A GraphHopper Directions API alternative

Routing, matrix, optimization, isochrones and map matching on OSRM, Valhalla and VROOM — from $10/month.

One request is one request. No credit formulas to work out before you know what a matrix costs.

✅ No credit card required 🇪🇺 Hosted in the EU

Plans Side by Side

Plan	Price per month	Daily volume	Locations per request	Commercial use
GraphHopper Free	€0	500 credits	5	No
GraphHopper Basic	€69	5,000 credits	30	Yes
GraphHopper Standard	€199	15,000 credits	80	Yes
Simple Routing Free	$0	100 requests	500	Yes
Simple Routing Hobby	$10	10,000 requests	500	Yes
Simple Routing Scale	$100	200,000 requests	500	Yes

GraphHopper figures as of October 9, 2026 from graphhopper.com/pricing (monthly billing, excluding VAT; "The Free Plan is for non-commercial use only"). Simple Routing's 500 is the maximum matrix size.

Credits vs requests

The daily numbers above aren't the same unit. GraphHopper meters in credits, and a request can cost more than one. Per its credit cost article (as of October 9, 2026): a route with up to 10 locations is 1 credit; a matrix is the smaller of origins × destinations ÷ 2 and max(origins, destinations) × 10; an isochrone is 2 credits per minute explored, with a minimum of 10.

A 50×50 matrix here

1 request against your daily allowance.

A 50×50 matrix in credits

500 credits by the formula above — the whole daily allowance of the free plan.

Feature Parity

Feature	GraphHopper Directions API	Simple Routing
Routing / directions	Yes	Yes — OSRM and Valhalla
Distance matrix	Yes	Yes — OSRM table, Valhalla sources-to-targets
Route optimization	Yes	Yes — VROOM
Isochrones	Yes	Yes — Valhalla
Map matching	Yes	Yes — OSRM match, Valhalla trace
Geocoding	Yes	Not yet (waitlist)
Uptime SLA	Yes, on paid plans	No

GraphHopper column as of October 9, 2026, from graphhopper.com/pricing. These are different engines, so request and response formats differ — a feature being on both sides doesn't make it a drop-in swap.

Switching With routingpy

If you call GraphHopper through routingpy, the library already normalizes the response, so switching provider is a change to the client and the profile name.

# Before
from routingpy.routers import Graphhopper

client = Graphhopper(api_key="GRAPHHOPPER_API_KEY")
route = client.directions(
    locations=[[-73.9935, 40.7506], [-73.7781, 40.6413]],
    profile="car",
)

# After
from routingpy.routers import OSRM

client = OSRM(
    base_url="https://api.simplerouting.io/osrm",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
route = client.directions(
    locations=[[-73.9935, 40.7506], [-73.7781, 40.6413]],
    profile="driving",
)

# Same either way
print(route.duration, route.distance, route.geometry)

client.matrix(...) works the same way. Calling the HTTP API directly instead? The API docs have the request and response shapes for each engine.

Try It: Live Route Demo

# Get directions from Penn Station to JFK Airport
curl "https://api.simplerouting.io/osrm/route/v1/driving/-73.9935,40.7506;-73.7781,40.6413?overview=full" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer 988b35cc-6183-4922-bbc0-857e1a1d318d"

Response

This is a live demo with a real API key (feel free to steal it).

Not for you if…

You need live traffic. Travel times come from OpenStreetMap road data and speed profiles, not real-time or historical traffic.
You route outside North America and Europe. That's the coverage today. More regions get added on demand — email us.
You need an enterprise SLA. This is a small operation: no uptime contract, no account manager, no procurement paperwork.