BizData API - An Open Alternative to Google Places
The BizData API is a a new business search API built on OpenStreetMap data. Like the Google Places API , it allows developers to search for nearby restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses. Unlike Google Places, however, BizData is completely free , requires no API key and no billing account . A typical BizData API request can return names , addresses , phone numbers , websites , coordinates and opening hours for nearby businesses. Because the API is intentionally much simpler than Google Places it does not include reviews, photos, ratings and popularity data. Data quality also depends entirely on OpenStreetMap coverage. However, for lightweight mapping projects and prototypes the simplicity of BizData is very appealing. There is no Google Cloud setup, quota management or authentication to deal with. To test the API I built a small Open Bars Map using: MapLibre GL JS , OpenFreeMap tiles, and BizData as the backend. My Open Bars map displays nearby bars. It colors markers a...
