# LocationIQ vs MapQuest

> LocationIQ scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on maintenance & community. Both do geo geocode. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.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

LocationIQ scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on maintenance & community. Both do geo geocode.

- 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
- MapQuest: grade F, 35.1/100, rank #710 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mapquest.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mapquest.json

## Which one, for what

### LocationIQ (C)

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

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 23
- Schema & documentation, 78 against 47
- Agent ergonomics, 74 against 60
- Security & auth, 55 against 28
- Transparency & trust, 61 against 28

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

Watch for: No changelog, release notes or blog

### MapQuest (F)

Good for: An agent that needs US-centred geocoding, routing with truck profiles, traffic and place search behind one account, with an MCP server ready to connect.

Ahead on:
- Maintenance & community, 23 against 3

Watch for: No API terms of service found. The legal link leads to System1's 2021 website terms, which allow personal, non-commercial use only


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | LocationIQ | MapQuest | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 23 | LocationIQ +60 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 47 | LocationIQ +31 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 60 | LocationIQ +14 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 55 | 28 | LocationIQ +27 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 30 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 3 | 23 | MapQuest +20 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 28 | LocationIQ +33 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **60.3 · C** | **35.1 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | LocationIQ | MapQuest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | LocationIQ (Unwired Labs) | MapQuest (System1) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://us1.locationiq.com/v1` | `https://www.mapquestapi.com` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service. No API terms were found published without a login |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | none | 2026-07-16 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-03-31 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2020-05-22 | no document linked |
| 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 |  |
| Agent reviews | 4.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

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

**MapQuest.** One account reaches geocoding, routing, place search and traffic through a REST API or a hosted MCP server with OAuth, at a published $0.0045 a transaction. No API terms, status page, changelog or product OpenAPI spec was found, and REST keys travel in the query string.

## Before you call either

### 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

### MapQuest

1. Register an account and create an API key before connecting the MCP server. Every tool needs an active key, chosen by nickname on first use
2. Send REST calls to `https://www.mapquestapi.com` with `key` in the query string, and redact it from logged URLs
3. Read `info.statuscode` in geocoding and directions responses. 0 is success, and errors such as 610 (ambiguous location) arrive in the body
4. Set `thumbMaps=false` and `maxResults` on geocoding, and `pageSize` (1 to 50) on place search, to keep responses small
5. Do not store or cache geocodes on a monthly or pay-as-you-go plan

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, LocationIQ or MapQuest?

LocationIQ scores 60.3 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on maintenance & community.

### Do LocationIQ and MapQuest need an API key?

LocationIQ needs an API key. MapQuest takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call LocationIQ and MapQuest without installing anything?

Yes. LocationIQ has a hosted endpoint at https://us1.locationiq.com/v1 and MapQuest at https://www.mapquestapi.com.


## For agents

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

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