Geocoding · head-to-head
adresse.data.gouv.fr vs ViaCep
The Base Adresse Nationale's API Adresse geocodes and reverse-geocodes French addresses for free with no API key, backed by Etalab and IGN's data.geopf.fr infrastructure (the old api-adresse.data.gouv.fr host now 301-redirects there). Requests and responses use the GeoJSON FeatureCollection format, with each result scored for match confidence and enriched with INSEE city codes, postcodes, and population. A live Origin-header probe confirms open CORS (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *), so it works directly from browser JavaScript with no proxy.
ViaCEP is a free, high-availability web service for looking up Brazilian postal codes (CEP): given an 8-digit CEP it returns street, neighborhood, city, state, and IBGE/DDD codes, with a reverse address-to-CEP search available too. It's run by WBX and widely embedded across Brazilian dev tooling — its own docs warn that heavy bulk-validation traffic against it can trigger an automatic, indefinite IP block.
| adresse.data.gouv.fr | ViaCep | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | None | None |
| Pricing | free | free |
| Formats | GeoJSON | JSON, XML |
| CORS | yes | yes |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
ViaCep supports 2 response formats, while adresse.data.gouv.fr offers fewer — pick ViaCep for more integration flexibility.