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HSBHSB's avatar
HSBHSB
Copper Contributor
Jul 02, 2025

Address Search vs Geocode API 2025-01-01?

What's the difference between the following?

Address Search:
https://atlas.microsoft.com/search/address/json?&subscription-key={Your-Azure-Maps-Subscription-key}&api-version=1.0&language=en-US&query=400 Broad St, Seattle, WA 98109

 

Geocode using API 2025-01-01

https://atlas.microsoft.com/geocode?api-version=2025-01-01&subscription-key={Your-Azure-Maps-Subscription-key}&query=400 Broad St, Seattle, WA 98109

 

Both give you the latitude and longitude. What's the preferred one to use? I'm using the 2025-01-01 API for Route Matrix to get distance and time between points already.

1 Reply

  • Kidd_Ip's avatar
    Kidd_Ip
    MVP
    Jul 04, 2025

    Take this:

     

    Feature

    Address Search API (/search/address/json)

    Geocode API (/geocode)

    API Version

    1.0 (legacy)

    2025-01-01 (latest)

    Endpoint Purpose

    Full-featured search (addresses, POIs, etc.)

    Pure geocoding (address → lat/lon)

    Supports POIs

    ✅ Yes

    ❌ No

    Fuzzy Matching

    ✅ Yes

    ❌ No

    Batch Support

    ✅ Yes (via /search/address/batch)

    ❌ No

    Performance

    Slightly heavier due to broader scope

    More lightweight

    Preferred for Routing

    ❌ Not optimized for route matrix

    ✅ Matches 2025-01-01 APIs

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