What3Words vs Zippopotam.us

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

Uptime · 30d
Uptime · 90d100%100%
Uptime · 30d100%100%
P50 · ms391219
P95 · ms1181753
AuthapiKeynone
CORSnoyes
HTTPSyesyes
Card requirednono
Commercial useunclearunclear
Data licenseUnverifiedUnverified
Free tierFree tier — key may be requiredFree — limits not published
Rate limitUnpublishedUnpublished
In directory since2026-07-052026-07-05
operationalpartialdownno data

What3Words vs Zippopotam.us: common questions

Which is more reliable, What3Words or Zippopotam.us?

Both are neck-and-neck — What3Words and Zippopotam.us 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, What3Words or Zippopotam.us?

Zippopotam.us has the lower median latency in our checks — What3Words responds in 391 ms versus Zippopotam.us at 219 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 What3Words and Zippopotam.us need an API key?

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

Can I call What3Words and Zippopotam.us from the browser?

Only Zippopotam.us 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 Zippopotam.us free for commercial use?

What3Words has unclear commercial terms, and Zippopotam.us 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.