Compare software

Nominatim vs openrouteservice: catalog facts
Nominatim	openrouteservice
Best for: Adding address search and reverse geocoding backed by OpenStreetMap	Best for: Routing and reachability analysis on OpenStreetMap data, hosted or on your own server
Free Free and open source; the public API is free for occasional use under a usage policy.	Free Open source to self-host; the public API is free within daily limits.
Web, Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted
Forward and reverse geocoding on OpenStreetMap data Scales from one city to the whole planet All 4 strengths for Nominatim Forward and reverse geocoding on OpenStreetMap data Scales from one city to the whole planet Minutely updates keep data current Structured queries for bulk address geocoding	Directions, isochrones, matrices and geocoding in one API Self-hostable with Docker Compose or as a JAR All 4 strengths for openrouteservice Directions, isochrones, matrices and geocoding in one API Self-hostable with Docker Compose or as a JAR Free public API and browser map client QGIS plugin and Python, JavaScript and R clients
Public API is limited to occasional use A full planet import needs a large server	Public API has daily request limits Self-hosting large regions needs significant server resources
Self-hosted, Hosted service	Web application, Self-hosted, Hosted service
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Nominatim nominatim.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for openrouteservice openrouteservice.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.