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-google-maps-platform" }, { "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-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-here-location-services.json", "title": "Azure Maps vs HERE Location Services", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-google-maps-platform.json", "title": "Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-google-maps-platform" }, { "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-locationiq.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs LocationIQ", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-locationiq" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapbox.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Mapbox APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapbox" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapquest.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs MapQuest", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapquest" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-opencage.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs OpenCage Geocoding API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-opencage" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-radar.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Radar", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-radar" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-stadia-maps.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Stadia Maps", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-stadia-maps" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-tomtom.json", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-tomtom" }, { "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": [ { "by": 28, "edge": "google-maps-platform", "google-maps-platform": 85, "here-location-services": 57, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 10, "edge": "here-location-services", "google-maps-platform": 77, "here-location-services": 87, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "google-maps-platform", "google-maps-platform": 85, "here-location-services": 74, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 2, "edge": "google-maps-platform", "google-maps-platform": 67, "here-location-services": 65, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 10, "edge": "google-maps-platform", "google-maps-platform": 20, "here-location-services": 10, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 10, "edge": "here-location-services", "google-maps-platform": 50, "here-location-services": 60, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 9, "edge": "google-maps-platform", "google-maps-platform": 72, "here-location-services": 63, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HERE Location Services leads on schema \u0026 documentation and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do geocoding.", "verdicts": { "google-maps-platform": "Maps Grounding Lite is GA, hosted, and takes an X-Goog-Api-Key header or OAuth with the maps-platform.mapstools scope. A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply.", "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/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.min.md" }, "markdown": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HERE Location Services leads on schema \u0026 documentation and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do geocoding.\n\n- Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP: grade B, 68.2/100, rank #227 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-maps-platform.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-maps-platform.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### Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP (B)\n\nGood for: Best when the answer has to match what the user sees in Google Maps, for place details, opening hours and reviews.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 57\n- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 74\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 10\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 63\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where HERE Location Services loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply\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\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 77\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 60 against 50\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 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP | HERE Location Services | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 57 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP +28 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 87 | HERE Location Services +10 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 74 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP +11 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 67 | 65 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP +2 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 10 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 50 | 60 | HERE Location Services +10 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 63 | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP +9 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **68.2 · B** | **58 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP | HERE Location Services |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Google | HERE Technologies |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://maps.googleapis.com` | `https://geocode.search.hereapi.com/v1` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| Price for geocoding | $5 per 1,000 requests | not published |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 (client libraries) | Proprietary service under the HERE Platform Terms |\n| Tools exposed | 5 | 13 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-08-06 | 2026-09-09 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-26 | 2023-09-18 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2024-08-29 |\n| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | 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 | 5k stars, 1.2M npm/wk, 748k PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP.** Maps Grounding Lite is GA, hosted, and takes an X-Goog-Api-Key header or OAuth with the maps-platform.mapstools scope. A Cloud billing account with a payment method is required before the free caps apply.\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### Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP\n\n1. Send X-Goog-FieldMask on every Places (New) and Routes call, since a missing mask is an error and the fields you ask for set the SKU\n2. Resolve a name with Text Search and an IDs-only field mask (free), then fetch details for the one place you need\n3. Store place IDs, refetch details, and drop cached coordinates after 30 days\n4. Retry UNKNOWN_ERROR and OVER_QUERY_LIMIT with exponential backoff, and don't retry INVALID_REQUEST\n5. Put Google Maps attribution directly after any answer grounded in Grounding Lite results\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, Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP or HERE Location Services?\n\nGoogle Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) on agent readiness against HERE Location Services's 58 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. HERE Location Services leads on schema \u0026 documentation and maintenance \u0026 community.\n\n### Do Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP 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 Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP and HERE Location Services without installing anything?\n\nYes. Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://maps.googleapis.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/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"google-maps-platform\", \"b\": \"here-location-services\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare google-maps-platform here-location-services`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-maps-platform.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/here-location-services.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP or HERE Location Services\n\n- [Amazon Location Service vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-google-maps-platform.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 Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-google-maps-platform.md)\n- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-here-location-services.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 HERE Location Services](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-here-location-services.md)\n- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-google-maps-platform.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 LocationIQ](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-locationiq.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Mapbox APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapbox.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapquest.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-opencage.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-radar.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-stadia-maps.md)\n- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-tomtom.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": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs HERE Location Services", "url": "" } ], "description": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP scores 68.2 (B) to HERE Location Services's 58 (C) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP B 68.2", "HERE Location Services C 58", "scores" ], "h1": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs HERE Location Services", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services.png", "path": "/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs HERE Location Services", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-here-location-services" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2800, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }