Head to head
HERE vs TomTom
As a maps & geocoding API, HERE rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 81.5 to 80.6, a 0.9-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | HERE | TomTom |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 81.5 | 80.6 |
Specifications
| HERE | TomTom | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Automotive & enterprise location data | Maps, routing & traffic |
| Free tier | 30k req/mo (Base Plan, card required) | 50k tile + 2.5k non-tile req/day |
| Pricing | Per 1k req / transactions | Per 1k req (tile/non-tile) |
| Official SDKs | 6 languages | 5 languages |
Is HERE better than TomTom?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, HERE rates higher (81.5 vs 80.6). 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
HERE leads by 0.9 points (81.5 vs 80.6) and wins 3 of 4 criteria; TomTom wins 1.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 78 | 76 | |
| Reliability | 90 | 85 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 80 | 78 | |
| Accessibility | 78 | 85 |
Choose HERE if… / choose TomTom if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (78 vs 76)
- →reliability matters most to you (90 vs 85)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (80 vs 78)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (6 official SDKs vs 5)
- →your use case matches its focus: automotive & enterprise location data
- →accessibility matters most to you (85 vs 78)
- →your use case matches its focus: maps, routing & traffic
Pricing side by side
- Model
- Per 1k req / transactions
- Free tier
- 30k req/mo (Base Plan, card required)
- Freemium / Base$0/mo
- Pay-as-you-grow$1 per 1,000 transactions
- Pro$449/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
- Model
- Per 1k req (tile/non-tile)
- Free tier
- 50k tile + 2.5k non-tile req/day
- FreemiumFree
- Pay As You GrowUsage-based (prepaid overage)
- EnterpriseCustom contract
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (HERE) and 2026-06-27 (TomTom).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 0
None
Only HERE · 6
iOS (native)Android (native)Flutter (Explore Edition)Flutter (Navigate Edition)JavaScript (Maps API)REST API
Only TomTom · 5
Maps & Navigation SDK for AndroidMaps & Navigation SDK for iOSMaps SDK for JavaScript (TypeScript support)Navigation SDK for MobileREST APIs (language-agnostic / HTTP)
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Generous free tier: 250,000 transactions/month, roughly 25x Google Maps' free geocoding allowance
- +Overage pricing (~$1 per 1,000) is far cheaper than Google's $5 per 1,000 at production volume
- +Built on HERE's own automotive-grade map database (~400M addresses, ~120M places, 100+ countries), high accuracy
- –Pricing model is complex and hard to forecast at scale, usage is product- and tier-specific
- –Standard plans prohibit permanent storage/caching of geocoding results without a costly enterprise license
- –Freemium rate limit of ~5 requests/second constrains high-concurrency real-time applications
- +Proprietary real-time and historical traffic data sourced from billions of connected-vehicle/probe points, among the most accurate available
- +Generous, no-credit-card free tier: 50,000 tile + 2,500 non-tile requests/day with commercial use allowed
- +More permissive licensing than Google (can display results over non-TomTom basemaps; fewer caching restrictions)
- –Low default rate limits on self-serve plans (commonly ~5 QPS for many endpoints) until raised under contract
- –No official first-party Flutter SDK; developers must use third-party plugins
- –Smaller developer community and fewer third-party tutorials/Stack Overflow answers than Google or Mapbox
HERE vs TomTom: questions
- Which has better documentation, HERE or TomTom?
- HERE scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 78 vs 76 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, HERE or TomTom?
- HERE scores higher on reliability: 90 vs 85 out of 100.
- Do HERE and TomTom have a free tier?
- HERE: yes (30k req/mo (Base Plan, card required)). TomTom: yes (50k tile + 2.5k non-tile req/day).
- How are HERE and TomTom priced?
- HERE: Per 1k req / transactions. TomTom: Per 1k req (tile/non-tile).
- Which has more official SDKs?
- HERE lists 6 official SDKs, TomTom lists 5.