Country.is vs Nominatim (OSM)
Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.
Country.is vs Nominatim (OSM): common questions
Which is more reliable, Country.is or Nominatim (OSM)?
Both are neck-and-neck — Country.is and Nominatim (OSM) each measure 100% uptime over 90 days on our probe schedule. Reliability here is verified from our own scheduled checks; use the 30-day bars above to see which has been steadier lately.
Which is faster, Country.is or Nominatim (OSM)?
Country.is has the lower median latency in our checks — Country.is responds in 189 ms versus Nominatim (OSM) at 332 ms (P50). Tail latency (P95) is in the table above; for most workloads the median is the number that shapes how the API feels.
Do Country.is and Nominatim (OSM) need an API key?
Neither needs a paid key — Country.is is callable with no signup, and Nominatim (OSM) is keyless with a required User-Agent header. Both are quick to prototype with; rate limits still apply.
Can I call Country.is and Nominatim (OSM) from the browser?
Yes — both Country.is and Nominatim (OSM) send CORS headers over HTTPS, so front-end code can fetch either directly with no backend proxy. That makes them easy to swap in a client-side app while you compare responses.
Are Country.is and Nominatim (OSM) free for commercial use?
Country.is has unclear commercial terms, and Nominatim (OSM) is personal/non-commercial only. We track service terms and the data license as separate fields — see the Commercial use and Data license rows above, and confirm both before shipping either in a paid product.