A free daily allowance for geocoding, as long as you link back to them. LocationIQ sells geocoding, routing and map APIs, and Reddit posters describe it as searching OpenStreetMap data. The Free plan allows 5,000 requests a day at 2 requests a second and 60 a minute, and commercial use is allowed if you add a Search by LocationIQ.com link on your site or app. Paid plans start at $45 a month for maps only and $100 for all APIs at 25,000 requests a day, rising to $950 for 30 million a month, with two months free on annual billing. Capterra shows 4.9 from 131 reviews, and one reviewer called the free tier fairly limited. Older Reddit posts quote 10,000 free requests a day, so check the current page.
Free tier quotas
Daily requests
5,000 per day
Rate limits
2 requests per second and 60 requests per minute
APIs included
Geocoding, routing, street and static maps
Commercial use
Limited, requires a prominent link back: Search by LocationIQ.com
Access tokens
1, with no IP or HTTP restrictions
Support
Best-effort email support
Datacenters
US and EU
Caching
Free accounts may cache request and response pairs for up to 48 hours
Unsuccessful requests
Not charged
Startup program
Up to 50 percent off for 12 months for companies founded less than 2 years ago
Last sniffed Oct 10, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+The Free plan covers geocoding, routing and street and static maps at 5,000 requests a day, so one account can test every API.
+Prices are published in full: $45, $100, $200, $500 and $950 a month, with annual billing giving 2 months free.
+Paid daily limits are soft. The FAQ says requests up to an extra 100 percent of the daily limit are allowed before a 429 error.
+A Capterra reviewer said the free geocoding and clearly documented API are easy to use, and had no complaints beyond needing a cost effective service.
+A Hacker News commenter said they use LocationIQ, are very happy and negotiated a different rate limit.
+Capterra lists 131 reviews at 4.9 and G2 lists 25 reviews, so the review base is large for a geocoding API.
+Unsuccessful requests are not charged, and the FAQ says you can store response data forever.
+Early stage companies founded less than 2 years ago can apply for up to 50 percent off for the first 12 months.
👎 Watch out
−A Capterra reviewer called the free tier fairly limited, and said they dialed down usage because they did not have enough users to take advantage of better request rates.
−The Free plan is capped at 2 requests per second and 60 per minute, with 1 access token and no IP or HTTP restrictions.
−Commercial use of the Free plan is limited and needs the link back on your site or app.
−Maps Lite at $45 gives access to map APIs only. Geocoding and routing start at the $100 Developer plan.
−There are no refunds, except that LocationIQ says it will refund the most recent charge if you forgot to cancel and write within 7 days.
−Downgrades take effect only at the end of the billing cycle, though upgrades are immediate.
−Old numbers circulate. A 2019 r/webdev poster cited 10K free requests a day, while the current Free plan is 5,000.
The catch
The Free plan has 5,000 requests a day at 2 requests per second and 60 per minute. The page lists geocoding, routing and street and static maps as included. Commercial use is marked limited on the plan: you may use it in commercial projects if you add a prominent link back in the format Search by LocationIQ.com, so I marked it restricted.
Paid plans: Maps Lite $45 for 10,000 map views a day, maps only, no minutely limits, and commercial use. Developer $100 for 25,000 requests a day at 20 per second with all APIs. Startup $200 for 60,000 a day at 22 per second with priority email support. Growth Plus $500 for 7.5 million a month at 30 per second. Business Plus $950 for 30 million a month at 40 per second with live support and dedicated AWS endpoints. Enterprise is custom. Annual billing gives 2 months free.
A map view is the billing unit for map display: one map view counts as one request credit and covers 16 raster tile requests or 4 vector tile requests. One static map request counts as one credit.
A structured read of the page said a credit card is required for the Free plan, but the page text does not say so. The FAQ only says paid plans accept major credit and debit cards, so card requirement is marked unknown.
Older Reddit threads quote different free limits. A 2019 post said 10K requests per day or 300K a month, which does not match the current page.
What’s included
✓Forward geocoding
✓Reverse geocoding
✓Autocomplete
✓Routing and directions
✓Street maps and static maps
✓US and EU datacenters
✓Multiple access tokens
✓IP and HTTP restrictions
✓Startup program
Free tier value
Generosity
B
Estimated value
5,000 free requests a day
Feature parity
Maps Lite is maps only. Developer and above include all APIs.
Screenshots
LocationIQ homepagePricing page
Paid plans
Maps Lite, $45 per month
10,000 map views a day at 15 requests per second, map APIs only, commercial use, multiple tokens, IP and HTTP restrictions, email support.
Developer, $100 per month
25,000 requests a day at 20 requests per second, all APIs, soft daily limits.
Startup, $200 per month
60,000 requests a day at 22 per second, priority email support, no limits for Maps.
Growth Plus, $500 per month
7.5 million requests a month at 30 per second, no daily limits, soft monthly limits.
Business Plus, $950 per month
30 million requests a month at 40 per second, priority live support, dedicated AWS endpoints.
Enterprise
Custom rates up to 10 billion requests a day, dedicated servers, wire transfers and custom SLAs.
Common questions
Can I use the free plan commercially?
Yes with a prominent link back to LocationIQ in the format Search by LocationIQ.com.
What happens at the daily limit?
Paid plans have soft limits that allow up to an extra 100 percent of the daily limit. Beyond that you get a 429 error with a Rate Limited Day message.
Can I cache results?
You can store response data forever, per the FAQ. Free accounts can cache request and response pairs for up to 48 hours, and server-side caching of map tiles is not allowed.
Do you offer refunds?
No, except that LocationIQ refunds the most recent charge if you forgot to cancel and write within 7 days.
Is there a discount for startups?
Yes, up to 50 percent off for the first 12 months for companies founded less than 2 years ago.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
Pricing page lists Free at 5,000 requests a day, Maps Lite $45, Developer $100, Startup $200, Growth Plus $500, Business Plus $950. Capterra shows 4.9 from 131 reviews.
