Google Maps API vs Nominatim API

Two free Geocoding APIs compared on access, reliability and developer ratings, using data from our daily health checks.

The verdict

Choose Google Maps API for its data: Create/customize digital maps based on Google Maps data.
Choose Nominatim API if you want to start without an API key, to call it from browser JavaScript, faster responses.

	Google Maps API	Nominatim API
What it does	Create/customize digital maps based on Google Maps data.	Provides worldwide forward / reverse geocoding.
Provider	Google Maps Platform	Nominatim 5.3.3 Manual
API key	Required	Not needed
HTTPS	Yes	Yes
CORS (browser calls)	Unknown	Yes
Status today	Online · 1896 ms	Online · 637 ms
Uptime (30 days)	Up	Up
Developer rating	Not rated yet	Not rated yet
Price	Free / free tier	Free / free tier

Create/customize digital maps based on Google Maps data.

Millions of websites and apps use Google Maps Platform to power location experiences for their users.

Strengths

Provides worldwide forward / reverse geocoding.

Strengths

Prototyping or a tutorial? Pick the one that needs no API key.
Calling from a web page? You need CORS. Otherwise route requests through your own server or a serverless function.
Going to production? Favour HTTPS, a strong uptime record and a provider with clear rate limits and terms. Check each API's docs before you commit.
Still unsure? Both are free to try: send one request to each and compare the data you get back.

Google Maps API requires an API key; Nominatim API doesn't, so Nominatim API is quicker to try.

Nominatim API supports CORS, so front-end JavaScript can call it directly. Call the other from a server.