Side by side
Foursquare vs Tile38
Both stand on geofencing software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+4
Foursquare spans location-based marketing products, place data APIs, and browser-based spatial tools. Its free options and paid plans serve different needs, while API costs depend on usage.
Visit Foursquare Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Pick Tile38 if you need a free, self-hosted geospatial server with geofencing, spatial search, and multiple connection protocols. Look elsewhere if your application requires coordinate transforms or a managed deployment rather than self-hosting.
Visit Tile38The facts
| Foursquare | Tile38 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Not published |
| Runs on | Android, API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | FSQ Spatial Desktop Standard: $25 a month | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 13 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | foursquare.com | tile38.com |
| On geofencing software | #1 of 17 | #3 of 17 |
Foursquare: what it does well
- Attribution measures advertising impact across platforms.
- Proximity supports custom geofences and real-time targeting.
- Places APIs provide real-time place data.
- Studio offers REST API and Python library access.
- Supports four listed spatial data formats.
What to know first
- Places API use is volume-based and pay-as-you-go.
- Studio Community has 1 GB cloud storage.
- Workbench Developer Plan charges for compute and storage as used.
Tile38: what it does well
- Free and released under the MIT license.
- Supports real-time alerts for static and roaming geofences.
- Spatial searches include Intersects, Within, and Nearby.
- Offers HTTP, WebSockets, and telnet access.
- Installable through Docker, package managers, and pre-built binaries.
What to know first
- Self-hosted deployment requires running the server.
- Password protection is off by default.
- Coordinate transforms are not supported.
- Prometheus metrics endpoint is disabled by default.
Alternatives to Foursquare Alternatives to Tile38 The whole list