# NextBillion.ai vs TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

> NextBillion.ai scores 55.4 (C) to TomTom Maps's 45.9 (E) for geo routing. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nextbillion-vs-tomtom
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nextbillion-vs-tomtom.md (~4,100 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

NextBillion.ai scores 55.4 (C) on agent readiness against TomTom Maps APIs + MCP's 45.9 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. TomTom Maps APIs + MCP leads on security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do geo routing.

- NextBillion.ai: grade C, 55.4/100, rank #874 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nextbillion.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nextbillion.json
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP: grade E, 45.9/100, rank #1185 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/tomtom.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/tomtom.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

### NextBillion.ai (C)

Good for: Fleet and delivery routing, distance matrices and route optimisation with truck profiles, plus geocoding and POI search, for companies ready for an annual contract.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 45 against 15

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where TomTom Maps APIs + MCP loses 6 points for them

Watch for: Pricing is by quote on annual licences, with no public unit prices

### TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (E)

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

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 51 against 46
- Payments & pricing, 25 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 86 against 73

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: Terms, rate limits and deprecation policy couldn't be read, so storage rules and notice periods are unverified


## Why the edge

### Reliability: NextBillion.ai +30

- NextBillion.ai (45): Hosted lines, for the REST APIs at api.nextbillion.io and the hosted MCP server. A status page at status.nextbillion.io, 'NextBillion.AI API Status', renders only in a browser, and its Statuspage-style JSON paths return 404, so we couldn't see its components (10) or read any history. That's our limit, not a finding, and the rubric gives 5 (5). The API reference states 2,400 queries a minute, or 40 a second, for continuous requests (15). Each endpoint's error table lists 429 as 'QPM or API request count quota reached', with no Retry-After or backoff guidance (5). No SLA found; the terms say access isn't warranted to be uninterrupted (0). The REST APIs are GA. The MCP server is at version 0.5.3 (10). 10+5+15+5+0+10 = 45.
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (15): TomTom's API status page sits on tomtom.service-now.com, whose robots.txt disallows every path on 4 November, so the earlier status readings are struck (0). With no history we may read, the record scores 5. No published QPS limits or 429 guidance were found on the docs pages we read on 1 October; TomTom's acceptable use policy now bars robots from its websites, so they weren't re-read (0). The MCP maps a 429 to a typed rate-limit error with a message, and we found nothing on Retry-After (5, the earlier partial kept). No SLA found (0). Orbis APIs went GA on 8 July 2026, but the remote MCP server is in public preview and the README says some Orbis and EV services may not be enabled on every account (5, kept). 0+5+0+5+0+5 = 15.

### Maintenance & community: TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +13

- NextBillion.ai (73): MCP server 0.5.3 on 30 October 2026 (30). Eleven tagged MCP releases between 7 October and 30 October, adding hosted mode, truck routing and geometry tools (20). Support by email, a public MCP repository with a changelog, but no public API changelog (8). The MCP server isn't in the official MCP registry, and we didn't check the mobile SDK versions (7). The MCP repository runs CI with unit and end-to-end tests (8). 30+20+8+7+8 = 73.
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (86): MCP v1.6.15 on 2 November 2026 (30). Eight tags since 6 August, v1.6.8 (15 September) to v1.6.15 (2 November) (20). Pull requests from several maintainers merged up to 3 November 2026. We couldn't see issue reply times from git (18, kept). The package is at 1.6.15 in its repository; the 30 September note that it wasn't in the official MCP registry came from the registry's JSON API and is struck (8, kept). CI runs type checks, lint, build, end-to-end tests and a Veracode scan, with dependabot (10). 30+20+18+8+10 = 86.

### Security & auth: TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +5

- NextBillion.ai (46): The REST APIs take a single `key` query parameter, so a plain key that travels in URLs, which earns 20 less 10. The MCP server adds OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, seals the key into tokens with AES-256-GCM, accepts a Bearer header and stores nothing server-side, so 5 back (15). Every tool is read-only, and keys can carry an IP allowlist (12). Places results are POI and address text with no prompt-injection guidance (7). Usage alerts at 50, 75 and 90 per cent of credits, per the pricing FAQ. No per-call log found (5). /.well-known/security.txt returns 404, and we found no disclosure policy or bug bounty. The about page says the company follows ISO 27001 standards, without naming a certificate (7). 15+12+7+5+7 = 46.
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (51): API keys from the developer portal, limited to the products selected for them, which earns 25. Less 10 because REST calls take the key as the key query parameter. The hosted MCP takes a tomtom-api-key header, and the source carries OAuth with an audience check that 1.6.13 made mandatory for OAuth deployments (15). Keys can be limited by product and every tool reads (16). Results include POI names and traffic incident text with no prompt-injection guidance. An app-only tool, tomtom-get-api-key, returns the raw key to the map app; since 1.6.12 clients that render no apps don't receive it (6, kept). We didn't find per-call logs or usage reporting we could read (0). HackerOne disclosure programme with a 3 business day first response in the organisation's SECURITY.md, Veracode scanning in CI, and no security.txt per the 30 September check (14, kept). 15+16+6+0+14 = 51.

### Payments & pricing: TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +5

- NextBillion.ai (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Pricing is by quote, with annual licences per order, asset or API call and no published unit price (0). A 7-day free trial with an API key and 'No credit card required' (20). A person signs up through the console or emails support for a key (0). 0+0+20+0 = 20.
- TomTom Maps APIs + MCP (25): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Free allowances are public, but the pricing page re-read on 2 October showed no paid rate as a number, only a euro estimator and a contact-sales link (5 of 20, kept). A no-card free allowance of 20,000 geocodes, 20,000 reverse geocodes and 20,000 routes a month, with Search and Matrix at 2,500 (20). Signup is a browser flow (0). The pricing page is on a host whose acceptable use policy now bars robots, so it wasn't re-read on 4 November. 0+5+20+0 = 25.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | NextBillion.ai | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 15 | NextBillion.ai +30 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 71 | NextBillion.ai +2 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 78 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +1 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 51 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +5 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 25 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 86 | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP +13 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 58 | 58 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -6 | |
| **Total** | | **55.4 · C** | **45.9 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | NextBillion.ai | TomTom Maps APIs + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | NextBillion.ai Pte. Ltd. | TomTom |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.nextbillion.io` | `https://api.tomtom.com` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Apache-2.0 (MCP server) |
| Tools exposed | 27 | 13 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 55 stars, 996 npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## How the scores have moved

### NextBillion.ai

No score change since it was listed.

### TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

- -9.0 on 4 November 2026 (C to E): product, new evidence
- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist

## Verdicts

**NextBillion.ai.** NextBillion.ai covers routing, distance matrices, route optimisation, geocoding and places, and runs a hosted MCP server with 27 read-only annotated tools and OAuth sign-in. Pricing is by quote on annual licences, the REST API key travels in the query string, and no OpenAPI spec, API changelog or readable status history was found.

**TomTom Maps APIs + MCP.** No-card free allowance of 20,000 geocodes, 20,000 reverse geocodes and 20,000 routes a month, with an official MCP server released about weekly. Terms, rate limits and the deprecation policy couldn't be read, the status page bars our reader, and MCP patch releases in October removed tools and inputs without notice.

## Before you call either

### NextBillion.ai

1. Connect through https://mcp.nextbillion.io so the key stays in a Bearer header or OAuth token rather than in request URLs
2. Use the geometry tools only for straight-line questions; use directions or distance_matrix for travel time
3. Batch up to 100 geocodes with geocode_batch instead of one call per address
4. On 429 the quota or the 2,400-a-minute limit is reached; slow down and tell the user if credits are spent
5. Search the docs with the MCP documentation tools before guessing a parameter

### 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. Pin `@tomtom-org/tomtom-mcp` to a version, since patch releases have removed tools and changed inputs
3. Page search results with `cursor` and the previous response's `nextCursor`, not `ofs`, from 1.6.12
4. Read a 403 as the account or key not covering the API, and don't retry it; a 401 means a missing or unknown key
5. Redact the key parameter before logging REST URLs

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, NextBillion.ai or TomTom Maps APIs + MCP?

NextBillion.ai scores 55.4 (C) on agent readiness against TomTom Maps APIs + MCP's 45.9 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. TomTom Maps APIs + MCP leads on security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.

### Do NextBillion.ai and TomTom Maps APIs + MCP need an API key?

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

### Can an agent call NextBillion.ai and TomTom Maps APIs + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. NextBillion.ai has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.nextbillion.io and TomTom Maps APIs + MCP at https://api.tomtom.com.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with NextBillion.ai or TomTom Maps APIs + MCP

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