Migrate from Bing Maps to Azure Maps overview

  • Article

This article provides the information needed to migrate applications created in Bing Maps for Enterprise to Azure Maps, including links to specific Bing Maps API and SDK migration guides, platform comparisons, and best practices.

Covered in this article:

  • A list comparing Bing Maps for Enterprise services that are available in Azure Maps.
  • Information on features in Azure Maps that are unavailable in Bing Maps for Enterprise.
  • Differences in licensing and billing between Bing Maps for Enterprise and Azure Maps.
  • Migration planning.
  • Links to more resources and support.

Azure Maps platform overview

Azure Maps is a set of mapping and geospatial services that enable developers and organizations to build intelligent location-based experiences for applications across many different industries and use cases. Use Azure Maps to bring maps, geocoding, location search, routing, real-time traffic, geolocation, time zone info, weather, and custom indoor maps into your web, mobile and server-side solutions. Azure Maps is an Azure service, so it inherently includes many of the Azure security and compliance promises that are important to enterprise customers. Azure Maps includes many of the same features as Bing Maps for Enterprise, along with more functionality, like:

High-level platform comparison

The following table provides a high-level summary of Bing Maps for Enterprise features and equivalent support in Azure Maps.

Bing Maps for Enterprise  Azure Maps 
Autosuggest Search: Fuzzy (typehead) 
Imagery: Static Maps  Render: Map Static Image
Imagery: Map Tiles & Metadata  Render: Map Tile 
Locations: Forward Geocoding (unstructured) Search: Forward Geocoding 
Locations: Forward Geocoding (structured)  Search: Forward Geocoding 
Locations: Reverse Geocoding  Search: Reverse Geocoding 
Locations: Points of Interest Search  Search: Fuzzy Search (typeahead)
Routes: Directions (auto)  Route Directions 
Routes: Directions (truck)  Route Directions 
Routes: Distance Matrix  Route Matrix 
Routes: Isochrones  Route Range 
SDS: Geocode Dataflow Search: Forward Geocoding Batch
Search: Reverse Geocoding Batch
SDS: Geodata Search: Polygon
SDS: Points of Interest Search Search: Fuzzy
Search: POI
Time Zone Timezone 
Traffic Incidents  Traffic Incident Detail 
Web Map Control (SDK) Web Map Control (SDK)

Azure portal

With Bing Maps for Enterprise, the Bing Maps Account Center is where you manage your API keys, view your transaction usage reports, see service announcements, etc. In Azure Maps, the Azure portal is where you manage your Azure Maps account. Specifically, the Azure portal is where you go to manage your Azure Maps authentication (shared key authentication and Shared access signature token authentication) and access control options, set up Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) rules, view transaction usage reports, create budget alerts, provide map data feedback, access technical support resources, get current service health status update, and more.

Security and authentication

Bing Maps for Enterprise only supports API key authentication. Azure Maps supports multiple authentication methods, such as a Shared Key, Microsoft Entra ID, or Shared access signature token authentication. For more information on security and authentication in Azure Maps, See Authentication with Azure Maps.

Licensing and billing considerations

When migrating to Azure Maps from Bing Maps for Enterprise, the following aspects should be considered regarding licensing and billing.

  • Azure Maps is a transactions-based usage offering for all use case types and doesn't require special licensing, such as known users or tracked assets-based licensing for certain use cases.
  • Unlike Bing Maps for Enterprise, Azure Maps is a pay-as-you-go offering – you only pay for the services that you use.
  • With Azure Maps, billing (invoicing) happens monthly and doesn’t require an annual commitment.
  • Azure Maps has a free monthly allotment of transactions. For more information, see the Azure Maps pricing.
  • Azure Maps charges for the usage of web control (SDK) based on the number of map tiles loaded, with one Azure Maps transaction being generated for every 15 map tiles loaded.
  • The Azure Maps web control (SDK) uses 512 x 512 pixels map tiles, and typically generates one or less transactions per map load.

Licensing and billing related resources for Azure Maps:

Suggested migration plan

Here are the suggested high-level migration steps:

  1. Take an inventory of the specific Bing Maps for Enterprise APIs and SDKs that your application is using and confirm that Azure Maps has equivalent services to migrate to.
  2. Confirm the transaction calculation differences between the Bing Maps for Enterprise services and the Azure Maps services that you are migrating to in order to understand any possible cost and pricing differences.
  3. Create an Azure subscription and Azure Maps account.
  4. Migrate your application code using the Bing Maps for Enterprise to Azure Maps REST API and SDK migration resources.
  5. Test and deploy your new Azure Maps application.

Create an Azure Maps account

To create an Azure Maps account and get access to the Azure Maps platform, follow these steps:

Bing Maps for Enterprise migration guides

REST API migration guides

Bing Maps Imagery Services

Bing Maps Locations Services

Bing Maps Routes Services

Bing Maps Spatial Data Services (SDS)

Bing Maps Time Zone Services

Bing Maps Traffic Services

Web SDK migration guides

Bing Maps for Enterprise to Azure Maps Web SDK migration guides

General Azure Maps resources

More Azure Maps resources:

Migration support

Developers can get migration support through the Azure Maps Q&A or through one of the many Azure support options.