xMap vs Foursquare
Foursquare is a developer-first places graph, strong for in-app search and location features. xMap is a broader location-data foundation: a larger POI base plus footfall, road traffic, parcels, and movement for analysis and enrichment. Here is how they compare.
Powering apps, or powering analysis
Foursquare is a strong developer-first places platform: 100M+ POIs across 200+ countries, rich per-place attributes, a Places API for search, autocomplete, and geotagging, SDKs for in-app location features, Studio for spatial analysis, and a free open base layer. xMap is a broader data foundation: more than 300 million POIs across 233 countries in a 36-field schema, plus footfall, road traffic, 154M+ parcels, and origin-destination movement, delivered as raw data with plain-language querying. One is built to power place features inside apps; the other to power analysis, site selection, enrichment, and AI across many data types.
xMap and Foursquare, side by side
Comparison based on publicly available information as of 2026. Verify current capabilities and pricing directly with each provider.
Three reasons teams choose xMap
A larger POI base
More than 300 million places across 233 countries, ahead of the 100 million-plus in the Foursquare graph.
More than places
Footfall, road traffic, parcels with ownership, and origin-destination movement, beyond a places-and-SDK focus.
Built for decisions
Raw data with plain-language Polygon AI querying for site selection, enrichment, and modelling, not only app features.
Choose xMap when
- You want the largest global POI base available
- You need footfall, road traffic, parcels, or movement, not just places
- Your goal is analysis, site selection, or enrichment
- You want raw data and plain-language querying
- You are feeding models or AI agents
Foursquare is the better fit when
- You are a developer building in-app location features
- You need search, autocomplete, and geotagging APIs
- You want location SDKs for mobile apps
- A free open POI base layer suits your project
- Place discovery and personalisation are the core use case
xMap vs Foursquare, answered
What is the main difference between xMap and Foursquare?
Foursquare is a developer-first places platform, strong for in-app search, autocomplete, geotagging, and SDKs on a 100M+ POI graph. xMap is a broader data foundation: more than 300 million POIs across 233 countries plus footfall, road traffic, parcels, and movement, delivered as raw data with plain-language querying for analysis and enrichment.
Is xMap a good Foursquare alternative?
Yes, particularly if your goal is analysis, site selection, or enrichment rather than building app features, and if you need a larger POI base or data types beyond places. Foursquare remains the stronger choice for developers building location features into apps.
How much POI data does each have?
xMap holds more than 300 million points of interest across 233 countries. Foursquare markets 100 million-plus places across 200 or more countries and territories.
Does xMap have APIs like Foursquare?
xMap delivers data by API, bulk export, and catalog, and adds Polygon AI for plain-language queries. Foursquare's APIs are oriented toward in-app features such as place search, autocomplete, and geotagging, which is a different emphasis.
Does xMap cover foot traffic and movement?
Yes. xMap provides footfall showing how many people are present by hour, origin-destination movement between areas, and road traffic, alongside its POI base.
Which should I choose?
Choose Foursquare to build place features inside an app with developer APIs and SDKs. Choose xMap for a larger POI base and multiple data types to analyse, enrich, and feed AI. Some teams use both, Foursquare in the app and xMap for analysis.
Compare xMap against your current data
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