specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
provider: Ordnance Survey
providerId: ordnance-survey
generated: '2026-07-26'
method: searched
created: '2026-07-26'
modified: '2026-07-26'
tags:
  - Geospatial
  - Open Data
  - Government
  - Addressing
description: >-
  Access to the Ordnance Survey APIs is gated by OS Data Hub plan, not by
  scope. The plan decides WHICH APIs and WHICH data products an API project can
  use; a key on the wrong plan returns 403 rather than 401. Plan NAMES are
  documented across the OS API documentation, but plan PRICING and free
  allowances are not published in the developer documentation - the OS Data Hub
  plans page is a JavaScript application that serves no server-rendered pricing,
  so no price is recorded here rather than guessed.
sources:
  - https://osdatahub.os.uk/plans
  - https://osdatahub.os.uk/support/plans
  - https://docs.os.uk/os-apis/accessing-os-apis/os-ngd-api-features
  - https://docs.os.uk/os-apis/accessing-os-apis/os-ngd-api-tiles
  - https://docs.os.uk/os-apis/core-concepts/getting-started-with-an-api-project
pricing_published_in_docs: false
plans:
  - id: os-opendata-plan
    name: OS OpenData Plan
    type: free
    description: >-
      Free access to the OS OpenData products. Shown as "OpenData usage" in the
      OS Data Hub API Dashboard. The OpenData half of the OS Downloads API
      needs no API key at all - 26 products including OS Open UPRN, OS Open
      TOID, OS Open USRN, Code-Point Open, OS Open Names, OS Open Linked
      Identifiers and Boundary-Line.
    apis: [OS Downloads API (OpenData products)]
    price: null
  - id: premium-plan
    name: Premium Plan
    type: commercial
    description: >-
      Commercial plan giving access to the premium OS APIs and data products.
      Named in the OS documentation as a supported plan for OS NGD API -
      Features and OS NGD API - Tiles, and required for OS Places API, OS Names
      API, OS Features API, OS Maps API and OS Vector Tile API.
    apis:
      - OS NGD API - Features
      - OS NGD API - Tiles
      - OS Places API
      - OS Names API
      - OS Linked Identifiers API
      - OS Features API
      - OS Maps API
      - OS Vector Tile API
      - OS Downloads API (data packages)
      - OS Net API
    price: null
    price_note: Not published in the developer documentation.
  - id: public-sector-plan
    name: Public Sector Plan
    type: entitlement
    description: >-
      For Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) members. PSGA usage appears
      as "Public Sector data" in the OS Data Hub API Dashboard rather than as
      chargeable Premium usage.
    apis:
      - OS NGD API - Features
      - OS NGD API - Tiles
      - OS Places API
      - OS Names API
      - OS Linked Identifiers API
      - OS Features API
      - OS Maps API
      - OS Vector Tile API
      - OS Net API
    price: null
    eligibility: PSGA membership (UK public sector)
trials:
  - name: OS Places API Partner trial
    description: Time-limited trial of OS Places API.
    rate_limit: 50 transactions per minute per API Key across the account
    source: https://docs.os.uk/os-apis/core-concepts/rate-limiting-policy
project_modes:
  - name: Development mode
    rate_limit: 50 transactions per minute per API per project
  - name: Live mode
    rate_limit: 600 transactions per minute per API per project
gaps:
  - No machine-readable or server-rendered pricing page; the plans page is a client-side app.
  - No published free monthly allowance or overage rate in the developer documentation.
  - No self-serve upgrade path documented in the API docs - plan changes route through the OS Data Hub account.