What is geocoding? Why does it matter?

Geocoding is the process of converting a human-readable address (like “1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014″) into geographical coordinates (like latitude and longitude: 37.3318598, -122.0328234). This is the key to placing a location on a map.

Reverse geocoding is the opposite process: converting geographical coordinates back into a human-readable address. This is useful for answering questions like, “What is the address at this location?” or “What place(s) of interest are found near here?”

These processes are the foundation of modern location-based services like Apple Maps. They are essential for a variety of applications, including ride-sharing apps, delivery services, asset tracking, and business analytics. Without geocoding, a company couldn’t map customer addresses or route a driver efficiently. At LuminFire, we find that the famous saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” applies to maps as well. Often simply geocoding customer addresses and mapping where they live can reveal business intelligence that no CRM report can produce. Pre-built modules in BrilliantConnect can add geocoding and mapping functionality to your FileMaker solution with just a few clicks.

Who provides geocoding services and how much does it cost?

Many companies offer geocoding services through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). While many provide a free tier for low-volume use, most operate on a “pay-as-you-go” or subscription model.

Pricing Models

Geocoding service pricing is often structured in one of two main ways:

• Pay-as-you-go: This is a consumption-based model where you pay for each “transaction” or “request” after exceeding a free monthly or daily limit. This is ideal for businesses with variable or unpredictable usage.
• Subscription plans: These plans offer a fixed number of geocoding requests per month for a set fee. They often come with additional features, like higher request limits, priority support, or enhanced data. Subscriptions are a good fit for businesses with a consistent, high volume of requests.

The cost per 1,000 requests varies significantly between providers, and often includes volume discounts for higher usage. Here is a general look at pricing for some popular providers:

• Google Maps Platform: Google offers a monthly credit that typically covers up to 40,000 geocoding requests. After that, the cost is around $5 per 1,000 requests, with tiered pricing for higher volumes.
• Mapbox: Mapbox has a generous free tier of up to 100,000 temporary geocoding requests per month. Beyond that, pay-as-you-go rates start at around $0.75 per 1,000 requests. They also have a separate, higher-priced service for “permanent” geocoding, which allows you to store the results.
• HERE Technologies: HERE offers a “Freemium” plan with 250,000 free transactions per month. Additional transactions are billed at $1 per 1,000. For higher volumes, they have a Pro plan that includes 1 million transactions per month for a flat monthly fee.
• Other Providers: There are many other providers like Geocodio and OpenCage that often offer lower costs per request, especially for pay-as-you-go models, making them attractive alternatives for developers and small businesses.

When choosing a geocoding service, it’s important to consider not just the price, but also factors like data quality, coverage, reliability, and additional features that may be bundled with the service. While major players like Google and HERE Technologies dominate the market, several other providers offer specialized services and pricing structures that are particularly well-suited for small businesses and other specific use cases. Here are details on some the providers we use most often at LuminFire:

Geocodio
Geocodio has carved out a niche by offering a simple, developer-friendly service focused primarily on the U.S. and Canada. It’s known for its transparent and permissive terms of use.

• Pricing Structure: Geocodio’s model is very clear. It offers a generous Pay-As-You-Go plan with 2,500 free lookups per day. After that, the cost is a flat rate per 1,000 requests, with volume discounts. They also offer “unlimited” subscription plans for high-volume users who need a dedicated instance and a high request throughput.
• Unique Features: A key selling point is its data enrichment capabilities. Beyond just returning coordinates, Geocodio can append a wealth of additional data in a single API call, such as:
  • Congressional, state, and school districts
  • Census data (FIPS codes, block groups)
  • Time zones
• Best For: Developers and businesses with a need for robust, U.S.- and Canada-specific geocoding and data enrichment. Its permissive license allows users to store the geocoded data indefinitely without additional fees.

Esri ArcGIS
Esri is a leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and provides a comprehensive suite of location-based services, with its geocoding services being a core component.

• Pricing Structure: Esri’s pricing is based on a credit system within its ArcGIS Online platform. You purchase credits, and each geocoding request (and other services) consumes a certain number of credits. For instance, geocoding an address might cost 0.04 credits per request. They offer a free tier that includes a set number of credits to get started. Esri also provides fixed annual subscriptions for high-volume, on-premises needs.
• Unique Features: Esri’s geocoding is tightly integrated into a complete GIS ecosystem. It’s not just a standalone API; it’s part of a powerful platform for spatial analysis, data visualization, and mapping. The service is known for its high-quality, global coverage and robust tools for batch geocoding and address normalization.
• Best For: Enterprises and organizations that require a full-stack GIS solution. Esri is the standard in government, utilities, and large-scale asset management. Its credit-based model offers flexibility, but the overall cost can be higher than other providers.

Smarty (aka SmartyStreets)
SmartyStreets is a provider specializing in address validation and geocoding, particularly in the United States. They are well-known for their accuracy and speed, especially for “rooftop-level” geocoding. It’s important to note the distinction between their core services.

Address Validation: This is their primary service. It’s used to verify that an address is real and mailable according to USPS standards. It corrects typos, standardizes formatting, and returns a verified address.

• Geocoding: SmartyStreets offers two tiers of geocoding. One is included with their address validation, which provides geocodes at the ZIP+4 level (roughly the block or neighborhood level). They also offer a separate, premium Rooftop Geocoding service that provides highly precise latitude and longitude coordinates that pinpoint the exact location of a building.
• Pricing Structure: SmartyStreets primarily uses a monthly subscription model. Pricing is based on a fixed number of lookups per month. For example, a basic plan might offer a few thousand lookups per month for a set fee. They also offer a free trial period for you to test their services. Rooftop geocoding and reverse geocoding are separate, paid services that are more expensive than their standard address validation.
• Unique Features: SmartyStreets is known for its high accuracy in geocoding, especially its rooftop-level service. It’s a great choice for companies that require precise location data for logistics, mapping, and asset tracking. Their permissive license allows you to keep the standard address validation data permanently, although there may be restrictions on how long you can store the more precise rooftop geocoding data.
• Best For: Companies that prioritize address data quality and require very high geocoding accuracy for logistics, delivery services, and real estate. The clear distinction between their validation and geocoding services allows businesses to choose the right level of precision for their needs.

Microsoft Azure Maps
Microsoft’s geocoding solution is part of its broader Azure Maps platform. It’s a comprehensive suite of geospatial services designed to integrate with the Microsoft Azure cloud ecosystem.

• Pricing Structure: Azure Maps operates on a pay-as-you-go model, where usage is measured in “transactions.” The pricing is tiered, offering volume discounts as your usage scales. There is a free tier that includes a set number of free transactions per month (e.g., 5,000 transactions for the Search service). After that, the cost is typically around $4.50 per 1,000 transactions for the initial paid tiers, with prices decreasing at higher volumes.
• Unique Features: The primary advantage of Azure Maps is its deep integration with the Microsoft Azure ecosystem. It works seamlessly with other Azure services like IoT, machine learning, and data visualization tools such as Power BI. This makes it a powerful choice for businesses already operating on the Azure cloud and looking for a cohesive, secure, and scalable solution.
• Best For: Enterprises and developers who are already using or planning to use Microsoft Azure services. It provides a robust, enterprise-grade geocoding service that can handle high volumes of requests and is designed for mission-critical applications.

OpenStreetMap (Nominatim)
OpenStreetMap is a collaborative, open-source mapping project. Its primary geocoding service is Nominatim, which uses the OSM database.

• Pricing Structure: The public Nominatim instance is free to use, but with very strict usage policies. The public service is not intended for commercial use or high-volume requests. Users are limited to a few requests per second and are asked to use a hosted provider or run their own instance if they need higher volume.
• Unique Features: The biggest advantage is that the data is open and can be used for free. Developers can download the entire dataset and run their own Nominatim server, giving them complete control over their geocoding service, but requiring significant server administration and maintenance.
• Best For: Hobbyist projects, academic research, or businesses with the technical resources to self-host their own geocoding server. For commercial applications, it is often more practical to use a paid service that uses OpenStreetMap data (like OpenCage or Mapbox).

U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder
The Census Bureau offers a geocoding service specifically for U.S. addresses, primarily to link them to census geographies.

Pricing Structure: The Census Geocoder is completely free for all users, with no charges for usage.

• Limitations:
  • Data Coverage: It only works for addresses within the United States.
  • Purpose: Its primary purpose is to provide location data related to U.S. census geographies (e.g., state, county, tract, and block codes) in addition to latitude and longitude.
  • Batch Processing: It supports batch geocoding of up to 10,000 addresses at a time, making it a powerful tool for researchers and analysts working with U.S. data.
• Best For: Academic research, government use, and any application that needs to analyze U.S. demographic data based on address. It is not a general-purpose, global geocoding API.

Limitations

No system is perfect and everyone has received wrong directions from time to time, usually due to missing, bad, or outdated data. Where geocoding can fall short is new construction and non residential/business addresses (e.g. raw land) so your mileage may vary when mapping addresses that are very new or very remote/obscure.

Adding location intelligence to your application

Geocoding services, vital for location-based applications, convert addresses to coordinates and vice versa. Providers like Google, HERE, Geocodio, and OpenStreetMap offer diverse pricing (pay-as-you-go or subscription) and features. Selecting a service requires balancing cost with data quality, coverage, and reliability. Need help choosing a provider or setting up geocoding in your solution? Please let us know.

Tim Cimbura – CEO, CFO and Software Engineer

Tim is an expert in creating custom business solutions that make businesses more effective, productive, and profitable. He specializes in rapid application development with Claris FileMaker, Laravel, and WordPress. He also knows Apple macOS technology inside and out.