NextBillion.ai Mapping API

Name: NextBillion.ai Mapping API
Brand: NextBillion.ai Mapping API
Availability: InStock

✓ Official Vendor SpecMaps GeolocationRouting DirectionsapiKey9 EndpointsREST

For Agents

Calculate routes between waypoints, geocode addresses, snap GPS coordinates to roads, compute distance matrices, and generate isochrone maps for reachability analysis across multiple transport modes.

Install Jentic One Beta

Connect the NextBillion.ai Mapping API to your agent

Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the NextBillion.ai Mapping API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.

Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.

Step 1: Jentic One Host machine

# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh

Step 2: Agent machine

# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register       # connects your agent to your Jentic One instance

Jentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.

Capabilities

What an agent can do with NextBillion.ai Mapping API.

Calculate route directions between up to 200 waypoints with support for car, truck, bike, and foot modes

Compute distance and duration matrices between multiple origin and destination sets

Geocode addresses to coordinates and reverse geocode coordinates to addresses

GET STARTED

Start building with NextBillion.ai Mapping API

Explore with Jentic

View OpenAPI Document

Use Cases

Patterns agents use NextBillion.ai Mapping API for, with concrete tasks.

★ Last-Mile Delivery Routing

Optimize delivery routes for logistics operations with support for up to 200 waypoints per request using the POST method. The Directions API handles multi-stop routes with configurable transport modes, avoidances for highways or tolls, and alternative route suggestions. Truck routing mode supports vehicle-specific restrictions and flexible routing parameters for commercial fleet operations.

Calculate an optimized route for a delivery van visiting 5 customer locations, avoiding highways and returning to the warehouse depot

Fleet Travel Time Analysis

Calculate travel times and distances between fleet locations and customer sites using the Distance Matrix API. The API processes multiple origins and destinations in a single request, returning duration and distance for each origin-destination pair. Supports car and truck modes with flexible routing options for commercial vehicles.

Compute the travel time and distance from 3 warehouse locations to 10 customer sites to determine the optimal warehouse assignment

Address Geocoding and Validation

Convert customer addresses to geographic coordinates for mapping and routing applications with the Geocoding API. The forward geocoding endpoint accepts place names, addresses, or localities and returns position data with optional country filtering and proximity bias. Reverse geocoding converts coordinates back to human-readable addresses at a rate of 2400 queries per minute.

Geocode a customer delivery address to coordinates, verify the location accuracy, and then reverse geocode the coordinates to get the formatted address

GPS Trace Map Matching

Clean and align GPS tracking data from vehicle fleets by snapping coordinate traces to the actual road network. The Snap to Roads API processes up to 200 points per request via POST method, supporting custom search radiuses and timestamp data for each point. Returns the snapped coordinates along with the matched road geometry in GeoJSON or polyline format.

Snap a vehicle's GPS trace of 50 coordinate points to the road network and return the aligned path with matched road geometry

AI Agent Route Planning Through Jentic

Enable AI agents to calculate routes and geocode addresses through Jentic's unified API catalog without managing NextBillion.ai API keys directly. Agents search for routing operations by intent, load the endpoint schema, and execute requests with credential isolation. The integration eliminates the need for API key distribution and enables semantic search across 10,000+ APIs.

Search for 'calculate route between locations' in Jentic, load the NextBillion.ai Directions endpoint schema, and execute a route calculation request with origin and destination coordinates

Key Endpoints

9 endpoints — nextbillion.

METHOD

PATH

DESCRIPTION

GET

/directions/json

Calculate route directions between waypoints

POST

/directions/json

Calculate directions for up to 200 waypoints

GET

/distancematrix/json

Calculate distance matrix between origins and destinations

GET

/geocode

Convert address to geographic coordinates

GET

/revgeocode

Convert coordinates to human-readable address

GET

/snapToRoads/json

Snap GPS coordinates to nearest roads

GET

/isochrone/json

Calculate reachable area within time or distance limits

GET

/directions/json

Calculate route directions between waypoints

POST

/directions/json

Calculate directions for up to 200 waypoints

GET

/distancematrix/json

Calculate distance matrix between origins and destinations

GET

/geocode

Convert address to geographic coordinates

GET

/revgeocode

Convert coordinates to human-readable address

Why Jentic?

Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.

Credential isolation

NextBillion.ai API keys are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents receive scoped access tokens and raw API keys never enter the agent's context.

Intent-based discovery

Agents search by intent such as 'calculate a route' or 'geocode an address' and Jentic returns matching NextBillion.ai operations with their input schemas, eliminating the need to browse documentation.

Time to first call

Direct NextBillion.ai integration requires managing API keys, endpoint URLs, and request/response schemas across 8 endpoints. Through Jentic: under 1 hour with semantic search, schema loading, and credential-isolated execution.

Related APIs

Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.

Alternative

HERE Maps API

HERE provides similar routing and geocoding capabilities with additional traffic data and map rendering features

Choose HERE Maps when you need real-time traffic integration or detailed map tiles. Use NextBillion.ai for cost-effective routing and geocoding with flexible truck routing options.

Alternative

TomTom Routing API

TomTom offers routing and traffic APIs with extensive global coverage and real-time traffic updates

Choose TomTom when real-time traffic data is critical for route calculations. Use NextBillion.ai for batch distance matrix calculations and high-throughput geocoding operations.

Alternative

MapQuest API

MapQuest provides routing, geocoding, and mapping services with generous free tier limits

Choose MapQuest for prototyping with generous free tier limits. Use NextBillion.ai for production deployments requiring higher rate limits and advanced truck routing.

Complementary

Geocodio

Geocodio specializes in North American address geocoding with data appends for congressional districts and census data

Use Geocodio alongside NextBillion.ai when you need US/Canada address geocoding with additional demographic data appends. Use NextBillion.ai for routing and global geocoding.

Complementary

LocationIQ

LocationIQ offers geocoding and mapping built on OpenStreetMap data with competitive pricing

Use LocationIQ when you need OpenStreetMap-based geocoding and place search. Combine with NextBillion.ai routing for complete location-based application stack.

FAQs

Specific to using NextBillion.ai Mapping API through Jentic.

What authentication does the NextBillion.ai Mapping API use?

The NextBillion.ai Mapping API uses API key authentication passed as a query parameter named 'key'. When using this API through Jentic, API keys are stored encrypted in the Jentic vault and agents receive scoped access tokens, so raw keys never enter the agent's context.

Can I calculate routes with multiple waypoints using the NextBillion.ai API?

Yes. The GET endpoint supports up to 50 waypoints, while the POST endpoint at /directions/json supports up to 200 waypoints. Both methods support car, truck, bike, and foot transport modes with optional avoidances for highways, tolls, and ferries.

What are the rate limits for the NextBillion.ai Mapping API?

Rate limits vary by endpoint. The Geocoding and Reverse Geocoding endpoints support 2400 queries per minute. The Snap to Roads and Isochrone endpoints support 6000 queries per minute. The Directions and Distance Matrix endpoints have standard limits documented at docs.nextbillion.ai.

How do I geocode addresses with the NextBillion.ai API through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'geocode an address', load the NextBillion.ai forward geocoding endpoint schema (GET /geocode), and execute with your address in the 'q' parameter. The API returns position coordinates, address components, and map view bounds. Install Jentic with 'pip install jentic' and authenticate at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.

Does the NextBillion.ai API support truck routing?

Yes. Set the 'mode' parameter to 'truck' and use 'option=flexible' to enable advanced truck routing features with vehicle-specific restrictions. The flexible option is available for both Directions and Distance Matrix endpoints when using truck mode.

What is an isochrone and how do I generate one with NextBillion.ai?

An isochrone is a polygon showing the area reachable from a starting point within a given time or distance. Use the GET /isochrone/json endpoint with your starting coordinates, transport mode, and either 'contours_minutes' for time-based limits or 'contours_meters' for distance-based limits. The API returns a GeoJSON FeatureCollection with up to 4 isochrone polygons per request.

How does the Snap to Roads API handle GPS tracking data?

The Snap to Roads API accepts a pipe-separated string of coordinate points via the 'path' parameter. The GET method supports fewer than 100 points, while the POST method supports up to 200 points. You can optionally provide radiuses for search distance per point and timestamps for temporal matching. The API returns snapped coordinates with the matched road geometry.