Is there an OpenStreetMap POI API?

There is no single official “OpenStreetMap POI API” that behaves like Google Places. OpenStreetMap is open map data. You can download it, query it, render it, and build services on top of it, but the production search API is something you run or buy.

That distinction saves time. OSM is a data foundation, not a hosted service you can call.

What OpenStreetMap gives you

OpenStreetMap provides open map data contributed and maintained by a global community. The official copyright and license page describes OSM as map data used by websites, mobile apps, and hardware devices. The data is available under the Open Database License.

For POI work, the raw material is excellent. OSM has shops, restaurants, amenities, transit features, paths, building outlines, and local detail in many markets. But raw data does not answer a product request by itself.

To serve “coffee near this coordinate,” you still need:

• extraction
• normalization
• geospatial indexing
• text search
• ranking
• hosting
• monitoring
• update handling

Where Overpass fits in an OpenStreetMap POI API search

Overpass API is a read-only query system for OpenStreetMap data. It is useful for exploration, local extracts, and data work. It does not come with a product SLA for your app.

The Overpass project’s own documentation says public instances are shared infrastructure and gives examples of problematic behavior, including scraping the full world, asking for millions of individual elements, or relying on public instances as the backend for an app (Overpass commons).

Use Overpass to learn and prototype. Do not make a high-volume locator depend on public Overpass.

Where Nominatim fits

Nominatim is geocoding over OpenStreetMap data. It finds locations by name and address and can reverse geocode coordinates (Nominatim). The public nominatim.openstreetmap.org service has an acceptable use policy that applies to that shared server.

This matters because geocoding and POI search are different jobs. Nominatim can help convert address text to coordinates. It is not a drop-in replacement for a ranked, product-specific nearby business search.

Where Overture fits

Overture Maps publishes open datasets, including the Places theme. As of the June 2026 docs, Overture says the Places theme contains more than 75 million point representations of real-world entities and is distributed as GeoParquet on Amazon S3 and Azure (Overture Places guide).

Overture is closer to the shape a company wants for building a place-search service: cloud-native files, schema documentation, source metadata, releases, and a place-specific theme. But it is still data. You need a serving layer.

The three real paths

Good Enough Maps sits in the third path above. It is hosted proximity search over Overture-backed open data. You call one API from your backend and get places near a coordinate as JSON.

It does not replace OpenStreetMap. It is one way to turn open places data into a product endpoint.

For the hosted path, start with the Places API overview or check current coverage.

FAQ

Is OpenStreetMap a POI API?

No. OpenStreetMap is open map data. You can build a POI API on top of it, but the production serving layer is your responsibility.

Can I use Overpass API as my app backend?

For a serious product, avoid that. Public Overpass instances are shared infrastructure for querying OSM data, not a high-volume app backend.

How is Overture different?

Overture publishes curated open map datasets, including Places, as cloud data files with a documented schema and release cadence. You still need to run or use a serving layer for live search.

Last validated 2026-06-23.