Is Atlas.co or MapQuest better?

Neither clearly leads. Atlas.co starts at Free and MapQuest at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Atlas.co or MapQuest?

Atlas.co has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Atlas.co and On request for MapQuest.

Does Atlas.co or MapQuest run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Atlas.co for free?

Yes. Atlas.co has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. MapQuest starts at On request.

What is Atlas.co best used for?

Atlas.co is most often used for a renewables developer screening sites against constraint layers who needs an answer this afternoon and has no gis analyst available, a planning or property team that mainly needs colleagues to view and comment on maps, where $7 viewer seats replace expensive read-only gis licences, a consultancy producing client-facing maps and embeds without maintaining desktop gis installs across a distributed team, an analyst with an address spreadsheet who needs geocoding, buffering and a shareable map without learning a desktop gis. Of those, a renewables developer screening sites against constraint layers who needs an answer this afternoon and has no gis analyst available and a planning or property team that mainly needs colleagues to view and comment on maps, where $7 viewer seats replace expensive read-only gis licences are not what MapQuest is typically brought in for.

What can Atlas.co do that MapQuest cannot?

Atlas.co covers Browser GIS, Workflow builder, Geocoding, Collaboration. MapQuest covers Core Functionality, User Interface.

Maps · head to head

Atlas.co vs MapQuest

Atlas.co

Maps

Browser-based collaborative GIS with published per-seat pricing and a free tier

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

MapQuest

Maps

Free driving directions, live traffic updates, and road conditions for trip planning and navigation

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Atlas.co has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Atlas.co analytical depth is a long way short of a mature GIS: there is no serious raster analysis, network analysis, topology editing or geodetic control, so complex work still goes back to QGIS or ArcGIS.; MapQuest subscription tiers cost more per transaction than the pay as you go rate at low volume, since $119 a month for 30,000 transactions is roughly $0.004 each against $0.0045 on demand
They diverge on capability: Atlas.co covers Browser GIS, MapQuest covers Core Functionality.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlas.co and MapQuest actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlas.co and MapQuest differ
Attribute	Atlas.co	MapQuest
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Per user per month	freemium
Free tier	Yes	No

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Atlas.co

Browser GIS
Workflow builder
Geocoding
Collaboration
Data import
Cheap viewer seats
Export and embed
AI credits

Only in MapQuest

Core Functionality
User Interface

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Atlas.co

A renewables developer screening sites against constraint layers who needs an answer this afternoon and has no GIS analyst availablenot MapQuest
A planning or property team that mainly needs colleagues to view and comment on maps, where $7 viewer seats replace expensive read-only GIS licencesnot MapQuest
A consultancy producing client-facing maps and embeds without maintaining desktop GIS installs across a distributed teamnot MapQuest
An analyst with an address spreadsheet who needs geocoding, buffering and a shareable map without learning a desktop GISnot MapQuest

MapQuest

Geocoding, routing and static maps over an APInot Atlas.co
Adding directions and place search to an applicationnot Atlas.co

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Atlas.co

Analytical depth is a long way short of a mature GIS: there is no serious raster analysis, network analysis, topology editing or geodetic control, so complex work still goes back to QGIS or ArcGIS.
Geocoding and workflow runs are metered per tier, and a single large address batch can exhaust a month’s Pro allowance in one afternoon, forcing an upgrade for a one-off job.
The company is at pre-seed stage with roughly $2m raised and a small team, so buyers embedding it in a business process carry meaningful continuity risk.
Annual billing is required to get the advertised prices, which removes the flexibility that would otherwise make a young vendor a low-risk trial.
There is no offline or field capability at all, so any organisation whose spatial work includes data collection needs a second tool alongside it.

MapQuest

Subscription tiers cost more per transaction than the pay as you go rate at low volume, since $119 a month for 30,000 transactions is roughly $0.004 each against $0.0045 on demand
The 50,000 free pay as you go transactions are described as available for a limited time rather than as a standing allowance
Plan allowances are monthly and do not carry over
Enterprise volume is custom priced

Pricing, plan by plan

Atlas.co

Free

StarterFree
- 3 projects
- 3 editors
- 1 GB storage
Pro$23/month
- 10 projects
- 10 GB storage
- 10,000 geocoding runs
Team$72/month
- Unlimited projects
- Viewer seats at $7 per month
- 25,000 geocoding runs
Enterprise$undefined/year
- Unlimited storage and workflows
- 100,000 geocoding runs
- White-labelled embeds

MapQuest

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the MapQuest review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlas.co if

You need browser gis.
You want to start without paying.
You also want workflow builder.

Atlas.co review

Choose MapQuest if

You need core functionality.
You also want user interface.

MapQuest review

Questions people ask

Is Atlas.co or MapQuest better?: Neither clearly leads. Atlas.co starts at Free and MapQuest at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlas.co or MapQuest?: Atlas.co has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Atlas.co and On request for MapQuest.
Does Atlas.co or MapQuest run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Atlas.co for free?: Yes. Atlas.co has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. MapQuest starts at On request.
What is Atlas.co best used for?: Atlas.co is most often used for a renewables developer screening sites against constraint layers who needs an answer this afternoon and has no gis analyst available, a planning or property team that mainly needs colleagues to view and comment on maps, where $7 viewer seats replace expensive read-only gis licences, a consultancy producing client-facing maps and embeds without maintaining desktop gis installs across a distributed team, an analyst with an address spreadsheet who needs geocoding, buffering and a shareable map without learning a desktop gis. Of those, a renewables developer screening sites against constraint layers who needs an answer this afternoon and has no gis analyst available and a planning or property team that mainly needs colleagues to view and comment on maps, where $7 viewer seats replace expensive read-only gis licences are not what MapQuest is typically brought in for.
What can Atlas.co do that MapQuest cannot?: Atlas.co covers Browser GIS, Workflow builder, Geocoding, Collaboration. MapQuest covers Core Functionality, User Interface.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Atlas.co: How much does Atlas.co cost?

Starter is free, Pro is $23 per user per month and Team is $72 per editor per month with viewers at $7, all billed annually. Enterprise is quoted.

MapQuest: What is the cheapest way to use MapQuest APIs?

The MapQuestGO plan offers 50,000 free transactions for a limited time, then charges $0.0045 per transaction. Monthly subscription plans start at $119/month for 30,000 transactions.

Source

Atlas.co: Can it replace ArcGIS or QGIS?

For visualisation, light analysis and sharing, often yes. For raster, network or geodetic work, no.

MapQuest: Can I cache or store geocoding results on a monthly MapQuest plan?

No. Storing or caching geocodes is not allowed on monthly plans. Only Enterprise accounts can store geocodes off-map with the Extended Rights Geocoding feature.

Source

Atlas.co: What is the viewer seat?

A read-only seat at $7 per month on the Team plan, intended for stakeholders who consume maps rather than build them.

MapQuest: What happens if I exceed my MapQuest monthly transaction limit?

The MapQuest pricing page does not specify overage charges. Users can modify their plan selection from their account dashboard at any time to scale up.

Source

Atlas.co: Where is the company based?

Oslo, Norway. It was founded in 2021 and has raised around $2m in pre-seed funding.

MapQuest: Can I change my MapQuest plan mid-cycle?

Yes. Users can modify their plan selection from their account dashboard at any time, making it easy to scale as needs evolve.

Source

Atlas.co: Is there a free tier?

Yes, Starter gives three projects, three editors and 1 GB of storage with metered geocoding and workflow runs.

Atlas.co vs MapQuest

Atlas.co

MapQuest

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Atlas.co

Only in MapQuest

What people use each for

Atlas.co

MapQuest

Where each one falls short

Atlas.co

MapQuest

Pricing, plan by plan

Atlas.co

MapQuest

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlas.co if

Choose MapQuest if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Atlas.co

More on MapQuest

Keep looking

Other head to heads