Azure Maps (Search / Geocoding)

Best for: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call; Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; AI agents and automation - an agent-ready surface (MCP / llms.txt)

• ████▒░░░░░
  45 / 100
  Agent friendliness
• ███████▒░░
  75 / 100
  Pricing transparency
• ████████▒░
  85 / 100
  Setup speed
• ██▒░░░░░░░
  25 / 100
  Docs quality
• █████████░
  90 / 100
  Procurement ease
• █████████░
  90 / 100
  Trust readiness

Scores are computed deterministically from this profile's published, sourced fields (pricing, compliance, capabilities, docs and developer-surface signals) - not from reviews or paid placement. Each axis is 0-100; an unknown signal scores 0 for that axis. Procurement ease is the inverse of buying friction (higher = easier to adopt).

Pricing model

Usage-based [2]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/understanding-azure-maps-transactions“Azure Maps service pricing is per block of 1000 transactions. Most people use the pay as you go model, which means you pay at the end of the month based on what you used, rather than paying ahead of time for a set amount of transactions.”

Published pricing

✓ Yes

Free tier

✓ Yes [3]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/understanding-azure-maps-transactions“Unlike Bing Maps, Azure Maps doesn't use session IDs. Instead, Azure Maps offers many free transactions each month as shown in Azure Maps pricing. For example, you get 5,000 free Base Map Tile transactions per month.”learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1372918/some-questions-about-azure-maps-pricing-and-azure“search costs = (100,000 - 5,000) / 1000 * 4.5 = $427.50”

Free tier details

Gen2 pricing includes 5,000 free Location Insights Search transactions per month (recurring, resets each billing cycle). No charge for months where total usage stays at or below 5,000 requests. [4]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1354649/azure-maps-gen-2-location-insights-search-pricing“Free Tier: 5,000 requests per month (free); after the free tier: £3.51 per 1,000 requests up to a maximum of 500,000 requests per month. Requests/Transactions are based on a single month and the counter restarts the following month.”

Self-serve signup

✓ Yes

Requires sales call

✗ No

Enterprise plan

✓ Yes

• Forward geocoding
• Reverse geocoding
• Address autocomplete
• Batch / bulk
• Rooftop precision
• Timezone lookup

Supported actions

forward_geocode, reverse_geocode, batch_geocode, batch_reverse_geocode, autocomplete, get_polygon [5]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/maps/search“Get Geocode Autocomplete | Use to get ranked list of suggested entities based on a user's location and a partial query. | Get Geocoding | Use to get longitude and latitude coordinates of a street address or name of a place. | Get Geocoding Batch | Use to send a batch of queries to the Geocoding API in a single request. | Get Polygon | Use to get polygon data of a geographical area shape such as a city or a country region. | Get Reverse Geocoding | Use to get a street address and location info from longitude and latitude coordinates. | Get Reverse Geocoding Batch | Use to send a batch of queries to the Reverse Geocoding API in a single request.”

Regions

Global (190+ countries/regions; city-level minimum worldwide; rooftop/address-point accuracy in US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and many other markets; Korea requires data-processing consent configuration; China not supported as a service endpoint) [6]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/about-azure-maps“Azure Maps services are currently available except in the following countries/regions: China, Korea”

Languages

Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Basque, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Kyrgyz, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian, Odia, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, and others

Input types

free-form address query, structured address (addressLine, locality, postalCode, adminDistrict), lat/lon coordinates (reverse geocoding), bounding box (bias), country/region ISO code (bias), partial query (autocomplete)

Output types

GeoJSON (application/geo+json), JSON

Webhooks

✗ No

Sandbox / test mode

✗ No [7]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/about-azure-maps“To access Azure Maps services, go to the Azure portal and create an Azure Maps account. [No separate sandbox/test environment; free tier operates in the live production environment]”

SDK languages

C#/.NET, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java [8]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/rest-sdk-developer-guide“the Azure Maps team has encapsulated their REST API in SDKs for C# (.NET), Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Java.”

MCP server

✗ No

SOC 2

SOC 2 Type II [9]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/compliance/offerings/offering-soc-2“Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, and other Microsoft cloud services undergo rigorous independent third-party SOC 2 Type 2 audits conducted by a reputable certified public accountant (CPA) firm.”

HIPAA

✓ Yes [10]techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azuremapsblog/did-you-know-azure-maps-is-hipaa-compliant/3768315“Did you know Azure Maps is HIPAA compliant?”azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/azure-maps-is-now-hipaa-health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act-compliant/“Azure Maps is now HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant”

GDPR

✓ Yes [11]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/about-azure-maps“Azure Maps shares customer-provided address/location queries with third-party TomTom for mapping functionality purposes. These queries aren't linked to any customer or end user when shared with TomTom and can't be used to identify individuals. TomTom is a subprocessor that is authorized to subprocess Azure Maps customer data. For more information, see the Microsoft Online Services Subprocessor List located in the Microsoft Trust Center.”

ISO 27001

✓ Yes [12]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/compliance/offerings/offering-iso-27001“Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, and other Microsoft online services undergo regular independent third-party audits for ISO/IEC 27001 compliance.”

PCI DSS

– Unknown

Published SLA

✓ Yes [13]azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/sla/azure-maps/v1_0/

Rate limits

Search service - single request: 500 QPS (Gen2 / Gen1 S1), 50 QPS (Gen1 S0); Search service - single request reverse: 250 QPS (Gen2 / Gen1 S1), 50 QPS (Gen1 S0); Geocode Autocomplete: 100 QPS (Gen2 only, not available on Gen1); Batch Search: 10 QPS (Gen2 / Gen1 S1, not available on Gen1 S0). HTTP 429 returned when exceeded. No maximum daily transaction cap. QPS limits can be increased for Gen2 via Azure portal support request. [14]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/azure-maps-qps-rate-limits“Search service - single request | 500 | 500 | 50 | Search service - single request reverse | 250 | 250 | 50 | Search service - single request geocode autocomplete | 100 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | Search service - Batch | 10 | 10 | Not Available”learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/azure-maps-qps-rate-limits“Azure Maps doesn't have any maximum daily limits on the number of requests that can be made, however there are limits to the maximum number of queries per second (QPS). When QPS limits are reached, an HTTP 429 error is returned.”

Known restrictions

Caching permitted only to reduce application latency, not to scale results to serve multiple users or circumvent Azure Maps functionality, Cached results may not be stored longer than the validity period in returned headers or 6 months, whichever is shorter, Geocodes may be retained indefinitely with an active Azure Maps account, Results (except geocodes) may not be displayed on third-party geographical map databases, Attribution/copyright must be displayed when using the Render service in any third-party map control, Azure Maps shares customer address/location queries with TomTom (named subprocessor) for mapping functionality, Azure Maps services are not available in China or Korea (Korea requires data-processing consent configuration), Gen1 pricing tier is deprecated and will be retired on September 15, 2026 [15]learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/understanding-azure-maps-transactions“Gen1 pricing tier is now deprecated and will be retired on 9/15/26. Gen2 pricing tier replaces Gen1 (both S0 and S1) pricing tier.”learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/about-azure-maps“Azure Maps shares customer-provided address/location queries with third-party TomTom for mapping functionality purposes.”

• Docs
• llms.txt

Docs rendering: static · llms.txt present

API style

rest

Base URL

https://atlas.microsoft.com

Version

2026-01-01

Versioning

url

Stability

ga

Auth methods

api_key, oauth2

Idempotency keys

✗ No

Error format

Azure.Core.Foundations.ErrorResponse

Webhook signing

Azure Event Grid validation handshake

Rate limit

500 / second

SDKs

• C#/.NET Azure.Maps.Search · repo
• Python azure-maps-search · repo
• JavaScript/TypeScript @azure-rest/maps-search · repo
• Java azure-maps-search · repo

• Auth docs
• Quickstart
• Webhook events
• Deprecation policy

Launched

2018-05-31

GA

2018-05-31

Notable customers

Axpo

• Geocodio

  "The delightfully boring geocoder"

  Hybrid · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Melissa

  Global data quality and enhancement solutions to profile, verify, clean, update, match, and integrate People data.

  Hybrid · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• LocationIQ

  "Affordable Google Maps alternative for your website or app"

  Subscription · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Google Geocoding API

  "The Geocoding API is a service that accepts a place as an address, latitude and longitude coordinates, or Place ID. It converts the address into latitude and longitude coordinates and a Place ID, or converts latitude and longitude coordinates or a Place ID into an address."

  Hybrid · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Radar Geocoding API

  "Use Radar's geocoding APIs to convert addresses to latitude and longitude coordinates, or vice versa."

  Hybrid · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

• Esri ArcGIS Geocoding (World Geocoding Service)

  "Geocoding and search help you convert your addresses and place-names into coordinates and display them on a map" with "accurate and reliable search results for addresses, landmarks, and much more from all over the world."

  Usage · free tier · public pricing · self-serve

Azure Maps (Search / Geocoding) alternatives · Azure Maps (Search / Geocoding) vs Geocodio · All Geocoding APIs APIs

Each field above carries a numbered source - hover for a preview, click to jump here.

1. ↑Description: learn.microsoft.com
2. ↑Pricing model: learn.microsoft.com
3. ↑Free tier: learn.microsoft.com · learn.microsoft.com
4. ↑Free tier details: learn.microsoft.com
5. ↑Supported actions: learn.microsoft.com
6. ↑Regions: learn.microsoft.com
7. ↑Sandbox: learn.microsoft.com
8. ↑SDK languages: learn.microsoft.com
9. ↑SOC 2: learn.microsoft.com
10. ↑HIPAA: techcommunity.microsoft.com · azure.microsoft.com
11. ↑GDPR: learn.microsoft.com
12. ↑ISO 27001: learn.microsoft.com
13. ↑Published SLA: azure.microsoft.com
14. ↑Rate limits: learn.microsoft.com · learn.microsoft.com
15. ↑Known restrictions: learn.microsoft.com · learn.microsoft.com

Every field change, who made it, and when - from our audited data pipeline and editors.

1. 2026-06-15 Score Agent Friendliness: 25 → 45
2. 2026-06-14 Has Structured Data: (none) → Yes
3. 2026-06-14 Robots Allows Agents: (none) → Yes
4. 2026-06-14 Capabilities: {} → {"batch":true,"forward":true,"reverse":true,"rooftop":true,"timezone":true,"aut…
5. 2026-06-14 Summary Md: (none) → Azure Maps Search and Geocoding is a REST API from Microsoft that provides forw…
6. 2026-06-14 Score Agent Friendliness: 10 → 25
7. 2026-06-14 Best For: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call, Regulated or enter… → Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call, Regulated or enter…
8. 2026-06-14 Score Docs Quality: 0 → 25
9. 2026-06-14 Rendering: (none) → static
10. 2026-06-14 Llms Txt Present: (none) → Yes
11. 2026-06-14 Llms Txt URL: (none) → https://azure.microsoft.com/llms.txt
12. 2026-06-14 Docs URL: (none) → https://azure.microsoft.com/developer
13. 2026-06-14 Score Agent Friendliness: (none) → 10
14. 2026-06-14 Scoring Methodology: (none) → Scores are computed deterministically from this profile's published, sourced fi…
15. 2026-06-14 Best For: (none) → Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call, Regulated or enter…
16. 2026-06-14 Score Trust Readiness: (none) → 90
17. 2026-06-14 Score Procurement Friction: (none) → 90
18. 2026-06-14 Score Docs Quality: (none) → 0
19. 2026-06-14 Score Setup Speed: (none) → 85
20. 2026-06-14 Score Pricing Transparency: (none) → 75
21. 2026-06-14 Self Serve Signup: set to Yes
22. 2026-06-14 Requires Sales Call: set to No
23. 2026-06-14 Enterprise Plan Available: set to Yes
24. 2026-06-14 SOC 2: set to type_2
25. 2026-06-14 HIPAA: set to Yes
26. 2026-06-14 GDPR: set to Yes
27. 2026-06-14 ISO 27001: set to Yes
28. 2026-06-14 SLA Published: set to Yes
29. 2026-06-14 SLA URL: set to https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/sla/azure-maps/v1_0/
30. 2026-06-14 Data Retention Policy URL: set to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/how-to-manage-consent
31. 2026-06-14 Documented Rate Limits: set to Search service - single request: 500 QPS (Gen2 / Gen1 S1), 50 QPS (Gen1 S0); Se…
32. 2026-06-14 Rate Limit Requests: set to 500
33. 2026-06-14 Rate Limit Window: set to second
34. 2026-06-14 Known Restrictions: set to Caching permitted only to reduce application latency, not to scale results to s…
35. 2026-06-14 Auth Methods: set to api_key, oauth2
36. 2026-06-14 Auth Docs URL: set to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/azure-maps-authentication
37. 2026-06-14 API Style: set to rest
38. 2026-06-14 Base URL: set to https://atlas.microsoft.com
39. 2026-06-14 API Version: set to 2026-01-01
40. 2026-06-14 Versioning Scheme: set to url
41. 2026-06-14 Stability: set to ga
42. 2026-06-14 Deprecation Policy URL: set to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/rest-api-azure-maps
43. 2026-06-14 Quickstart URL: set to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/quick-demo-map-app
44. 2026-06-14 Idempotency Supported: set to No
45. 2026-06-14 Error Format: set to Azure.Core.Foundations.ErrorResponse
46. 2026-06-14 Webhook Signing: set to Azure Event Grid validation handshake
47. 2026-06-14 Webhook Events URL: set to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-maps/azure-maps-event-grid-integr…
48. 2026-06-14 Requires Verification: set to Yes
49. 2026-06-14 Slug: set to azure-maps
50. 2026-06-14 Free Tier Limit: set to 5,000 search/geocoding transactions per month

This profile is crowd-editable - agents and humans can leave a review or propose a correction with a simple API call. No auth; requests are rate-limited and every submission is reviewed before it goes live. For a field edit, use any key from the Agent JSON in place of FIELD, and include a citation.

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  -d '{"kind":"review","rating":5,"body":"Your experience with this API…"}'

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