openrouteservice

account.heigit.org/info/plansRouting, geocoding and isochrones APIdata-apis/openrouteserviceJSON compare report an error provider JSON

Free allowance: Standard plan, free to use for everyone: 2000 directions a day (40 a minute), 3000 geocoding requests a day (100 a minute), 500 matrix requests a day (40 a minute), 500 isochrones a day (20 a minute), 2000 elevation and 2000 snap requests a day, 500 optimization and 500 POI requests a day
Verdict: ★ qualifiesusable as stated; the read path was probed
Cost: free tier
Identity: emailno card, no phone
Binding limit: volume-quota3000 geocoding requests and 2000 directions a day on the Standard plan
Evidence: documented51 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
Freshness: stale on 2026-12-04checked 2026-11-03 (live); stale on 2026-12-04

Free tier	Standard plan, free to use for everyone: 2000 directions a day (40 a minute), 3000 geocoding requests a day (100 a minute), 500 matrix requests a day (40 a minute), 500 isochrones a day (20 a minute), 2000 elevation and 2000 snap requests a day, 500 optimization and 500 POI requests a day unit requests; metered on request-count; the daily window resets 24 hours after the first request; the Collaborative plan, for humanitarian, academic, governmental or not-for-profit organisations applying with an organisation email, raises directions to 10000 and geocoding to 15000 a day
Price	none stated
Limits	volume-quota (binding) 3000 geocoding requests and 2000 directions a day on the Standard plan source request-rate 100 geocoding and 40 directions requests a minute, a sliding 60-second window source per-object-cap 3.500 matrix locations (origins x destinations, e.g. 50 x 50) a request; 50 route waypoints source
Binding	volume-quota the per-minute rates allow more than the daily counts within the day, so the daily quota is met first
Identity	email a HeiGIT account with first and last name, use cases, an email and a password and an Altcha 'I'm not a robot' check, or GitHub sign-in; one account and one free key per person, and multiple accounts by one user are removed; no card
Egress	not applicable: a query API metered in requests, not bytes
Per-object cap	a matrix request takes up to 3.500 locations (origins x destinations, e.g. 50 x 50); a route up to 50 waypoints; a snap request up to 5.000 locations
Interface	rest HTTPS to api.openrouteservice.org (directions, matrix, isochrones, geocode, elevation, optimization, POIs) with a personal HeiGIT API key; a keyless geocode answered HTTP 401 'Authorization field missing'; over the daily limit the API answers 403 and over the minutely limit 429, with x-ratelimit-remaining and x-ratelimit-reset headers endpoint: https://api.openrouteservice.org/geocode/search
Tooling	any HTTP client; the interactive API documentation was offline on 2026-10-31 while the API answered
Composes with	3000 geocodes and 2000 routes a day on one personal key; the bulk path for routing is the matrix endpoint (up to 3.500 origin-destination pairs a request, 500 a day); there is no batch geocoding endpoint. Last resort: the user installs and runs the openrouteservice backend, Pelias and VROOM on a rented or free machine with no quota, built from the OSM planet file
Reliability	repeatedly exceeding the limits blocks access temporarily and can disable or remove the account; the openrouteservice.org website and its interactive docs were unavailable on 2026-10-31, and its restrictions page still answered HTTP 404 on 2026-11-02, while the API stayed reachable
Notes	Bulk path: the matrix endpoint for routing (up to 3.500 pairs a request, 500 requests a day); no batch geocoding. Not listed on free-for.dev.
Evidence note	documented the HeiGIT plans page, terms, sign-up page and API landing page, the openrouteservice FAQ and the Wayback copy of the restrictions page were quoted on 2026-10-31; a keyless geocode answered HTTP 401 and the live restrictions page HTTP 404. No account was opened, so no keyed request was made; one would move it to measured.
Parsed numbers	has-free-tier 1

Evidence 51

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	the Standard plan is free for everyone
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	directions: 2000 a day, 40 a minute
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	geocoding: 3000 a day, 100 a minute
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	matrix: 500 a day, 40 a minute
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	isochrones: 500 a day, 20 a minute
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	elevation: 2000 a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	snap: 2000 a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	optimization: 500 a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	POIs: 500 a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	the Collaborative plan is for such organisations, applied for with an organisation email
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	the Collaborative plan gives 10000 directions a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	the Collaborative plan gives 15000 geocodes a day
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/plans	the services can be installed and run by the user with no API quota
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	the daily window starts at the first request
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	the minutely limit is a sliding 60-second window
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	the daily limit answers 403 and the minutely limit 429
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	the remaining quota is in response headers
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	the data comes from the OSM planet file
2026-10-31	giscience.github.io/openrouteservice/frequently-asked-questi	a key is personal
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/tos	not published
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/tos	one account per person
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/info/tos	repeated excess blocks access and can remove the account
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form asks for first and last name
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form asks for use cases
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form asks for an email
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form asks for a password
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form has a robot check
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	the robot check is Altcha
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	GitHub sign-in is offered
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	one account and one free key per person
2026-10-31	account.heigit.org/signup	multiple accounts by one user are removed
2026-10-31	api.heigit.org/	a HeiGIT account comes with a free Standard key
2026-10-31	openrouteservice.org/	the openrouteservice.org website was unavailable
2026-10-31	openrouteservice.org/	the API stays reachable without its interactive docs
2026-10-31	web.archive.org/web/20260829024134/https://openrouteservice.	a matrix request takes up to 3.500 locations
2026-10-31	web.archive.org/web/20260829024134/https://openrouteservice.	a route takes up to 50 waypoints
2026-10-31	web.archive.org/web/20260829024134/https://openrouteservice.	a snap request takes up to 5.000 locations
2026-10-31	probe: `https://openrouteservice.org/restrictions/`	the live restrictions page answered HTTP 404
2026-10-31	probe: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/geocode/search?text=Zurich`	the geocode endpoint answers HTTP 401 to a keyless request
2026-10-31	probe: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/geocode/search?text=Zurich#body`	the geocode endpoint refuses a request with no key
2026-11-02	web.archive.org/web/20261020010714/https://openrouteservice.	the Wayback Machine copy of 2026-10-20 of the restrictions page has the same text as the copy of 2026-08-29 and lists 3.500 matrix locations per request
2026-11-02	probe: `https://openrouteservice.org/restrictions/`	the live restrictions page answered HTTP 404 on 2026-11-02
2026-11-02	web.archive.org/web/20261020010714/https://openrouteservice.	a route takes up to 50 waypoints in the Wayback Machine copy of 2026-10-20
2026-11-02	web.archive.org/web/20261020010714/https://openrouteservice.	a snap request takes up to 5.000 locations in the Wayback Machine copy of 2026-10-20
2026-11-02	ask.openrouteservice.org/t/matrix-api-3500-route-limit/5331	a forum reply says the matrix limit of 3500 counts origin-destination pairs in one request, and 50 x 50 is only an example within it
2026-11-02	openrouteservice.org/	the openrouteservice.org website still shows its unavailability notice on 2026-11-02
2026-11-02	account.heigit.org/info/plans	directions: 2000 a day, 40 a minute
2026-11-02	web.archive.org/web/20261020010714/https://openrouteservice.	a matrix request takes up to 3.500 locations (origin x destination) in the copy of 2026-10-20
2026-11-02	account.heigit.org/signup	the sign-up form asks for an email
2026-11-02	account.heigit.org/info/tos	not published
2026-11-02	probe: `https://api.openrouteservice.org/geocode/search?text=Zurich#body`	a keyless geocode request is refused with an authorization-missing error

More fields 1

bulk path	matrix endpoint for routing, up to 3.500 origin-destination pairs a request; no batch geocoding