# OpenCage Geocoding API vs Radar

> OpenCage Geocoding scores 69.2 (B) to Radar's 53.3 (D) for geocoding. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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

OpenCage Geocoding API scores 69.2 (B) on agent readiness against Radar's 53.3 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Radar leads on security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do geocoding.

- OpenCage Geocoding API: grade B, 69.2/100, rank #193 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/opencage.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/opencage.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

### OpenCage Geocoding API (B)

Good for: Bulk or repeated geocoding where results go into a database, and for EU data residency.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 70
- Schema & documentation, 77 against 50
- Agent ergonomics, 86 against 65
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 10
- Transparency & trust, 84 against 55

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

Watch for: Geocoding only, no place search or routing

### 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:
- Security & auth, 56 against 47
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 66

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 | OpenCage Geocoding API | Radar | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 70 | OpenCage Geocoding API +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 50 | OpenCage Geocoding API +27 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 86 | 65 | OpenCage Geocoding API +21 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 47 | 56 | Radar +9 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 10 | OpenCage Geocoding API +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 66 | 77 | Radar +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 55 | OpenCage Geocoding API +29 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **69.2 · B** | **53.3 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenCage Geocoding API | Radar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | OpenCage | Radar Labs |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.opencagedata.com/geocode/v1/json` | `https://api.radar.io/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| 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 | 3 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.OpenCageData/opencage-geocoding-mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-06-25 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2023-05-24 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2025-05-13 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | 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 | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 19 stars, 5.5k npm/wk, 138k PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**OpenCage Geocoding API.** Permanent storage of results on every plan, including after you cancel. Geocoding only, no place search or routing.

**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

### OpenCage Geocoding API

1. Add no_annotations=1 and limit=1 when you only need coordinates
2. Stop on 402, which means the day's quota is gone, and back off on 429
3. Add no_record=1 when the query holds personal data
4. Redact the key parameter before logging request URLs
5. Credit OpenStreetMap wherever you show results

### 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, OpenCage Geocoding API or Radar?

OpenCage Geocoding API scores 69.2 (B) on agent readiness against Radar's 53.3 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Radar leads on security & auth and maintenance & community.

### Do OpenCage Geocoding API and Radar need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call OpenCage Geocoding API and Radar without installing anything?

Yes. OpenCage Geocoding API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.opencagedata.com/geocode/v1/json and Radar at https://api.radar.io/v1.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with OpenCage Geocoding API or Radar

- [Amazon Location Service vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-opencage.md)
- [Amazon Location Service vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-location-vs-radar.md)
- [ArcGIS Location Platform vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/arcgis-vs-opencage.md)
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- [Geoapify Location Platform + MCP vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/geoapify-vs-radar.md)
- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-opencage.md)
- [Google Maps Platform + Grounding Lite MCP vs Radar](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-maps-platform-vs-radar.md)
- [HERE Location Services vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/here-location-services-vs-opencage.md)
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- [MapQuest vs OpenCage Geocoding API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mapquest-vs-opencage.md)
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