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Maps · head to head

Cesium ion vs Nominatim

Cesium ion logo

Cesium ion

Maps

Hosted 3D geospatial tiling and streaming, metered by storage, streaming and gigapixels

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nominatim logo

Nominatim

Maps

Open-source geocoding tool for OpenStreetMap data, providing address search and reverse geocoding capabilities

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cesium ion has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cesium ion streaming is metered in gigabytes a month, so a public-facing application's cost is driven by visitor traffic you do not control, and a successful launch can blow through a tier immediately.; Nominatim the public API allows an absolute maximum of 1 request per second
  • They diverge on capability: Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling, Nominatim covers Core Functionality.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cesium ion and Nominatim actually diverge.

Attributes where Cesium ion and Nominatim differ
AttributeCesium ionNominatim
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by storage, streaming and gigapixelsfreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb

Identical on both: 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 Cesium ion

  • 3D Tiles tiling
  • Global terrain and imagery
  • Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles
  • Cloud reality modelling
  • Streaming delivery
  • Access tokens
  • Geocoding
  • Self-hosted option

Only in Nominatim

  • Core Functionality
  • User Interface

What people use each for

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

Cesium ion

  • A survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 GB downloadnot Nominatim
  • A simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an Unreal Engine environmentnot Nominatim
  • An urban planning department publishing a city model that planners can inspect without desktop GIS softwarenot Nominatim
  • A software product embedding 3D geospatial views and needing hosted tiling rather than building a tilernot Nominatim

Nominatim

  • Geocoding and reverse geocoding servicesnot Cesium ion
  • Address lookup and location searchnot Cesium ion
  • OpenStreetMap-based geolocation datanot Cesium ion

Where each one falls short

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

Cesium ion

  • Streaming is metered in gigabytes a month, so a public-facing application's cost is driven by visitor traffic you do not control, and a successful launch can blow through a tier immediately.
  • Reality modelling is billed in gigapixels a month, an unfamiliar unit that makes it hard to estimate in advance how many drone flights a plan will actually cover.
  • The free Community tier is restricted to non-commercial or open use, so a consultancy sharing a model with a paying client does not qualify regardless of how small the dataset is.
  • Team accounts cost substantially more than individual ones at the same quota, $524 against $149 on Commercial, so adding a second colleague is a large step rather than an incremental seat charge.
  • Self-hosting is available only under a custom enterprise agreement, which leaves organisations with data residency or air-gap requirements out of the published tiers entirely.

Nominatim

  • The public API allows an absolute maximum of 1 request per second
  • Bulk geocoding must run in a single thread and cannot be distributed across machines
  • Scripts running longer than a day or on a schedule are limited to 4 requests per minute
  • Autocomplete search against the public API is explicitly prohibited
  • Systematic queries such as grid based reverse lookups and complete data downloads are prohibited
  • Reselling geocoding results or acting as an API intermediary is prohibited
  • Every request must send a valid HTTP Referer or User-Agent identifying the application, and default library headers are rejected
  • Results must be cached client side, and repeated identical queries can lead to blocking
  • Attribution to OpenStreetMap under ODbL must be displayed

Pricing, plan by plan

Cesium ion

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 5 GB storage
    • 15 GB per month streaming
    • 20 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Commercial$149/month
    • 50 GB storage
    • 150 GB per month streaming
    • 40 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Premium$499/month
    • 250 GB storage
    • 500 GB per month streaming
    • 100 gigapixels per month reality modelling
  • Custom$undefined/year
    • Negotiated quotas
    • Self-hosted deployment in your own environment
    • Enterprise support

Nominatim

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Nominatim review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cesium ion if

  • You need 3d tiles tiling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want global terrain and imagery.
Cesium ion review

Choose Nominatim if

  • You need core functionality.
  • You also want user interface.
Nominatim review

Questions people ask

Is Cesium ion or Nominatim better?
Neither clearly leads. Cesium ion starts at Free and Nominatim at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cesium ion or Nominatim?
Cesium ion has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cesium ion and On request for Nominatim.
Does Cesium ion or Nominatim run on more platforms?
Cesium ion runs on Web, Cloud. Nominatim runs on Web.
Can I use Cesium ion for free?
Yes. Cesium ion has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Nominatim starts at On request.
What is Cesium ion best used for?
Cesium ion is most often used for a survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 gb download, a simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an unreal engine environment, an urban planning department publishing a city model that planners can inspect without desktop gis software, a software product embedding 3d geospatial views and needing hosted tiling rather than building a tiler. Of those, a survey firm delivering a photogrammetry mesh to a client as a browser link rather than a 40 gb download and a simulation team streaming global terrain and imagery into an unreal engine environment are not what Nominatim is typically brought in for.
What can Cesium ion do that Nominatim cannot?
Cesium ion covers 3D Tiles tiling, Global terrain and imagery, Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles, Cloud reality modelling. Nominatim covers Core Functionality, User Interface.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cesium ion: How is Cesium ion priced?

By several meters at once: storage in gigabytes, streaming in gigabytes per month, and reality modelling in gigapixels per month. Commercial starts at $149 a month for an individual.

Nominatim: Is Nominatim free?

Nominatim is open source software built on OpenStreetMap data. It appears to be free to use, though commercial usage may require separate licensing or terms. Check the project repository or contact support for clarity on licensing.

Source
Cesium ion: Is the free tier usable commercially?

No. Community is for non-commercial or open use. Commercial work needs a paid plan.

Nominatim: What is Nominatim's pricing model?

Nominatim does not publish a standard pricing model on its website. As open source software, it is available for free, but commercial or large-scale deployments may require reviewing their licensing terms or contacting project maintainers.

Source
Cesium ion: Can I run ion on my own infrastructure?

Only under a custom enterprise agreement negotiated with Cesium.

Cesium ion: Do I need Cesium ion to use CesiumJS?

No. CesiumJS is open source and free. ion provides hosted tiling, base layers and streaming that you would otherwise have to build.

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