# MapQuest vs Woosmap

> Woosmap scores 59.4 (C) to MapQuest's 35.4 (F) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-woosmap
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-woosmap.md (~4,300 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Woosmap scores 59.4 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do geocoding.

- MapQuest: grade F, 35.4/100, rank #1373 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mapquest.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mapquest.json
- Woosmap: grade C, 59.4/100, rank #704 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/woosmap.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/woosmap.json
- Best maps, geocoding and places APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/maps/index.md
- All 153 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.

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

### Woosmap (C)

Good for: Store locators, address autocomplete and distance for retail and logistics teams that keep their own location data in the platform, with an MCP server for agents.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 78 against 23
- Schema & documentation, 81 against 47
- Agent ergonomics, 76 against 60
- Security & auth, 43 against 28
- Transparency & trust, 54 against 31

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

Watch for: No public changelog or release notes for the APIs


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Woosmap +55

- MapQuest (23): Graded as a hosted service. No status page is linked from the developer site, the docs or the plans page (0). With no page there is no readable incident history (5). The reference marks endpoints 'Rate Limited Yes' and gives functional maximums (100 locations a batch, 50 a route, 25 a matrix) but no request-rate numbers (5). No 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance found (0). The Enterprise plan lists a service-level agreement, with no text published (3). The REST API is generally available and the MCP page calls the server production-ready (10).
- Woosmap (78): Hosted lines. Atlassian Statuspage at status.woosmap.com with seven components (Localities, Store Search, Geolocation, Distance, Address, Map and Indoor APIs) (20). The status home page lists no incidents from 23 October to 6 November 2026. The full history page loads by script and the site's robots.txt disallows /api/, so the rest of the 90 days wasn't read and the line is held between the unreadable and minor tiers (10). Each endpoint's reference states its own rate limit, such as 50 a second, shared by a project's keys (15). Every response carries RateLimit-Policy and RateLimit headers, and the rate-limits page says to wait `t` seconds after a 429, retry at most three times and back off 1, 2 and 4 seconds when the header is missing, with sample code (15). A 99.9% SLA on the Enterprise plan per the pricing page; we didn't read its terms (8). GA (10). 20+10+15+15+8+10 = 78.

### Schema & documentation: Woosmap +34

- MapQuest (47): `https://developer.mapquest.com/openapi.json` describes the marketing site and has an empty `paths` object, so the product APIs have no machine-readable contract. The MCP tool definitions sit behind OAuth and were not read (0). `llms.txt` indexes every API with a one-line purpose (10). The reference states each endpoint's purpose and each parameter's effect, without when-not-to-use guidance (12). Parameter tables give ranges and allowed values in prose (8). Example requests and responses on each page, and status-code pages per API (12). Versions in the path (v1, v2, v4, v5) but no changelog (5).
- Woosmap (81): OpenAPI 3.1 spec, version 1.46.3, with 47 paths across Localities, Stores, Distance, Datasets, Indoor, Map and what3words endpoints (25). llms.txt as a routing index, llms-full.txt and a Markdown twin of every page (10). llms.txt says which pages are authoritative for parameters and which explain products, and endpoint pages describe purpose, with little on when not to call one (15). Typed parameters from the spec with enums and required fields (13). The spec documents 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 409, 422 and 429 responses, and pages carry examples (13). The spec is versioned, but no public changelog or release notes were found (developers.woosmap.com/changelog/ and /release-notes/ return 404) (5). 25+10+15+13+13+5 = 81.

### Transparency & trust: Woosmap +23

- MapQuest (31): Closed service. The only terms linked are System1's website terms of 26 February 2021, which allow personal, non-commercial use and do not mention the APIs. The plans page states the storage rule (5). The System1 group privacy policy of 5 July 2023 gives no retention periods and describes sale and sharing of personal information, while the plans page says 'we don't collect or sell user data' (8). No deprecation policy. Dated notices exist from 2018 only (5). The policy names categories of service providers, with no list or locations. The geocoding docs name TomTom for international queries (3).
- Woosmap (54): Editorial half only. Closed service under online terms that name WOOSMAP SAS of Montpellier and the Commercial Court of Paris (15). The privacy policy covers website visitors only, and we found no statement on how long API request data is kept (5). The pricing page says the Address API is 'being deprecated for Pro Plan subscriptions', with no date (5). The legal notice says the site is hosted by Amazon Web Services; no sub-processor list or data location for the APIs was found (6). 15+5+5+6 = 31.

### Agent ergonomics: Woosmap +16

- MapQuest (60): The MCP page names 13 tools. Their definitions were not read, so context cost is scored from the count and from REST controls such as `maxResults`, `thumbMaps=false` and `outFormat` (15). Place search pages with `pageSize` 1 to 50 and filters by category, circle, bounding box or corridor (16). Status codes are documented, with geocoding and directions errors carried in the response body and problem+json on the Account API (12). Most calls read and are safe to retry. Data Manager writes have no idempotency key, and MCP annotations were not read (10). Geocoding needs only `key` and `location`. The only current SDKs are browser libraries (7).
- Woosmap (76): API reading, with the hosted MCP server's nine tools as a second surface. Localities and Stores responses can be narrowed by type, components and fields, and the MCP set is small (20). Store search takes query filters, radius and paging, and the Distance Matrix has an async mode for large jobs (17). Documented error codes including 402 for billing and 429 with reset timing (17). Reads are safe to retry, but no idempotency key was found for the Datasets and Stores write endpoints, and the MCP docs don't mention tool annotations (10). Official JavaScript, iOS and Android SDKs and samples in Python and JavaScript, with few required parameters (12). 20+17+17+10+12 = 76.

### Security & auth: Woosmap +15

- MapQuest (28): REST uses API keys, several per account, created in the dashboard or by API. The MCP server uses OAuth with one scope, `mcp:tools`. That earns 20, less 10 because the `key` query parameter is the documented way to send the secret (10). No key scopes, referrer or IP restrictions, or read-only mode found in the docs (3). Place and address text is returned with no prompt-injection guidance (7). The usage endpoint reports transactions by key, service and hour (8). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0).
- Woosmap (43): Public keys are read-only and must carry a domain or IP restriction. Private keys are read-only or read and write (fixed at creation), restricted by IP, iOS or Android, and can go in an X-Api-Key header. Less 10 because `private_key` in the query string is a documented option and the default in the spec (17). Read-only keys and the read/write split give least privilege; no confirmation step on dataset deletes was found (16). find_nearby and get_place_details return public POI data, ratings and opening hours, with no prompt-injection guidance (7). Console usage per project wasn't checked (3). www.woosmap.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404, and we found no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification (0). 17+16+7+3+0 = 43.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | MapQuest | Woosmap | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 23 | 78 | Woosmap +55 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 81 | Woosmap +34 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 76 | Woosmap +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 28 | 43 | Woosmap +15 |
| 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) | 23 | 26 | Woosmap +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 31 | 54 | Woosmap +23 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **35.4 · F** | **59.4 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MapQuest | Woosmap |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | MapQuest (System1) | WOOSMAP SAS |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://www.mapquestapi.com` | `https://api.woosmap.com/mcp` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| 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 | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 9 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-07-16 | none |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2024-07-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### MapQuest

- -0.1 on 28 October 2026: correction
- +0.4 on 27 October 2026: checklist

### Woosmap

No score change since it was listed.

## 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.

**Woosmap.** Woosmap publishes an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, llms.txt with Markdown pages, per-endpoint rate limits and 429 retry rules, plus a hosted nine-tool MCP server. No changelog, security.txt, API data retention statement or readable per-request price was found, and private keys can travel in the query string.

## 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

### Woosmap

1. Send the private key in the X-Api-Key header, not the private_key query parameter
2. Use a read-only private key for the MCP server unless the task writes stores or datasets
3. On 429 wait the `t` seconds from the RateLimit header, retry at most three times, and pause batches when `r` reaches 0
4. Use find_stores_nearby for the customer's own locations and find_nearby for public POIs
5. Read endpoint parameters from the /api-reference/ Markdown pages, which llms.txt marks as authoritative

## Questions

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

Woosmap scores 59.4 (C) on agent readiness against MapQuest's 35.4 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

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

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

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

Yes. MapQuest has a hosted endpoint at https://www.mapquestapi.com and Woosmap at https://api.woosmap.com/mcp.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with MapQuest or Woosmap

- [Amazon Location Service vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Amazon Location Service vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-woosmap.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-mapquest.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Azure Maps vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Azure Maps vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-maps-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Geocodio vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geocodio-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Geocodio vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geocodio-vs-woosmap.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 Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-woosmap.md)
- [HERE Location Services vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-mapquest.md)
- [HERE Location Services vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-woosmap.md)
- [LocationIQ vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-mapquest.md)
- [LocationIQ vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/locationiq-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Mapbox APIs + MCP vs MapQuest](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-mapquest.md)
- [Mapbox APIs + MCP vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapbox-vs-woosmap.md)
- [MapQuest vs MapTiler Cloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-maptiler.md)
- [MapQuest vs NextBillion.ai](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-nextbillion.md)
- [MapQuest vs Nominatim](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-nominatim.md)
- [MapQuest vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-opencage.md)
- [MapQuest vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-radar.md)
- [MapQuest vs Stadia Maps](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-stadia-maps.md)
- [MapQuest vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-tomtom.md)
- [MapTiler Cloud vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/maptiler-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Nominatim vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nominatim-vs-woosmap.md)
- [OpenCage Geocoding API vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencage-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Radar vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/radar-vs-woosmap.md)
- [Stadia Maps vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stadia-maps-vs-woosmap.md)
- [TomTom Maps APIs + MCP vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/tomtom-vs-woosmap.md)
- [NextBillion.ai vs Woosmap](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nextbillion-vs-woosmap.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp