Head to head
Foursquare Places vs Radar
As a maps & geocoding API, Radar rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 77.5 to 77.4, a 0.1-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Foursquare Places | Radar |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 77.4 | 77.5 |
Specifications
| Foursquare Places | Radar | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Places/POI search & geotagging | Geocoding + geofencing for apps |
| Free tier | $200/mo credit + 500 free Pro calls | 100k req/mo (free plan) |
| Pricing | Per call (volume-based) | Per 1k req |
| Official SDKs | 9 languages | 8 languages |
Is Foursquare Places better than Radar?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Radar rates higher (77.5 vs 77.4). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Radar leads by 0.1 points (77.5 vs 77.4) and wins 3 of 4 criteria; Foursquare Places wins 1.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 78 | 80 | |
| Reliability | 80 | 72 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 68 | 70 | |
| Accessibility | 85 | 90 |
Choose Foursquare Places if… / choose Radar if…
- →reliability matters most to you (80 vs 72)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (9 official SDKs vs 8)
- →your use case matches its focus: places/poi search & geotagging
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (80 vs 78)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (70 vs 68)
- →accessibility matters most to you (90 vs 85)
- →your use case matches its focus: geocoding + geofencing for apps
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per call (volume-based)
- Free tier
- $200/mo credit + 500 free Pro calls
- Free (Sandbox)$0
- Pro Endpoints (pay-as-you-go)$15.00 CPM (per 1,000)
- Premium Endpoints (pay-as-you-go)$18.75 CPM (per 1,000)
- Ask API$30.00 CPM (Pro) / $36.00 CPM (Premium)
- EnterpriseCustom
- FSQ OS Places (open dataset)Free (Apache 2.0)
- Model
- Per 1k req
- Free tier
- 100k req/mo (free plan)
- Free$0 / up to 100k requests per month
- Geocoding (forward/reverse/IP)$0.50 per 1,000 requests
- Address Autocomplete / Distance / Maps$0.50 per 1,000 requests (or map loads)
- Address Validation / Places Search$2.00 per 1,000 requests
- EnterpriseCustom / volume-committed
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Foursquare Places) and 2026-06-27 (Radar).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 3
Android (Places & Movement SDK)React NativeJavaScript / web (Address Autofill, Web Place Search samples)
Only Foursquare Places · 6
iOS / Swift (Places & Movement SDK)Python (API samples, bulk harmonization)REST / HTTP (v3 API)Postman collectionModel Context Protocol (official foursquare-places-mcp server)Apache Spark (FSQ OS Places dataset access)
Only Radar · 5
iOS (Swift/Objective-C)FlutterExpoCordovaCapacitor
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Deep, structured venue data: 100M+ POIs with a 1,500+ category taxonomy, stable category IDs, attributes, hours, and user-generated tips/photos
- +Explicitly Google-independent POI source, appeals to companies that compete with Google or want to avoid Maps Platform lock-in
- +Transparent pay-as-you-go CPM pricing with a 10,000-call/month free Pro tier and no card required to start
- –Restrictive, revocable API data license, data generally can't be stored, merged, or redistributed outside your application
- –Coverage and freshness can trail Google outside dense urban / US / Western markets, and tip/photo depth varies
- –Premium endpoints (tips, photos, ratings) have no free tier and start at $18.75 per 1,000 calls
- +Geocoding, autocomplete, distance, and map loads at $0.50/1,000, roughly 50-90% cheaper than Google Maps and Mapbox
- +One vendor for both high-accuracy on-device geofencing/tracking SDKs and a full geocoding/maps API stack
- +Meter-level geofencing accuracy (~5m) via GPS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/cellular sensor fusion with unlimited geofences
- –Places/POI database and global fine-grained accuracy less mature than Google's (common review complaint)
- –Detailed public pricing increasingly gated behind a 'get a quote' sales flow
- –Few independent third-party latency/accuracy benchmarks, most performance and savings claims are self-published
Foursquare Places vs Radar: questions
- Which has better documentation, Foursquare Places or Radar?
- Radar scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 80 vs 78 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Foursquare Places or Radar?
- Foursquare Places scores higher on reliability: 80 vs 72 out of 100.
- Do Foursquare Places and Radar have a free tier?
- Foursquare Places: yes ($200/mo credit + 500 free Pro calls). Radar: yes (100k req/mo (free plan)).
- How are Foursquare Places and Radar priced?
- Foursquare Places: Per call (volume-based). Radar: Per 1k req.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Foursquare Places lists 9 official SDKs, Radar lists 8.