Mapbox

Mapbox on xpay — Location intelligence and routing without the signup friction

Mapbox is the go-to platform for developers who need geocoding, directions, isochrones, and place search at scale. Whether you're building a delivery app, a real-estate search tool, or an agent that needs to understand geography, Mapbox's APIs convert addresses to coordinates, compute travel times between points, and find specific places by name or category. On xpay, you call Mapbox's nine tools directly from Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible agent—paying $0.01 per call, with no Mapbox account signup and no subscription.

What's available

• forward_geocode_tool — Convert an address, city, neighborhood, or postcode into latitude/longitude coordinates. Useful for resolving user input into map-ready locations.
• reverse_geocode_tool — Do the opposite: given a lat/lon pair, find the nearest address, neighborhood, district, or region. Essential for "what's here?" queries.
• directions_tool — Fetch turn-by-turn or high-level routing between two or more points. Supports multiple routing profiles (driving, walking, cycling).
• isochrone_tool — Compute reachable areas within a time budget (e.g., "everywhere I can reach in 30 minutes"). Returns GeoJSON contours for visualization.
• matrix_tool — Calculate travel times and distances between multiple origin–destination pairs in a single call. Ideal for logistics and optimization.
• poi_search_tool — Find a specific place or brand by name (e.g., "The Met", "Starbucks Reserve Roastery"). Use when the query includes a distinct title or brand.
• category_search_tool — Return all places matching a category (e.g., "museums", "coffee shops", "EV charging stations"). Useful for discovery and filtering.
• static_map_image_tool — Generate a static map image with custom center, zoom, size, style, and overlays (markers, paths, GeoJSON). Great for embeds and reports.
• version_tool — Check the current version of the MCP server.

When Mapbox is the right tool

• You need to resolve user-entered addresses or place names into coordinates for downstream APIs or map displays.
• You're building a delivery, ride-share, or logistics agent that must compute travel times and distances between multiple points.
• You want to show users "what's reachable in 30 minutes" or similar time-based geofences.
• You need to find specific places (restaurants, hotels, landmarks) by name or by category (e.g., all coffee shops in a neighborhood).
• You're generating static map images for reports, emails, or embeds without needing an interactive map library.
• Your agent needs to understand geography: reverse-geocoding coordinates to human-readable locations, or finding nearby amenities.

When to choose something else

• You need real-time traffic data or historical traffic patterns. Mapbox provides routing but not detailed traffic analytics; consider specialized traffic APIs.
• You're building a consumer-facing interactive map with custom styling and user interactions. Mapbox's web SDK is better suited; xpay's static image tool is for server-side generation.
• You need elevation data, terrain analysis, or satellite imagery beyond basic map rendering. Mapbox has these, but other providers (e.g., USGS, Sentinel) may be cheaper for specialized geospatial work.
• Your use case is one-off or very low volume. The $5 free credit on xpay covers 500 calls; if you need fewer than 10 calls/month, the overhead of integration may not justify it.
• You need offline maps or on-device geocoding. Mapbox is cloud-based; if you need local-only processing, consider offline libraries.

Pricing snapshot

All Mapbox tools on xpay are $0.01 per call. You only pay for what you use; there is no monthly minimum or subscription.

Quickstart

For Claude Code (recommended if using Mapbox alone):

claude mcp add --transport http mapbox "https://mapbox.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY"

Replace YOUR_XPAY_KEY with your xpay API key (get one free at https://xpay.tools after signing up with email or Google).

For Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, or VS Code with Copilot:

Add this entry to your mcp.json configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mapbox": {
      "url": "https://mapbox.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Using the tool:

Once connected, your agent can call Mapbox tools by name. For example, ask Claude: "Use forward_geocode_tool to find the coordinates of 'Times Square, New York'." The agent will invoke the tool, xpay will bill $0.01, and you'll get back the latitude and longitude.

Connecting all xpay providers at once:

If you want to access Mapbox and other providers (Tavily, Apollo, etc.) through a single MCP connection, use the unified endpoint:

claude mcp add --transport http xpay "https://mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY"

Then use xpay_discover() to find tools, xpay_details() to inspect schemas, and xpay_run() to execute them.

Why route Mapbox through xpay?

• No Mapbox signup. xpay holds your Mapbox credentials. You authenticate once with xpay, and all Mapbox calls flow through our endpoint. No need to create a Mapbox account, manage API keys, or deal with Mapbox's dashboard.
• Pay per call, no subscription. Mapbox's standard pricing is usage-based, but often requires a credit card and account setup. On xpay, you pay $0.01 per call with a shared pool of credits. Start with $5 free.
• MCP-native integration. Mapbox tools are exposed as standard MCP tools. Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP clients can discover and invoke them without custom code or SDK imports.
• Unified billing across providers. If you use Mapbox alongside Tavily, Apollo, or other xpay providers, all calls bill to one xpay account. No need to juggle multiple provider dashboards.
• Instant provisioning. Sign up, get an API key, and start calling Mapbox within seconds. No waiting for Mapbox to approve your account or set up billing.

FAQ

Q: What is Mapbox? A: Mapbox is a mapping and location intelligence platform. It provides APIs for geocoding (converting addresses to coordinates), reverse geocoding (coordinates to addresses), routing (directions between points), isochrones (reachable areas within a time budget), and place search. Developers use it to add location features to apps, agents, and data pipelines.

Q: How much does Mapbox cost on xpay? A: All Mapbox tools on xpay cost $0.01 per call. You start with $5 free credit (500 calls). After that, you pay as you go. There is no subscription or monthly minimum.

Q: Do I need a Mapbox account? A: No. xpay holds the Mapbox credentials on your behalf. You sign up for xpay (free, with email or Google), get an API key, and start calling Mapbox tools immediately. You never interact with Mapbox's dashboard or sign up for Mapbox directly.

Q: What can I use Mapbox for? A: Common use cases include: resolving user-entered addresses into coordinates for map displays or downstream APIs; computing travel times and distances for delivery or logistics agents; finding nearby places (restaurants, hotels, gas stations) by category; generating static map images for reports or emails; and reverse-geocoding coordinates to understand what's at a location. Any agent or app that needs to understand geography can benefit.

Q: What are the alternatives to Mapbox? A: Google Maps Platform (more expensive, requires Google Cloud account), OpenStreetMap with Nominatim (free but slower and less polished), HERE Maps (enterprise-focused), and TomTom (strong in Europe). For specialized use cases, consider USGS for elevation data or Sentinel for satellite imagery. On xpay, you can also try other location providers if they become available.

Q: How do I install Mapbox on Claude Code? A: Run claude mcp add --transport http mapbox "https://mapbox.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY" in your terminal, replacing YOUR_XPAY_KEY with your xpay API key from https://xpay.tools. Claude Code will add Mapbox as an MCP server and you can start using it immediately.

Q: How do I install Mapbox on Cursor or VS Code? A: Add an entry to your mcp.json configuration file (usually in .cursor/mcp.json for Cursor or .vscode/settings.json for VS Code) with the Mapbox endpoint: { "mcpServers": { "mapbox": { "url": "https://mapbox.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY" } } }. Replace YOUR_XPAY_KEY with your xpay API key.

Q: Can I use Mapbox alongside other providers? A: Yes. You can either install Mapbox alone (per-provider endpoint) or connect to the unified xpay endpoint (https://mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_XPAY_KEY) to access all xpay providers in one connection. All calls bill to your xpay account.