# MapQuest vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

> TomTom Maps APIs + MCP scores 54.9 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on payments & pricing. Both do geo geocode. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-tomtom
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-tomtom.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-tomtom.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-tomtom.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

TomTom Maps APIs + MCP scores 54.9 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.1 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. MapQuest leads on payments & pricing. Both do geo geocode.

- 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
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP: grade C, 54.9/100, rank #524 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tomtom.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tomtom.json

## 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 25

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

### TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (C)

Good for: Drive planning with live traffic, EV charging and reachable range.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 30 against 23
- Schema & documentation, 71 against 47
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 60
- Security & auth, 51 against 28
- Maintenance & community, 86 against 23
- Transparency & trust, 58 against 28

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Terms, rate limits and deprecation policy render client-side, so storage rules and notice periods are unverified


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | MapQuest | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 23 | 30 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +7 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 71 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 78 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +18 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 28 | 51 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +23 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 25 | MapQuest +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 23 | 86 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +63 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 28 | 58 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +30 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **35.1 · F** | **54.9 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MapQuest | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MapQuest (System1) | TomTom |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.mapquestapi.com` | `https://api.tomtom.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service. No API terms were found published without a login | Apache-2.0 (MCP server) |
| Tools exposed | none | 15 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-16 | 2026-09-23 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 55 stars, 996 npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## 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.

**TomTom Maps APIs + MCP.** No-card free allowance of 20,000 geocodes, 20,000 reverse geocodes and 20,000 routes a month. Terms, rate limits and deprecation policy render client-side, so storage rules and notice periods are unverified.

## 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

### TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

1. Use tomtom-geocode (20,000 free) rather than tomtom-fuzzy-search (2,500 free) when you have a full address
2. Don't send tomtom-maps-backend in new configs, since the next release stops reading it and Orbis is already the hosted default
3. Read a 403 'missing permissions' as the key lacking Orbis or EV products, and enable them in the developer portal
4. Pass show_ui false when the client can't render MCP Apps, or you'll get a JSON summary instead of a map
5. Redact the key parameter before logging REST URLs

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, MapQuest or TomTom Maps APIs + MCP?

TomTom Maps APIs + MCP scores 54.9 (C) 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 TomTom Maps APIs + MCP need an API key?

MapQuest takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. TomTom Maps APIs + MCP needs an API key.

### Can an agent call MapQuest and TomTom Maps APIs + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. MapQuest has a hosted endpoint at https://www.mapquestapi.com and TomTom Maps APIs + MCP at https://api.tomtom.com.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with MapQuest or TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

- [Amazon Location Service vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Amazon Location Service vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-tomtom.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-mapquest.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Azure Maps vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Azure Maps vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-tomtom.md)
- [LocationIQ vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.md)
- [LocationIQ vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Mapbox APIs + MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Mapbox APIs + MCP vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-tomtom.md)
- [MapQuest vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-opencage.md)
- [MapQuest vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-stadia-maps.md)
- [OpenCage Geocoding API vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencage-vs-tomtom.md)
- [Stadia Maps vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stadia-maps-vs-tomtom.md)