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Ask HN: Cheapest Maps APIs

30 points by agencies 5y ago

What are your go-to maps APIs for budget minded businesses? Where is there still room for improvement? The Google price hike was a while ago but APIs continue to be too expensive for folks [1]. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26991625#27003898

nrdvana 5y ago
Are you aware of OpenStreetMap.org ? They have an entire ecosystem of APIs and services and download-data-and-serve-it-yourself options.
- agencies 5y ago
  I'm familiar. Sounds like lots of folks are (as in the thread), but still have friction being able to leverage it. Sounds to me like there are still are gaps that new services could fill to make it easier to use.
- RicoElectrico 5y ago
  This is a common myth. OSM is a data product, not an API product. The OSM Foundation's map serving infrastructure is not "free as in beer". But as you said, you can self-host the maps (and geocoding/routing) with a server beefy enough.
  - tinus_hn 5y ago
    OpenStreetMap.org, on the other side, is a website representing an ecosystem that includes data, software and services.
tapvt 5y ago
With regards to what features? Map display? Geolocation? Routing? I am also curious.
taf2 5y ago
Checkout mapbox not sure if the pricing is better the but the api is easy to use and the pricing is pretty clear IMO
dirkt 5y ago
For your frontend: MapLibre GL [1] is the fork of Mapbox GL that's still open source, so you don't have to pay for each usage. For tile hosting: Openmaptiles [2], based on Openstreetmap data. Either pay them for out-of-the-box experience, or use their open-source code to set up your own server at whatever hosting for whatever price you prefer. [1] https://github.com/MapLibre/maplibre-gl-js https://github.com/MapLibre/maplibre-gl-js [2] https://openmaptiles.org/ https://openmaptiles.org/
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
phonon 5y ago
https://aws.amazon.com/location/pricing/ https://aws.amazon.com/location/pricing/
tristan123456 5y ago
Apple Maps is cheap - 250000 views per day are for free. You will have to create your own client JWTs afaik. Not sure about APIs.
- tailspin2019 5y ago
  Agreed. I moved straight to Apple Maps after Google’s price hike and haven’t had a problem since. To this day still covered by the free tier whereas on Google it went overnight from free to $300+/month. I can’t quite recall if you need to be registered as an Apple Developer to use it (probably).
  - slipwalker 5y ago
    are you using the mapkit-js[1] to integrate with other platforms than ios, or something else ? [1]https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkitjs https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkitjs
    - tailspin2019 5y ago
      Yep MapKit JS for "find your nearest location" type functionality on a corporate website (with zip/post code lookup, location details overlaid etc.) Rereading OP I realise the question was about APIs rather than necessarily web-based mapping (which is how I initially had read it)
simfree 5y ago
On this same tangent, does anyone know a cheap API for suggesting and validating addresses?
- NetToolKit 5y ago
  Not sure about your specific use case, but we at NetToolKit offer address autocompletion in the US; you can see a demo at: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/autocomplete https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/autocomplete If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at support @ [domain].
stadeschuldt 5y ago
Here has a freemium tier (no credit card required) which gives you 250k transactions per month for free. https://developer.here.com/pricing https://developer.here.com/pricing Disclaimer: I work for here.
- bruce511 5y ago
  Plus one for this. I created a wrapper in the language I use for HERE maps, and their fremium model is great. Over 250K I start paying, but I haven't got there yet. I'm using routing, address auto-complete (International), tiles, traffic maps and so on.
vami 5y ago
https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/plans/ https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/plans/
billylo 5y ago
If you are curious about which routing engines fit you better, try this https://superroute.evergreen-labs.com https://superroute.evergreen-labs.com (I made it to for myself and later shared it with friends and others.)
iudqnolq 5y ago
If you're in the UK, take a look at the Ordnance Survey. Some data is open source, some very reasonably priced.
NetToolKit 5y ago
We at NetToolKit offer map tiles (both vector and raster), geocoding, and for the US, we offer autocompletion: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/about https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/about $10 for 100,000 transactions (e.g. geocoding requests, tile sessions) We have a tool to compare geocoding results across different providers: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/demo https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/demo We also have a JavaScript library (MapWrapper) that makes working with maps easier (including allowing you to easily switch among a few of the different tile providers). We welcome feedback!

30 points by agencies 5y ago

nrdvana 5y ago

Are you aware of OpenStreetMap.org ? They have an entire ecosystem of APIs and services and download-data-and-serve-it-yourself options.

agencies 5y ago
I'm familiar. Sounds like lots of folks are (as in the thread), but still have friction being able to leverage it. Sounds to me like there are still are gaps that new services could fill to make it easier to use.
RicoElectrico 5y ago
This is a common myth. OSM is a data product, not an API product. The OSM Foundation's map serving infrastructure is not "free as in beer". But as you said, you can self-host the maps (and geocoding/routing) with a server beefy enough.
- tinus_hn 5y ago
  OpenStreetMap.org, on the other side, is a website representing an ecosystem that includes data, software and services.

tapvt 5y ago

With regards to what features? Map display? Geolocation? Routing? I am also curious.

taf2 5y ago

Checkout mapbox not sure if the pricing is better the but the api is easy to use and the pricing is pretty clear IMO

dirkt 5y ago

For your frontend: MapLibre GL [1] is the fork of Mapbox GL that's still open source, so you don't have to pay for each usage. For tile hosting: Openmaptiles [2], based on Openstreetmap data. Either pay them for out-of-the-box experience, or use their open-source code to set up your own server at whatever hosting for whatever price you prefer. [1] https://github.com/MapLibre/maplibre-gl-js https://github.com/MapLibre/maplibre-gl-js [2] https://openmaptiles.org/ https://openmaptiles.org/

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

phonon 5y ago

https://aws.amazon.com/location/pricing/ https://aws.amazon.com/location/pricing/

tristan123456 5y ago

Apple Maps is cheap - 250000 views per day are for free. You will have to create your own client JWTs afaik. Not sure about APIs.

tailspin2019 5y ago
Agreed. I moved straight to Apple Maps after Google’s price hike and haven’t had a problem since. To this day still covered by the free tier whereas on Google it went overnight from free to $300+/month. I can’t quite recall if you need to be registered as an Apple Developer to use it (probably).
- slipwalker 5y ago
  are you using the mapkit-js[1] to integrate with other platforms than ios, or something else ? [1]https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkitjs https://developer.apple.com/documentation/mapkitjs
  - tailspin2019 5y ago
    Yep MapKit JS for "find your nearest location" type functionality on a corporate website (with zip/post code lookup, location details overlaid etc.) Rereading OP I realise the question was about APIs rather than necessarily web-based mapping (which is how I initially had read it)

simfree 5y ago

On this same tangent, does anyone know a cheap API for suggesting and validating addresses?

NetToolKit 5y ago
Not sure about your specific use case, but we at NetToolKit offer address autocompletion in the US; you can see a demo at: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/autocomplete https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/autocomplete If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at support @ [domain].

stadeschuldt 5y ago

Here has a freemium tier (no credit card required) which gives you 250k transactions per month for free. https://developer.here.com/pricing https://developer.here.com/pricing Disclaimer: I work for here.

bruce511 5y ago
Plus one for this. I created a wrapper in the language I use for HERE maps, and their fremium model is great. Over 250K I start paying, but I haven't got there yet. I'm using routing, address auto-complete (International), tiles, traffic maps and so on.

vami 5y ago

https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/plans/ https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/plans/

billylo 5y ago

If you are curious about which routing engines fit you better, try this https://superroute.evergreen-labs.com https://superroute.evergreen-labs.com (I made it to for myself and later shared it with friends and others.)

iudqnolq 5y ago

If you're in the UK, take a look at the Ordnance Survey. Some data is open source, some very reasonably priced.

NetToolKit 5y ago

We at NetToolKit offer map tiles (both vector and raster), geocoding, and for the US, we offer autocompletion: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/about https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/about $10 for 100,000 transactions (e.g. geocoding requests, tile sessions) We have a tool to compare geocoding results across different providers: https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/demo https://www.nettoolkit.com/geo/demo We also have a JavaScript library (MapWrapper) that makes working with maps easier (including allowing you to easily switch among a few of the different tile providers). We welcome feedback!