Free Geocoding and Map APIs, Explained

A free geocoding API turns an address into a point on a map, or a point on a map back into an address. It’s the quiet piece behind “find a location near you,” ZIP code lookups that fill in the city, and delivery-area checks.

This guide explains the main kinds of location APIs, what to watch for, and then lists every geocoding and map API on the public-apis list, sorted by job.

This post is part of my free API series. The full list of categories is in the free API directory.

What location APIs do for a business site

Fill in city and state when someone types a ZIP code on a form.
Suggest the full address as someone starts typing it.
Show a map of your locations, or the nearest one.
Check whether an address is inside your service area.
Guess a visitor’s general area so you can show the right location first.

Geocoding, reverse geocoding, and IP location

Geocoding is address to coordinates. Reverse geocoding is coordinates to address. IP location is a rough guess at where a visitor is from their internet connection. IP location is often only accurate to the city or region, and sometimes not even that, so use it for friendly defaults, never for anything that must be right.

How to choose a free geocoding API

Read the usage policy. Free services built on OpenStreetMap, like Nominatim, have strict fair-use rules and are not meant for heavy traffic.
Check storage rules. Some providers don’t let you save their results long-term or show them on a different company’s map. This matters if you’re building a store locator.
Save what you look up. Your business addresses don’t move. Look them up once and save the coordinates.
Protect your key. Map keys get copied and abused. Restrict keys to your own website address in the provider’s settings.

Keeping your map info consistent

Whatever you use on your site, make sure your business name, address, and phone number match everywhere else you’re listed. Mismatches confuse both customers and search engines. My post on local citations and NAP consistency walks through why.

Every geocoding and map API on the list

Each entry says whether you need a key. “No key needed” means you can try it right away. “Sign up for a key” means a free account first, and many of those have paid tiers once you grow. “Users connect their own account” means each person signs in with that service. The APIs come from the community-kept public-apis list, and the descriptions are mine. Services change, so check each one before you rely on it.

Full map platforms

Maps, directions, places, and traffic in one place. Most have free tiers and then charge by use.

Bing Maps: Microsoft’s mapping platform: maps, directions, address lookups, and traffic. Microsoft has been moving customers to Azure Maps, so check which one to use. Sign up for a key.
Google Maps: The most familiar mapping platform: interactive maps, address lookup, directions, place details, and address autocomplete. It gives a free monthly credit, then charges by use. Sign up for a key.
HERE Maps: A full mapping platform with maps, routing, traffic, and address lookups, and strong road data such as speed limits and truck routes on some plans. Sign up for a key.
Mapbox: Custom-styled maps plus directions and address lookups. Popular when you want a map that matches your brand instead of the standard Google look. Sign up for a key.
openrouteservice.org: Free routing built on OpenStreetMap: driving, walking, and cycling directions, drive-time areas (“everywhere within 15 minutes”), elevation, and address lookups. Sign up for a key.
OpenStreetMap: The API behind the free, community-edited world map. It’s mainly for reading and editing map data itself; for address lookups, use Nominatim or another service built on it. Users connect their own account.
TomTom: Maps, directions, place search, and live traffic from the company known for car navigation units. Sign up for a key.

Where is this visitor? (IP location)

These guess a visitor’s rough location from their internet address. Good for defaults like “showing results near Akron,” not for anything exact.

Airtel IP: Looks up the country and network for an IP address, combining several data sources. No key needed.
Apiip: Returns a visitor’s country, region, city, time zone, and currency from their IP address. Sign up for a key.
ApogeoAPI: A bundle of location tools in one: lists of countries, states, and cities, IP location, and live currency exchange rates. Sign up for a key.
BigDataCloud: IP location with extras like a confidence area (how sure the guess is) and security checks for suspicious connections. Sign up for a key.
Country: The simplest possible IP lookup: send an IP address, get back its two-letter country code. Good for choosing a default language or currency. No key needed.
GeoJS: Free IP location with country, region, city, and coordinates, and no sign-up needed. No key needed.
geoPlugin: Looks up a visitor’s location by IP and can convert prices into their local currency. No key needed.
HackMyIP: IP location plus privacy checks (is this a VPN?), email breach checks, and DNS and WHOIS lookups in one service. No key needed.
Hirak IP to Country: Turns an IP address into a country, with the country’s currency code and currency name. Sign up for a key.
IP 2 Country: Maps an IP address to its country. A small, free, single-purpose lookup. No key needed.
IP Address Details: Better known as IPinfo: location, network owner, and time zone for any IP address, with a generous free starting plan. No key needed.
IP Geolocation: Abstract API’s IP lookup, returning a visitor’s city, region, country, time zone, and currency. Sign up for a key.
IP Vigilante: A free IP location lookup. Check that it’s still running before you rely on it. No key needed.
ip-api: A long-running, free IP lookup for country, city, coordinates, time zone, and network, with no key for non-commercial use. No key needed.
IP-API.io: IP location plus a risk score that flags VPNs, proxies, and Tor connections. Useful for spotting suspicious sign-ups. Sign up for a key.
ip2geo.dev: Converts IP addresses to location data for use in code. Sign up for a key.
IP2Location: A detailed IP lookup with dozens of fields, including city, ZIP code, time zone, network type, and more. Sign up for a key.
IP2Proxy: Checks whether an IP address belongs to a proxy, VPN, or data center rather than a regular home or phone connection. Sign up for a key.
IP99: IP location with proxy, VPN, and data center risk flags, and a note on how fresh the evidence is. No key needed.
ipapi.co: A simple IP lookup for city, region, country, postal code, time zone, and currency. No key needed.
ipapi.com: Real-time IP location and reverse lookups, with details like time zone, currency, and connection type. Sign up for a key.
IPGEO: A free IP lookup that returns location and network details without sign-up. No key needed.
ipgeolocation: IP location with time zone, currency, and user-agent details, with a free monthly plan. Sign up for a key.
ipgeolocationapi: IP location with network owner (ASN), time zone, currency, and threat data, with a daily allowance that needs no key. No key needed.
IPInfoDB: Country, region, city, and time zone lookups by IP address. Sign up for a key.
IPstack: IP location from the APILayer family: country, region, city, coordinates, and optional security flags. Sign up for a key.
ipwhois: IP location with country, city, coordinates, network provider, time zone, and even a flag image. No key needed.
keycdn IP Location Finder: A free IP lookup from the KeyCDN network, returning location and network details. Sign up for a key.
sthan.io IP Geolocation: Looks up the location of any IPv4 or IPv6 address. Sign up for a key.
Telize: Returns location details for an IP address. It’s now offered through the RapidAPI marketplace. Sign up for a key.
Unblock Master IP: IP location plus checks for data center and VPN addresses. No key needed.

Country-specific services

Address and postal services built for one country. Useful if you have customers there.

adresse.data.gouv.fr: France’s official national address database, with address search and reverse lookups. No key needed.
BdAPIs: Lists Bangladesh’s divisions, districts, and sub-districts (upazilas) for forms and apps there. No key needed.
bng2latlong: Converts UK Ordnance Survey grid references (eastings and northings) into standard latitude and longitude. No key needed.
Cep.la: Brazilian address lookups by postal code (CEP): street, neighborhood, city, and state. No key needed.
CitySDK: Open city-data services from a European project covering a handful of cities. No key needed.
Ducks Unlimited: Map data from the Ducks Unlimited conservation group, such as its university chapter locations, served through a mapping (GIS) service. No key needed.
GeoApi: The French government’s service for looking up communes, departments, and regions. No key needed.
Geodata.gov.gr: Greece’s open government map data and services. No key needed.
Hong Kong GeoData Store: The Hong Kong government’s map and location data. No key needed.
IBGE: Data from Brazil’s national statistics and geography institute, including states, cities, and census figures. No key needed.
Kakao Maps: Maps, search, and address lookups for South Korea from Kakao. Sign up for a key.
Kiprio UK Postcode: Looks up a UK postcode and returns coordinates, district, ward, and parliamentary constituency. Sign up for a key.
Longdo Map: Interactive maps and place search for Thailand. Sign up for a key.
Mexico: Mexican postal code lookups from the national postal service’s data. No key needed.
Moradas: Portuguese address autocomplete and 7-digit postal code lookups. No key needed.
One Map, Singapore: The Singapore government’s official address search, maps, and routing. Sign up for a key.
PontoFato: Brazilian postal code lookups with coordinates, addresses, and the businesses registered there. No key needed.
Postali: Mexican postal code lookups. No key needed.
PostcodeData.nl: Dutch address and location lookups from a postcode and house number. No key needed.
Rwanda Locations: Rwanda’s provinces, districts, sectors, cells, villages, and streets for forms and apps there. No key needed.
SLF: A small German database of cities, countries, and rivers, originally made for a word game. No key needed.
TrustyData: French address checks, company lookups from the national business register, and routing, all from official open data. Sign up for a key.
Utah AGRC: Geocoding for Utah addresses from the state’s mapping office. Sign up for a key.
ViaCep: A popular free Brazilian postal code (CEP) lookup that fills in the street, neighborhood, city, and state. No key needed.

ZIP codes and postal codes

PostalCodes: Postal code search across many countries, with exports and data you can use to check addresses. No key needed.
Postcodes.io: A free, open UK postcode lookup: coordinates, district, and other area details. Very popular with UK developers. No key needed.
US ZipCode: Smarty’s ZIP code service: checks a US ZIP code and returns its city, state, county, and coordinates. Sign up for a key.
ZipCodeAPI: US ZIP code distance and radius tools: how far apart two ZIP codes are, or every ZIP code within a set number of miles. Handy for “do we serve your area?” checks. Sign up for a key.
Zippopotam.us: Type a ZIP or postal code, get back the city, state, and coordinates, for the US and many other countries. Free, with no key. Great for filling in city and state on a form. No key needed.
Ziptastic: Turns a US ZIP code into its city, state, and country. Built for auto-filling address forms. No key needed.

Address to map point, and back

Turn a street address into coordinates (geocoding) or coordinates into an address (reverse geocoding).

AtlasFetch: Reverse geocoding that turns coordinates into country, region, and municipality, with standard ISO codes. Sign up for a key.
Geoapify: Address search, reverse lookups, and address autocomplete as someone types, built on open map data. A friendly alternative to Google for forms. Sign up for a key.
Geocod.io: US and Canadian address lookups, great at processing a whole spreadsheet of addresses at once, with extras like congressional district and time zone. Sign up for a key.
Geocode.xyz: Worldwide address and reverse lookups, batch processing, and the ability to find place names inside a block of text. No key needed.
Geocodify.com: Worldwide address lookups and autocomplete, plus finding place names inside text. Sign up for a key.
GeoDataSource: Turns latitude and longitude into the nearest city name. Sign up for a key.
Geokeo: Address and reverse lookups with a daily free allowance. No key needed.
LatLng: Address and reverse lookups, place search, and static map images from one service. No key needed.
LocationIQ: Address and reverse lookups, autocomplete, and maps built on OpenStreetMap data, with a free daily allowance. Sign up for a key.
Nominatim: The free address search behind OpenStreetMap. It needs no key but has a strict fair-use policy, so it suits light use like looking up a handful of addresses. No key needed.
OpenCage: Address and reverse lookups built on open data sources, with clear pricing and a free trial level. Sign up for a key.
positionstack: Address and reverse lookups, including many at once, from the APILayer family. Sign up for a key.
Yandex.Maps Geocoder: Yandex’s address lookups, strongest in Russia and nearby countries. Sign up for a key.

Countries, states, and cities

Lists of places, for drop-downs and forms.

administrative-divisons-db: Lists every state, province, or region for each country. Useful for building address drop-downs. No key needed.
Battuta: Step-by-step location lists (pick a country, then a region, then a city) for chained drop-down menus. Sign up for a key.
CountryStateCity: Every country, state, and city in the world as ready-made data, for sign-up and address forms. Sign up for a key.
GeoDB Cities: Search the world’s cities, regions, and countries, with population and location details. Sign up for a key.
GeographQL: Countries, states, and cities through GraphQL, a query style some developers prefer. No key needed.
Graph Countries: Country facts like currencies, languages, flags, regions, and neighboring countries. No key needed.
REST Countries: Free facts about every country: name, capital, population, currency, languages, calling code, and flag. A developer favorite. No key needed.
RoadGoat Cities: City descriptions and photos, useful for travel sites and city guides. Sign up for a key.

Other map and location tools

Actinia Grass GIS: An open-source service for heavy geographic data processing, such as satellite imagery analysis. Aimed at mapping professionals. Sign up for a key.
Cartes.io: Create simple maps and drop markers on them without an account. Good for quick shared maps. No key needed.
GeoNames: A huge free database of place names worldwide, with nearby places, postal codes, time zones, and elevations. No key needed.
Google Earth Engine: Google’s platform for analyzing satellite imagery and environmental data at planet scale. Mostly for scientists and researchers. Sign up for a key.
HelloSalut: Returns the word “hello” in the visitor’s language. A small, fun touch for greeting pages. No key needed.
OnWater: Tells you whether a latitude and longitude is on water or land. No key needed.
Open Topo Data: Returns the elevation (or ocean depth) for any latitude and longitude. No key needed.
Pinball Map: A crowd-sourced map of public pinball machines and where to play them. No key needed.
Queimadas INPE: Brazil’s space agency data on heat spots that are likely wildfires. No key needed.
SpotSense: Adds location-triggered actions to a mobile app, like a message when someone arrives at a place. Sign up for a key.
Uebermaps: Create and share collections of places on a map with friends. Sign up for a key.
What3Words: Gives every 3-meter square on Earth a unique three-word name, which is easier to share than coordinates. Used for deliveries and emergency services. Sign up for a key.

Questions I hear a lot

Is there a free geocoding API with no key?

Yes. Nominatim, from the OpenStreetMap project, needs no key, but it has a strict fair-use policy. For light use, like looking up a handful of business addresses, it works well.

Is the Google Maps API free?

Google Maps has a free monthly credit, then charges by use. Set a budget cap and restrict your key so a surprise bill can’t happen.

How accurate is IP location?

It’s a rough guess, often only to the city or region, and it can be wrong when people use a phone network or VPN. Use it for defaults, not decisions.

What’s the easiest way to add a map to my site?

For one location, an embedded map from your Google Business Profile listing is usually enough, and it needs no API work at all.

If you’d like a hand

Picking an API and wiring it into a website or small app safely is part of my apps and platforms work. If you want a store locator, service-area check, or smarter address form, tell me about it.

Free Geocoding and Map APIs: Addresses, ZIP Codes, and Visitor Location