OpenRouteService
Free and open-source Geo-services API for routing, navigation, and spatial analysis.
Overview
OpenRouteService (ORS) is a powerful, free, and open-source platform that provides a suite of geospatial web services. It leverages OpenStreetMap data to offer functionalities such as calculating directions for various modes of transport, generating isochrones to visualize reachability, computing distance/time matrices between multiple points, and finding points of interest. The platform is designed for flexibility, offering SDKs for Python, JavaScript, and R, and supports self-hosting via Docker for users who require full control over their data and infrastructure.
ORS aims to make smart mobility and spatial analysis accessible to a wide audience, from individual developers to large organizations. Its capabilities extend to specialized areas like disaster management, where it can be used for fleet scheduling and avoiding affected areas. The continuous development, including major updates like ORS 8.0, ensures improved performance, easier deployment, and expanded features, making it a robust alternative to commercial mapping APIs.
Best For
Key Features
Pricing
Standard
- Directions V2 (2000 daily / 40 per minute)
- Export V2 (100 daily / 5 per minute)
- Isochrones V2 (500 daily / 20 per minute)
- Matrix V2 (500 daily / 40 per minute)
- Snap V2 (2000 daily / 100 per minute)
- Elevation Line (200 daily / 40 per minute)
- Elevation Point (2000 daily / 100 per minute)
- Geocode Autocomplete (1000 daily / 100 per minute)
- Geocode Reverse (1000 daily / 100 per minute)
- Geocode Search (1000 daily / 100 per minute)
- Optimization (500 daily / 40 per minute)
- POIs (500 daily / 60 per minute)
Collaborative
- Directions V2 (10000 daily / 60 per minute)
- Export V2 (500 daily / 10 per minute)
- Isochrones V2 (2500 daily / 40 per minute)
- Matrix V2 (2500 daily / 60 per minute)
- Snap V2 (10000 daily / 150 per minute)
- Elevation Line (1000 daily / 60 per minute)
- Elevation Point (10000 daily / 150 per minute)
- Geocode Autocomplete (5000 daily / 150 per minute)
- Geocode Reverse (5000 daily / 150 per minute)
- Geocode Search (5000 daily / 150 per minute)
- Optimization (2500 daily / 60 per minute)
- POIs (2500 daily / 90 per minute)
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Completely free to use and open source
- Offers a wide range of geospatial services through a single API
- Built on OpenStreetMap data, ensuring broad coverage and community support
- Provides SDKs for multiple programming languages (Python, JS, R)
- Supports self-hosting via Docker for full control and privacy
- Actively developed with new features and performance improvements (e.g., ORS 8.0)
- Includes specialized tools for disaster management and fleet optimization
Cons
- Requires technical knowledge for self-hosting and API integration
- Performance can depend on self-hosted infrastructure for large-scale use
- Community support might be less immediate than commercial alternatives
- Documentation, while available, may require some effort for beginners to navigate complex features
- The free tier might have rate limits or usage restrictions for very high-volume applications
Reviews & Ratings
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