maps-geo
OSM / Overpass
OpenStreetMap is the collaboratively edited map of the world; the Overpass API provides read-only structured queries over its data, and full history dumps preserve the map's past states. Overpass is keyless (with polite-use limits), and our search can query it directly. Relevant when you need to know what mapped features exist at a location, or to dig into the map's edit history.
Why it’s useful & how it works
OpenStreetMap is the only freely editable global map with a full recorded edit history, making it uniquely valuable for questions about what exists on the ground right now and how the map has evolved over time. The Overpass API lets you run precise read-only queries, for example retrieving all hospitals within a city boundary or all roads added in a particular year. Echo can query Overpass directly, so you can get structured geographic results without leaving the search interface.
What’s inside
A continuously growing global dataset with over 10 billion nodes and 1.1 billion ways as of mid-2026, covering roads, buildings, waterways, land use, and points of interest across every country.
API access
https://overpass-api.de/api/ (keyless; be polite)
What we measured
Our own probes, not the archive’s own claims. Re-run periodically; every reading below is dated.
Reachability
- Direct request
- Responded HTTP 200 317 ms
- Through a datacenter proxy
- Responded HTTP 200 654 ms
- API, direct
- Responded HTTP 200 303 ms
- API, through a proxy
- Responded HTTP 200 1.6 s
Did a real search return anything?
The request failed · median 1.1 s · down during the run
The public Overpass instance answered 406 to both attempts through the proxy on 2026-08-22 (previously it simply timed out at 25 s). Heavy either way: self-host or cache for production.
Reachability measured 2026-08-22. Search checked 2026-08-22.
Access
Programmatic API access (a key may be required, see the API tag).