Maps & Navigation · alternatives
Alternatives to What3words
20 maps & navigation tools sit alongside What3words in this directory. Below is what separates each from What3words on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 18
- Cheaper to start
- -
- What3words starts at
- Free
Why people look past What3words
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. What3words has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Leading open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps, used by millions of developers worldwide
Priced and rated the same as What3words on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Geocoding, routing, map tiles, and place search APIs for developers building location-aware applications
Priced and rated the same as What3words on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Open-source JavaScript library for creating 3D globes and 2D maps with support
- Sold on a open-source model rather than freemium.
Indoor positioning and navigation solutions using the Earth's magnetic field, WiFi, and Bluetooth beacons
- Publishes an entry price of €349/month, where What3words does not.
Comprehensive set of APIs and SDKs that allow developers to embed Google
Priced and rated the same as What3words on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Access to the world's most trusted location data, including points of interest
- Publishes an entry price of Free, where What3words does not.
Every What3words alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What3words (this page) | Free | Freemium | - | |
| Leaflet | Free | - | - | vs What3words |
| Geoapify | Free | - | - | vs What3words |
| CesiumJS | Free | Open-source | - | vs What3words |
| IndoorAtlas | Free, then €349/month | - | 2 | vs What3words |
| Google Maps Platform | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| Foursquare Places API | Free | - | 3 | vs What3words |
| LocationIQ | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| Apple Maps | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| Citymapper | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs What3words |
| HERE WeGo | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| GraphHopper | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| Kepler.gl | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| CARTO | Free, then $199/month | Subscription | 1 | vs What3words |
| Gaia GPS | Free | - | - | vs What3words |
| AllTrails | Free, then $35.99/year | Freemium | 2 | vs What3words |
| Bing Maps | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| deck.gl | Free | Freemium | - | vs What3words |
| HERE Technologies | Free | - | - | vs What3words |
| Geotab | $25/month | Subscription | 3 | vs What3words |
| Esri ArcGIS | On request | Quote | - | vs What3words |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the What3words badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (18)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Leaflet , Free
- Geoapify , Free
- CesiumJS , Free
- IndoorAtlas , Free, then €349/month
- Google Maps Platform , Free
- Foursquare Places API , Free
- LocationIQ , Free
- Apple Maps , Free
What you would be giving up
What3words is most often brought in for referring to a 3 metre square location with three words, adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch app, converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via api. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If What3words is broadly right and the question is cost, the What3words pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Maps & Navigation category lists everything the directory holds, and best maps & navigation tools ranks them.
What3words runs on web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about What3words alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to What3words?
- 20 other maps & navigation tools are listed in this directory, led by Leaflet, Geoapify, CesiumJS, IndoorAtlas. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to What3words?
- 18 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Leaflet, Geoapify, CesiumJS, IndoorAtlas, Google Maps Platform.
- Is there a reason to switch away from What3words?
- Nothing in the data flags one. What3words has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from What3words?
- What3words is most often brought in for referring to a 3 metre square location with three words, adding location entry to a delivery or dispatch app, converting between coordinates and what3words addresses via api. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to What3words?
- CesiumJS is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these What3words alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Maps & Navigation, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored slot runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare What3words against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against What3words covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every maps & navigation tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Maps & Navigation category, 20 tools beside What3words. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.