Best Routing APIs
Opinionated picks for routing apis, with the trade-offs up front, judged from each API’s published, cited data. The reasoning is shown, so disagree where you know better. Compare all 15 →
Best overall: Azure Maps Route
Azure Maps Route is a REST API from Microsoft that calculates optimal routes for cars, commercial trucks, and pedestrians, covering 200-plus countries with support for turn-by-turn directions, distance matrices, isochrones, waypoint optimization, and snap-to-road. It is priced per 1,000 transactions on a self-serve, usage-based model with a published rate card and no sales call required. SDKs are available for .NET, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Java. The service carries SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS certifications, and ships a published SLA.
free tier available.
How it stacks up
- ✓ On compliance, Azure Maps Route additionally documents SOC 2, GDPR.
- ✓ On compliance, Azure Maps Route additionally documents HIPAA.
- ✓ On compliance, Azure Maps Route additionally documents HIPAA.
Best for: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call; Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; Teams needing broad API coverage out of the box.
At a glance
| # | API | Best for | Starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azure Maps Route | Best overall · Best free pick · Best for enterprise | Free tier | 66 |
| 2 | Route4Me | Best for agents | $149 month | 67 |
| 3 | HERE Routing API | transparent public pricing | $0.75 1,000 requests | 72 |
| 4 | Radar Geocoding API | Cheapest to start | $0.50 1,000 requests | 69 |
| 5 | Routific | transparent public pricing | $150 month | 57 |
| 6 | Google Routes API | transparent public pricing | $5 1,000 requests | 74 |
| 7 | GraphHopper Directions API | transparent public pricing | Free tier | 58 |
| 8 | TomTom Routing API | transparent public pricing | $0.75 1,000 requests | 61 |
| 9 | NextBillion.ai | Broadest surface | - | 35 |
| 10 | Stadia Maps Geocoding & Search | transparent public pricing | $20 month | 70 |
| 11 | Mapbox Directions API | transparent public pricing | $2 1,000 requests | 74 |
| 12 | TravelTime API | a free tier | Free tier | 43 |
| 13 | Geoapify Geocoding API | transparent public pricing | $59 month | 63 |
| 14 | DistanceMatrix.AI | transparent public pricing | $2 1,000 elements | 52 |
| 15 | OpenRouteService | a free tier | Free tier | 43 |
Quick pick by use case
- If you want the strongest all-round pick, pick Azure Maps Route - our default pick: strongest across pricing, trust and breadth.
- If you want to start free, pick Azure Maps Route - free tier: Gen2 pricing includes a recurring monthly free allowance per service. Route service (Loca….
- If you're buying for a regulated or large team, pick Azure Maps Route - for regulated or large teams: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, published SLA.
- If you want the lowest published entry price, pick Radar Geocoding API - from $0.50 1,000 requests to start; compare on your real usage, not the entry price.
- If you're wiring this into coding agents or AI workflows, pick Route4Me - easiest to wire up programmatically: llms.txt.
- If you want the broadest documented surface, pick NextBillion.ai - 22 documented actions; breadth isn't quality, but it's the most to build on.
The picks in depth
#1 Azure Maps Route
66 / 100- Best overall
- Best free pick
- Best for enterprise
Azure Maps Route is a REST API from Microsoft that calculates optimal routes for cars, commercial trucks, and pedestrians, covering 200-plus countries with support for turn-by-turn directions, distance matrices, isochrones, waypoint optimization, and snap-to-road. It is priced per 1,000 transactions on a self-serve, usage-based model with a published rate card and no sales call required. SDKs are available for .NET, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Java. The service carries SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS certifications, and ships a published SLA.
PricingUsage · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · GDPR · ISO 27001 · PCI DSSDoesStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupScoresAgent 30 · Pricing 75 · Setup 85 · Docs 15 · Procurement 90 · Trust 100#2 Route4Me
67 / 100- Best for agents
Route4Me is a REST API and SaaS platform for last-mile route optimization, covering multi-stop routing, fleet dispatch, real-time tracking, geocoding, and territory management across 195+ countries. Launched in 2009, it targets logistics and field service teams, with subscriptions starting at $149 per month, a 30-day full-featured developer trial via GitHub, and no sales call required. SDKs are available for nine languages including Python, Node.js, and Go. Commercial truck routing with weight and height constraints is available as a paid add-on, and the platform is HIPAA-compliant.
PricingSubscription · from $149 month · free tier ✓TrustHIPAADoesUsed byFruitGuys, BloomNetStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupScoresAgent 55 · Pricing 100 · Setup 100 · Docs 30 · Procurement 100 · Trust 15#3 HERE Routing API
72 / 100HERE Routing API is a REST-based routing and navigation service covering turn-by-turn directions, distance matrices, isoline analysis, waypoint optimization, and ETA prediction across car, truck, EV, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit modes, with global map coverage for 190+ countries. It targets logistics, fleet management, last-mile delivery, and field service teams, and is self-serve with a free tier of 30,000 transactions per month (payment on file required), then $0.75 per 1,000 requests with enterprise plans available. Compliance certifications include SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR, and SDKs are available for JavaScript, Python, Java, TypeScript, and C++.
PricingHybrid · from $0.75 1,000 requests · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001DoesUsed byUrbantz, TIMOCOM, Kovix, GlympseStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupScoresAgent 35 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 35 · Procurement 100 · Trust 75#4 Radar Geocoding API
69 / 100- Cheapest to start
Radar Geocoding API converts addresses to coordinates and coordinates to addresses via forward, reverse, and IP geocoding, covering 195+ countries with varying coverage tiers. It targets developers building store locators, delivery tracking, and content localization apps, with mobile SDKs for iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter. Pricing starts at $0.50 per 1,000 requests with a 100,000 request per month free tier and self-serve signup. The service is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and GDPR compliant, with customers including Lululemon, Pizza Hut, and TaskRabbit.
PricingHybrid · from $0.50 1,000 requests · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPRUsed byDICK'S Sporting Goods, Inspire Brands, bet365, Pizza HutStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupScoresAgent 45 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 45 · Procurement 100 · Trust 40#5 Routific
57 / 100Routific is a REST API for last-mile delivery route optimization and fleet dispatch, solving vehicle routing (VRP) and pickup-and-delivery (PDP) problems for growing businesses globally using 179 ML models for traffic prediction. Subscriptions start at $150/month with a 100-order/month free tier, self-serve signup, and no sales call required. Overages are billed at $0.15/visit, optimization calls are capped at 2,500 visits, and SDK support is available for Ruby and JavaScript/Node.js. The platform is GDPR-compliant and supports webhooks.
PricingSubscription · from $150 month · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesUsed byTrunkrs, 4P Foods, Walden Local Meats, Greenhouse JuiceStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchPurpose-built for last-mile delivery optimization rather than raw directions, priced per fleet from $150/month with a hard 2,500-stop cap per optimization.ScoresAgent 30 · Pricing 100 · Setup 80 · Docs 15 · Procurement 100 · Trust 15#6 Google Routes API
74 / 100Google Routes API is a REST service that computes optimal routes between locations and generates distance/duration matrices for multi-origin logistics, supporting driving, walking, cycling, and transit across global coverage. Pricing is usage-based at $5.00 per 1,000 requests, with a free tier of 10,000 requests per month on the Essentials SKU, and self-serve signup requires no sales call. The API holds SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, supports API key and OAuth 2 authentication, and offers official SDKs for Java, Go, Node.js, Python, and .NET.
PricingUsage · from $5 1,000 requests · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001DoesStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchBest traffic data and global coverage, but results may not be cached or stored beyond 30 days, so it is billed per render rather than a dataset you can keep.ScoresAgent 50 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 35 · Procurement 100 · Trust 75#7 GraphHopper Directions API
58 / 100GraphHopper Directions API is a routing and logistics platform built for developers who need turn-by-turn navigation, delivery optimization, isochrone analysis, map matching, and geocoding over worldwide OpenStreetMap coverage supplemented by TomTom data in 150+ countries. It offers self-serve subscription plans with published pricing, a free tier capped at 500 credits per day for non-commercial use, and an enterprise option backed by a published SLA. The REST API uses API key authentication and ships official SDKs for JavaScript and Java, with customers including GLS, DB Systel, and Posten.
PricingSubscription · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesUsed byGLS, DB Systel, Bumbal, PostenStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchA flexible open-source routing engine with strong optimization, but the free tier is non-commercial only and capped at 500 credits/day.ScoresAgent 30 · Pricing 75 · Setup 80 · Docs 35 · Procurement 90 · Trust 35#8 TomTom Routing API
61 / 100TomTom Routing API is a REST-based suite of web services covering turn-by-turn navigation, multi-waypoint optimization, matrix routing, reachable range analysis, and long-distance EV routing across 200-plus countries and territories, with real-time traffic available in roughly 90 markets. Pricing is usage-based at $0.75 per 1,000 requests, with a free tier of 2,500 non-tile requests per day shared across all TomTom APIs, self-serve signup, and no sales call required. The API is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified, supports API-key auth, and offers an MCP server alongside JavaScript and TypeScript SDKs. Customers include Microsoft Azure, Huawei, Bolt, and Bridgestone Mobility Solutions, making it a practical choice for logistics, fleet management, and navigation application developers.
PricingUsage · from $0.75 1,000 requests · free tier ✓TrustGDPR · ISO 27001DoesUsed byMicrosoft Azure, Huawei, Sygic, BoltStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupAvoid ifYou have strict compliance requirementsScoresAgent 40 · Pricing 100 · Setup 80 · Docs 15 · Procurement 100 · Trust 30
How we rank
The headline score is the average of six 0-100 axes computed only from each API’s published, sourced fields: agent-friendliness, pricing transparency, setup speed, docs quality, procurement ease, and trust readiness. An unknown signal scores 0 for its axis - we credit what’s confirmed, never guess. The score is one input, not the verdict: we lead with each pick’s trade-off, and where a job has only one real option we say so rather than crown it. Full method on the methodology page.
Why trust apio
- ✓ Every field cited. Each profile links the source for every claim - check us.
- ✓ Public audit log. Every change to this data is recorded per field, with who changed it and why.
- ✓ Published, deterministic methodology. The score is a formula over the same fields you can see - recompute it yourself.
- ✓ Zero affiliate links, zero ads, zero paid placement. Money never moves rank.
- ✓ No reviews yet - and we say so rather than synthesizing them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best routing api?
Azure Maps Route is our current top pick across pricing, trust, and developer-surface data. The right pick depends on your constraint: if you want the strongest all-round pick, Azure Maps Route; if you want to start free, Azure Maps Route; if you're buying for a regulated or large team, Azure Maps Route.
How are these Routing APIs ranked?
By a transparent data-readiness score computed from each API's published, sourced fields: pricing, free tier, self-serve access, compliance, webhooks/sandbox, and capability breadth. No reviews, no paid placement.
Which Routing APIs have a free tier?
Azure Maps Route, Route4Me, HERE Routing API, Radar Geocoding API, Routific, Google Routes API, GraphHopper Directions API, TomTom Routing API, Stadia Maps Geocoding & Search, Mapbox Directions API, TravelTime API, Geoapify Geocoding API, DistanceMatrix.AI, OpenRouteService.