# MapQuest vs Radar

> Radar scores 53.3 (D) to MapQuest's 35.1 (F) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-radar
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-radar.md (~2,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-radar.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-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

Radar scores 53.3 (D) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on payments & pricing. Both do geocoding.

- MapQuest: grade F, 35.1/100, rank #936 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mapquest.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mapquest.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

### 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:
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 10

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

### 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.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 23
- Agent ergonomics, 65 against 60
- Security & auth, 56 against 28
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 23
- Transparency & trust, 55 against 28

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 | MapQuest | Radar | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 23 | 70 | Radar +47 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 50 | Radar +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 65 | Radar +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 28 | 56 | Radar +28 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 10 | MapQuest +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 23 | 77 | Radar +54 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 28 | 55 | Radar +27 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **35.1 · F** | **53.3 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MapQuest | Radar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MapQuest (System1) | Radar Labs |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.mapquestapi.com` | `https://api.radar.io/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service. No API terms were found published without a login | Proprietary service under Radar's Terms of Use. The web SDK in radarlabs/radar-sdk-js is Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-16 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2023-05-24 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2025-05-13 |
| Customer content may train models |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |

## Verdicts

**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.

**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

### 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

### 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, MapQuest or Radar?

Radar scores 53.3 (D) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on payments & pricing.

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

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

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

Yes. MapQuest has a hosted endpoint at https://www.mapquestapi.com and Radar at https://api.radar.io/v1.


## For agents

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

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