An Affordable LocationIQ Alternative for Geocoding
LocationIQ is a popular OpenStreetMap-based platform with one of the most generous free tiers in geocoding: 5,000 requests/day at no cost. If that is all you need and you can show their attribution link, stop reading - it is a great deal. This page is about what happens after the free tier: the first paid step, and what ExoAPI's geocoding API does differently in between.
LocationIQ vs ExoAPI at a Glance
| LocationIQ Free | LocationIQ Developer | ExoAPI Geocoding | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $100/month | From 9€/month |
| Daily quota | 5,000 requests/day | 25,000 requests/day | 1,000 requests/day entry, up to 50,000/day by plan |
| Attribution required | Yes - visible link on your app | No | Only standard OSM credit when displaying data on maps |
| Rate limit | 2 requests/second | Higher | Per-plan daily quota |
| Storing / caching results | Allowed (open data) | Allowed (open data) | Allowed (open data) |
| Bundled APIs | Geocoding, maps, routing | Geocoding, maps, routing | All ExoAPI APIs (geocoding, PDF, barcodes, moderation…) |
Pricing last checked October 2026 - always verify against the providers' official pricing pages.
The Gap Between Free and $100
LocationIQ's pricing has a hole in the middle. The free tier covers hobby projects handsomely, and the Developer plan at $100/month for 25,000 requests/day covers serious products. But a small production app - a few hundred geocodes a day, no attribution link wanted on a client's product, an invoice the accountant recognizes - has to jump straight from $0 to $100.
That gap is exactly where ExoAPI's entry plan sits: 9€/month for 1,000 requests/day (~30,000/month), no attribution-link requirement in your UI (only the usual "© OpenStreetMap contributors" credit when you display the data on a map), and the result is yours to store forever. Because geocoded addresses can be cached in your own database, 1,000/day goes further than it sounds - you never geocode the same address twice.
When LocationIQ Is the Better Choice
- Your volume fits the free tier and attribution is fine - 5,000 requests/day for free is hard to argue with.
- You also need their map tiles and routing under one roof.
- You consistently need 25,000+ requests/day, where the $100 Developer plan is competitively priced.
When ExoAPI Is the Better Choice
- You outgrew the free tier (or can't show the attribution link) but $100/month is out of proportion to your few hundred requests a day.
- You want the subscription to cover more than location: reverse geocoding plus HTML to PDF rendering, barcode and QR generation, and AI content moderation are included in every plan.
- You like flat, boring pricing that scales in small steps instead of one big one.
Migrating From LocationIQ
Both APIs speak OpenStreetMap, so results are directly comparable. Replace the LocationIQ search call:
const res = await fetch(`https://us1.locationiq.com/v1/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(address)}&format=json&key=${LOCATIONIQ_KEY}`);
const data = await res.json();
const { lat, lon } = data[0];
With the ExoAPI call:
import { ExoAPI } from "@flower-digital/exoapi-sdk";
const exoapi = new ExoAPI({ apiKey: "<your-api-key>" });
const { lat, lon, postalCode, city, country } = await exoapi.geocoding({
address,
});
ExoAPI's response is already parsed into structured components (house number, street, postcode, city, region codes, currency), so the usual post-processing of Nominatim-style display_name strings disappears.
Try It on Your Own Addresses
Start a free 14-day trial (no credit card required), geocode a sample of your real addresses, and compare the results for your regions before deciding.
