Foursquare OS Places vs. Overture Maps
Foursquare OS Places offers unmatched metadata richness with over 100 million global POIs, while Overture Maps boasts broad coverage built on a foundation of 40 million global places. If you need granular attributes like phone numbers or operational hours, Foursquare is the clear leader. For static infrastructure or foundational coverage, Overture excels.
The real power, however, lies in combining both datasets for comprehensive coverage and enriched insights. With Reprompt’s expertise in cleaning and integrating these datasets, you’ll have actionable data that’s accurate, complete, and production-ready—perfect for your location-based applications. Why pick one when you can have the best of both worlds?
Lukas Martinelli
CEO
Foursquare OS Places vs. Overture Maps: Which One Should You Pick?
When it comes to open location data, two giants dominate the field: Foursquare OS Places and Overture Maps. Both datasets offer incredible opportunities for businesses to leverage POI (point-of-interest) data without the recurring costs of proprietary databases. But how do you choose the right one for your use case? Let’s explore both datasets, compare their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss why combining them with Reprompt might be your best move.
The Rise of Open POI Data
Over the past few years, open POI datasets have revolutionized the geospatial landscape. Industry giants like Microsoft and Facebook contributed to the Overture Maps dataset with over 40 million global places. Foursquare followed suit by releasing its OS Places dataset, boasting 100 million POIs with over 22 attributes, all available for free commercial use. Add to this the community-driven OpenStreetMap (OSM), and it’s clear that the barriers to accessing POI data are dissolving.
These open datasets offer mapping companies a powerful way to expand their coverage and reduce dependency on expensive proprietary databases. By incorporating open data, companies can improve geocoding, power local search, and support new applications—all while significantly cutting costs.
Overview of Overture and Foursquare OS Places
Overture Maps
Contributors: Microsoft, Facebook, and other leading tech companies
Coverage: Over 40 million global places
Attributes: Includes basic metadata such as names, categories, and addresses
Strength: OpenStreetMap-based foundation with solid global coverage
Foursquare OS Places
Coverage: Over 100 million global places with monthly updates
Attributes: Boasts over 22 detailed attributes including phone numbers, websites, and operational hours
Strength: Rich metadata and frequent updates make it ideal for dynamic use cases
Both datasets are powerful, but they come with their own sets of challenges—which is where Reprompt comes in.
The Challenges of Raw Open Data
Outdated and Inaccurate Records
Overture: 4.5% of businesses in the U.S. were found to be closed
Foursquare: Over 40% of global records outside the U.S. had no proof of existence
Missing Attributes
Overture: Often lacks phone numbers, websites, and operational hours
Foursquare: Partial metadata in some regions, especially outside its core markets
Unrefined Addresses and Categories
Overture: Requires significant refinement for seamless integration
Foursquare: Needs validation and correction of existing categories and addresses
How Reprompt Transforms These Datasets
Rather than choosing one over the other, Reprompt enables businesses to combine the strengths of both datasets. Here’s how we do it:
Overture Dataset Cleanup (13.3M POIs in the U.S.)
598,500 closed places (4.5%) were removed
9.7M records (73%) had at least one core attribute (e.g., phone, category, name, website, operational hours, address) corrected
7.58M operational hours (57%) were added
1.86M POIs (14%) now include rich brand information
Foursquare OS Places Cleanup
40% invalid data removed for places outside the U.S.
2.16M new categories (10.8%) were added, and 9.36M categories (46.8%) were corrected
1.08M new phone numbers (5.4%) were added, and 2.88M outdated phone numbers (14.4%) were corrected
3.6M websites (18%) were added, and 6.48M websites (32.4%) were corrected
5M operational hours (25%) were added globally, as open data often lacks this information
7.2M addresses (36%) were fixed
Why This Matters Now
Global Adoption of Open Data Giants like Microsoft, Facebook, TomTom, and Foursquare are driving the shift to open data. Integrating it is now a competitive necessity.
The Commoditization of Location Data The cost of raw POI data is dropping to zero as AI and crowdsourcing maintain it, but curated, actionable data is still essential.
Stop Wasting Time Integrating Open Data Open POI datasets remove cost barriers, allowing companies to experiment, accelerate proofs of concept, and deploy products. Reprompt saves 70% compared to proprietary datasets while ensuring seamless updates.
Foursquare OS Places vs. Overture Maps: The Recommendation
Use Overture Maps
Ideal for static locations like train stations, shopping centers, and other infrastructure
Best when paired with Reprompt to enrich missing metadata and validate accuracy
Use Foursquare OS Places
Ideal for applications requiring rich metadata and dynamic updates
Particularly useful for use cases involving operational hours, phone numbers, and websites
The Best Choice? Combine Both
By combining Overture Maps and Foursquare OS Places, you get the best of both worlds: broad coverage from Overture and rich metadata from Foursquare.
With Reprompt, you can seamlessly integrate and clean both datasets, ensuring maximum accuracy and usability.
Why Choose Reprompt?
Save Time: Eliminate months of manual data cleaning and integration.
Improve Data Quality: Increase accuracy and fill rates for over 70% of your POIs.
Stay Updated: Receive continuous updates to ensure your data remains fresh and actionable.
Ready to Clean and Combine Your Data?
Don’t choose between Overture Maps and Foursquare OS Places—use both and let Reprompt handle the complexities. Sign up today to see how we can transform your POI data.