# Mapbox APIs + MCP vs Radar

> Mapbox scores 75 (BB) to Radar's 53.3 (D) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-radar
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-radar.md (~2,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-radar.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-radar.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: 2026-10-09

Mapbox APIs + MCP scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against Radar's 53.3 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do geocoding.

- Mapbox APIs + MCP: grade BB, 75/100, rank #57 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mapbox.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mapbox.json
- Radar: grade D, 53.3/100, rank #713 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/radar.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/radar.json
- Best maps, geocoding and places APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/maps/index.md
- All 78 maps comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/maps/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Mapbox APIs + MCP (BB)

Good for: An agent that needs search, routing, isochrones, map matching and route optimisation from one vendor with a hosted, OAuth-protected MCP.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 82 against 70
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 50
- Agent ergonomics, 88 against 65
- Security & auth, 71 against 56
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 84 against 55

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Storing geocodes needs the Permanent tier at $5 per 1,000, about 6.7 times the temporary rate

### Radar (D)

Good for: A company that already has a Radar contract, or wants geofencing and trip tracking with geocoding and routing on one key.

Watch for: The pricing page says Radar has no free tier and every plan is an annual commitment set by quote


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Mapbox APIs + MCP | Radar | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 82 | 70 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 50 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +35 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 88 | 65 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +23 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 56 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +15 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 10 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 77 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 55 | Mapbox APIs + MCP +29 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **75 · BB** | **53.3 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Mapbox APIs + MCP | Radar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Mapbox | Radar Labs |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.mapbox.com` | `https://api.radar.io/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| Price for geocoding | $0.75 per 1,000 requests | not published |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (MCP server) | Proprietary service under Radar's Terms of Use. The web SDK in radarlabs/radar-sdk-js is Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 29 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.mapbox/mcp-server` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-07-30 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | 2024-03-31 | 2023-05-24 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-02-11 | 2025-05-13 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 353 stars, 2k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.6/5 (8) | none |

## Verdicts

**Mapbox APIs + MCP.** Official MCP server, hosted at mcp.mapbox.com with OAuth or run locally, listed in the MCP registry. Storing geocodes needs the Permanent tier at $5 per 1,000, about 6.7 times the temporary rate.

**Radar.** Radar documents 36 REST operations in Markdown with a rate limit on each, and its status feed shows two short API incidents in 90 days. Access is sales-led. The pricing page says there is no free tier, every plan is an annual commitment, and no OpenAPI description or API changelog was found.

## Before you call either

### Mapbox APIs + MCP

1. Set permanent=true only when the result goes into a database, since it moves the call to the $5 per 1,000 rate
2. Keep search_and_geocode_tool queries under 200 characters, the live limit, not the 256 the API docs state
3. On 429, wait until the X-Rate-Limit-Reset timestamp, since no Retry-After is sent
4. Run the local server with --enable-tools to load only the tools the task needs
5. Use category_search_tool for generic place types like coffee shops, not search_and_geocode_tool

### Radar

1. Send the key in the `Authorization` header with no `Bearer` prefix, and call `https://api.radar.io/v1`, not radar.com
2. Use a publishable key for geocoding, search and routing. Keep the secret key for users, trips, geofences and beacons
3. Call `/v1/search/autocomplete` for partial addresses and place names. `/v1/geocode/forward` is documented as best for complete addresses
4. Set `units=metric` on routing calls. The default is imperial, with distances in feet
5. Treat 429 as one of three things (rate limit, no state change or selective throttling) and 402 as usage exceeded. No Retry-After header is documented
6. Do not keep geocoding, autocomplete or place results for more than 30 days

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Mapbox APIs + MCP or Radar?

Mapbox APIs + MCP scores 75 (BB) on agent readiness against Radar's 53.3 (D), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Mapbox APIs + MCP and Radar need an API key?

Mapbox APIs + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Radar needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Mapbox APIs + MCP and Radar without installing anything?

Yes. Mapbox APIs + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.mapbox.com and Radar at https://api.radar.io/v1.


## For agents

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

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