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What3Words vs Administrative Divisions DB

Same instrument, two spec sheets — measured, not claimed.

APIWhat3WordsUNMONITORED—Administrative Divisions DBNEW—
Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d—%—%
Uptime · 30d—%—%
P50 · ms——
P95 · ms——
AuthapiKeynone
CORSnoyes
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearunclear
Data licenseUnverifiedUnverified (see repo)
Free tierFree tier — key may be requiredFree, no API key required (static JSON via CDN)
Rate limitUnpublishedNone (static files served over CDN)
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

What3Words vs Administrative Divisions DB: common questions

Which is more reliable, What3Words or Administrative Divisions DB?

Only Administrative Divisions DB is on our probe schedule so far (—% uptime over 90 days). The other is catalogued but not yet live-checked, so we can't compare measured reliability head-to-head — check the uncovered API's own status page for now.

Do What3Words and Administrative Divisions DB need an API key?

Administrative Divisions DB needs no key, while What3Words requires a free API key. If you want to start calling without signup, reach for Administrative Divisions DB first.

Can I call What3Words and Administrative Divisions DB from the browser?

Only Administrative Divisions DB is browser-friendly — it returns CORS headers over HTTPS. What3Words needs a server-side call or proxy, so factor that into which one fits a front-end project.

Are What3Words and Administrative Divisions DB free for commercial use?

What3Words has unclear commercial terms, and Administrative Divisions DB has unclear commercial terms. 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.