Mapbox Search Box API vs Apple Maps Server API for AI agents
Mapbox Search Box API is Mapbox's search API for addresses, places and POIs, with interactive (/suggest + /retrieve), text (/forward), category and reverse endpoints. Apple Maps Server API is Apple's REST API for geocoding, place and POI search, autocomplete, directions and ETAs, using Apple Maps data.
The short answer
- Mapbox Search Box API: Cheap autocomplete-style place and address search inside map apps, with a first-party hosted MCP server.
- Apple Maps Server API: Apps already in the Apple ecosystem that show results on an Apple map and fit within the free daily quota.
Side by side
| Mapbox Search Box API | Apple Maps Server API | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Addresses, places and points of interest, including category search such as "coffee shops around me". | Places and points of interest by name or criteria, with POI category include/exclude filters and country limits. |
| Returns | JSON features with name, address, coordinates, POI categories, mapbox_id and optional metadata such as phone, website, open hours, rating and photos. Each response includes an attribution string. | JSON Place objects with name, formatted and structured address, coordinate, country code, display map region and a Place ID. |
| Before the first call | A Mapbox account and access token. You can sign up without a credit card, but you get trial usage limits until you add a payment method. | An Apple Developer account with a Maps ID and private key, which you use to sign JWTs. The API is governed by the Apple Developer Program License Agreement (the program costs 99 USD a year). |
| Free | Introductory preview pricing: 500 interactive sessions a month and 50,000 /category or /reverse requests a month. The page also shows a "Standard pricing" table (2,500 and 25,000 free), and which table applies when was not stated in the text read. | Up to 25,000 service calls a day per team, shared between the Apple Maps Server API and MapKit JS. |
| Paid | Sessions: $3.00 per 1,000 under the introductory preview pricing, or $11.50 per 1,000 under the standard pricing. /category and /reverse: $1.00 per 1,000 (intro) or $1.70 (standard). | Not stated on its pages |
| Acting on a result | Retrieved POIs can include phone and website in metadata. There is no way to message a business through the API. | The Place object documentation lists no phone or website field. There is no way to message a business through the API. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | All Search Box results are for temporary use only. Storing position data requires contacting Mapbox sales. | Map Data may be cached or stored only on a temporary, limited basis. When Map Data is shown on a map it must be an Apple map, and surfaced results must show the corresponding Apple map. Building a substitute service is not allowed. |
| Coverage | Global. The docs have a supported-geographies section that was not reviewed in detail. | Apple says the service may not be available in all countries, regions or languages. |
| MCP server | Mapbox MCP Server, hosted at https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp (OAuth) and open source at https://github.com/mapbox/mcp-server. The search tools use the Search Box API. | No official server listed |
Where Openpath fits
If the agent needs a local business to message in Austin, Texas, Openpath returns the listings themselves, free and with no key. See Openpath vs Mapbox Search Box API and Openpath vs Apple Maps Server API.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Mapbox Search Box API?
A Mapbox account and access token. You can sign up without a credit card, but you get trial usage limits until you add a payment method.
Is Mapbox Search Box API free?
Introductory preview pricing: 500 interactive sessions a month and 50,000 /category or /reverse requests a month. The page also shows a "Standard pricing" table (2,500 and 25,000 free), and which table applies when was not stated in the text read.
What do I need before I can use Apple Maps Server API?
An Apple Developer account with a Maps ID and private key, which you use to sign JWTs. The API is governed by the Apple Developer Program License Agreement (the program costs 99 USD a year).
Is Apple Maps Server API free?
Up to 25,000 service calls a day per team, shared between the Apple Maps Server API and MapKit JS.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Mapbox Search Box API, read on October 15, 2026:
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Introductory preview pricing* Monthly sessions Up to 500 501 - 100,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $3.00”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Standard pricing Monthly requests Up to 2,500 2,501 - 100,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $11.50”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Request to /category and /reverse endpoints are billed on a per-request basis.”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Monthly requests Up to 50,000 50,001 - 500,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $1.00”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “A session includes 50 /suggest calls, and 1 /retrieve call, and it will automatically expire after 2 minutes of inactivity.”
- docs.mapbox.com/accounts/guides/signup: “Quick sign-up without a credit card gives you access to Mapbox services with trial usage limits.”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/search/search-box: “all data returned by the Search Box API endpoints is only available for temporary use”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/search/search-box: “"metadata" : { "phone" : "PHONE_NUMBER" , "website" : "WEBSITE_URL" , "open_hours"”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/guides/mcp-server: “This endpoint is available at https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp”
Apple Maps Server API, read on October 15, 2026:
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi: “The service provides up to 25,000 service calls per day per team between Apple Maps Server API and MapKit JS.”
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi: “If your app requires a larger daily quota, submit a”
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi: “It requires authorization using a JSON Web Token (JWT) for API calls.”
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi: “You obtain a key for creating the token when you complete the setup in your Apple Developer account.”
- developer.apple.com/programs/whats-included: “The Apple Developer Program is 99 USD per membership year”
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi/-v1-search: “Find places by name or by specific search criteria.”
- developer.apple.com/documentation/applemapsserverapi/place: “An object that describes a place in terms of a variety of spatial, administrative, and qualitative properties.”
- developer.apple.com/support/terms/apple-developer-program-license-agreement: “Map Data may not be cached, pre-fetched, or stored by You ... other than on a temporary and limited basis”
- developer.apple.com/support/terms/apple-developer-program-license-agreement: “when displaying it on a map, You agree that it will be displayed only on an Apple map”
- developer.apple.com/support/terms/apple-developer-program-license-agreement: “The Apple Maps Service may not be available in all countries, regions, or languages”