Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey is Britain's national mapping agency providing authoritative geospatial data, APIs, and mapping products to UK government, enterprise, and consumers through the OS National Geographic Database and Data Hub platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1791
- HeadquartersSouthampton, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Ordnance Survey firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ordnance Survey
- Legal name
- Ordnance Survey Limited
- Website
- https://ordnancesurvey.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1791
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Ordnance Survey is Britain's national mapping agency providing authoritative geospatial data, APIs, and mapping products to UK government, enterprise, and consumers through the OS National Geographic Database and Data Hub platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ordnance Survey industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Geospatial data and mapping
- NAICS
- Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL)
Keywords
Where Ordnance Survey is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Southampton
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ordnance Survey business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Geospatial Data Licensing: Ordnance Survey generates the majority of its revenue through licensing geospatial data products to government and commercial customers. The Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) provides public sector access to location data. Commercial licensing covers products like OS MasterMap, AddressBase Premium, and various API services.
- OS Maps Subscriptions: Consumer and professional subscriptions for OS Maps app providing access to digital mapping, route planning, and outdoor navigation features.
- Paper Maps and Products: Sale of physical paper maps through the OS Shop including OS Explorer and OS Landranger series, guidebooks, and custom-made maps.
- Consultancy Services: Professional geospatial consulting services including bespoke mapping, data analysis, and integration support for enterprise customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free open data products available to all users |
| Subscription | Annual | OS Maps app subscription tiers |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise and commercial licensing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels12 records
Ordnance Survey product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ordnance Survey is Britain's national mapping agency, maintaining the OS National Geographic Database of more than 600 million geographic features across Great Britain, updated around 30,000 times daily at centimetre-level precision. It sells licensed geospatial datasets (OS MasterMap, AddressBase Premium, Boundary-Line), developer APIs (OS Places API), open data products (OS Open Zoomstack, OS Open Roads, raster series), paper maps and the OS Maps outdoor navigation application, and delivers professional geospatial consulting and emergency-response mapping services.
Product overview
Ordnance Survey operates as Britain's national mapping agency providing a comprehensive geospatial data portfolio spanning consumer applications, enterprise platforms, and open data products. The core offering centers on the OS National Geographic Database containing over 600 million geographic features with 30,000 daily updates at centimetre-level precision. Consumer offerings include OS Maps for outdoor navigation and exploration. Enterprise solutions encompass OS MasterMap products (Topography Layer, Highways Network, Building Height Attribute), AddressBase Premium for addressing, and Boundary-Line for administrative boundaries, all accessible via the OS Data Hub platform and APIs including OS Places API. Open data products include OS Open Zoomstack, OS Open Roads, MiniScale, GB Overview Maps, and multiple raster scale products (1:250k, 1:50k, 1:25k). Specialized services include Mapping for Emergencies for first responders, OS Net positioning infrastructure, and the Geovation startup accelerator. The organization is transitioning from OS MasterMap Topography Layer to OS BaseMap Pro, scheduled for full launch in 2027.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OS Maps: Digital and paper mapping platform for outdoor exploration and navigation
- OS Data Hub
- OS MasterMap
- OS BaseMap Pro
- OS Net
- Geovation
- Digimap for Schools
- OS NGD
- OS National Geographic Database
Products and services
- OS Maps Consumer-facing digital mapping application for smartphones and web, providing route planning, navigation and outdoor exploration across Great Britain for walkers, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts.
- OS Data Hub Central platform providing access to Ordnance Survey datasets through APIs and downloads, serving as the primary developer portal and self-serve access point for geospatial data.
- OS MasterMap Topography Layer Flagship detailed topographic dataset of Great Britain covering roads, fields, buildings, trees, fences, paths and land features, scheduled for replacement by OS BaseMap Pro in Summer 2030.
- OS Places API Address lookup API for geocoding and reverse geocoding, providing secure, scalable UK address data with UPRNs and grid references for emergency services and enterprise customers.
- OS National Geographic Database (OS NGD) Britain's most detailed digital map containing over 600 million geographic features with 30,000 daily updates at centimetre-level precision, organised across 16 data collections and 70 major data enhancements.
- OS Net Positioning Data National GNSS positioning infrastructure providing accurate coordinate reference data for geospatial positioning applications across Great Britain.
- Mapping for Emergencies (MfE) Free 24/7 service for category 1 and 2 emergency responders providing geospatial analysis, bespoke mapping, data manipulation and large-volume map printing during emergencies.
- Geovation Startup accelerator hub run with HM Land Registry, supporting GeoTech and PropTech startups with funding, mentoring, workshops and access to OS geospatial datasets.
- OS MasterMap Highways Network - Roads Navigable road network dataset for Great Britain with detailed planned and under-construction road information for transport planning and infrastructure analysis.
- AddressBase Premium Comprehensive property address dataset covering full address lifecycle information with Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) for use in GIS and database systems.
- Boundary-Line Open dataset of every administrative boundary in Great Britain, including county, district, parish and European voting region boundaries.
- OS MasterMap Topography Layer with Building Height Attribute Enhanced topographic dataset with building height attributes enabling 3D visualisation of buildings on maps, used in urban planning and emergency response.
- OS Open Zoomstack Open vector basemap at multiple levels of resolution, from national level to street detail, available in GeoPackage and Vector Tiles formats.
- OS Open Roads Open dataset of the high-level view of the road network in Great Britain for routing and navigation applications.
- 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster Digital alternative to OS Explorer paper map series, covering Great Britain at detailed scale with rights of way, access land, contours and tourist attractions, updated quarterly.
- 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Digital alternative to OS Landranger paper map series, providing high-quality mapping of Great Britain in 20km tiles, updated annually.
- 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster Small-scale regional digital raster mapping providing an overview similar to a road atlas, with motorways, main roads and points of interest.
- MiniScale Free small-scale digital map of Great Britain in a single data file showing towns, cities, motorways, major roads, railways and airports for national overview.
- GB Overview Maps Free basemaps of Great Britain showing country boundaries, major cities, national parks and road networks under the Open Government Licence.
- FINTAN Crowdsourced vernacular gazetteer platform enabling capture and display of local place names (beaches, rocks, waterways) that differ from official map names, used by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
- Continuous Tidelines Dataset Continuous tidelines dataset for Great Britain supporting monitoring and management of coastal erosion and flooding, with applications in environmental regulation, climate change assessment, risk modelling and natural flood defences.
- Street Lights Dataset Dataset of over 6 million street lights across Great Britain with lighting level information on roads and paths, supporting local councils in safety, active travel and infrastructure investment planning.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1.2 million buildings identified as lacking flood defences through AI analysis
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Ordnance Survey
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Ordnance Survey technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
Ordnance Survey partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- Google MapsmajorParticipated together in Geospatial World Forum 2026 plenary session on HD Mapping and VPS alongside TomTom, Carto, Tech Mahindra, and Overture Maps Foundation to discuss next-generation geospatial platforms.
- Landmark Information GroupcoreAppointed as one of three suppliers to deliver geospatial data processing services under OS's Geospatial Content Enhancement Framework (GCE). Working in partnership with RMSI to provide large-scale geospatial data management services over a four-year term supporting the National Cyclic Revision programme.
- SnowflakecoreStrategic partnership to develop Intelligent Flood Readiness, an AI-powered data model combining geospatial, government, and flood risk data. Analysis identified 1.2 million buildings in England lacking flood defences, with 68% in deprived areas. Five policy recommendations released for climate adaptation.
- Transport for the NorthcoreJoint development of machine learning model to identify neighbourhoods with limited home or off-street charging access for EV infrastructure planning. Partnership expanding nationally through all sub-national transport authorities.
- Defracore12-month partnership to understand user needs and improve data accessibility and interoperability for land use decision-making under Defra's Land Use Framework policy paper for England.
- HM Land RegistrycoreJoint operation of Geovation Programme supporting six new PropTech and GeoTech startups with £10,000 initial funding, business support, and access to strategic resources. First time programme specifically backs property technology disruptors.
- 1SpatialcoreSecured £4.2 million contract to support the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), a government initiative creating a digital map of underground infrastructure across the UK.
- Dennis MapscoreAcquisition of full ownership of Dennis Maps, a map publishing company, strengthening OS's position in physical map production and distribution.
- QlikcorePartnership with South Central Ambulance Service to implement AI-driven predictive maintenance using telematics and geospatial data to address ambulance wear patterns.
- Differentia ConsultingminorImplementation partner in South Central Ambulance Service predictive maintenance project using Qlik analytics and OS geospatial data.
- Transport for the NorthcoreJoint production of driveway data covering 6.4 million households across the North of England to help local authorities plan public EV charging infrastructure. Analysis reveals 47% of northern households lack driveways.
- Esri UKmajorESRI UK app used by York City Council combined with OS MasterMap Topography Layer as base map for flood risk management, enabling recording of gully information on mobile devices.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ordnance Survey competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Esri UK: UK arm of the global GIS software leader, Esri UK is both a Strategic OS Partner (combining OS MasterMap as a base map in its ArcGIS platform) and a direct competitor in location data and geospatial services for government and enterprise customers in Great Britain.
- HERE Technologies: Global location data and mapping platform serving automotive, logistics, and enterprise with HD maps, geocoding, and routing APIs directly comparable to OS MasterMap, AddressBase, and the OS Places API across use cases like transport planning and emergency response.
- TomTom: Mapping, navigation, and location technology provider offering maps, traffic, and HD mapping APIs to enterprises and governments; co-participant with OS in the Geospatial World Forum 2026 plenary on HD Mapping and VPS, competing in the same geospatial platform category.
- Mapbox: Developer-focused mapping platform providing tiles, geocoding, navigation, and vision SDKs; an OS technology integration partner (uses Mapbox Telemetry SDKs in OS Maps) and a direct alternative to the OS Data Hub APIs for consumer and enterprise applications.
Broad incumbents
- Google Maps: Dominant global consumer mapping platform and cloud geospatial services (Google Maps Platform APIs); an OS plenary co-participant and broad incumbent in location data, setting the consumer expectation for free mapping that OS must defend against with its precision and licensing model.
- Hexagon AB: Global geospatial technology group (acquired Intergraph, Leica Geosystems) providing surveying, mapping, and location intelligence to governments and industrials; broadly comparable to OS's enterprise/government stack but with a much larger international footprint and private-equity-style portfolio of products.
- Trimble Inc. US-listed geospatial and positioning technology provider covering surveying, mapping, GNSS, and construction; a broad incumbent in the same market categories as OS MasterMap and OS Net, with stronger international presence in mining, agriculture, and construction verticals.
Emerging players
- Maxar Technologies: Satellite imagery and geospatial analytics provider focused on high-resolution earth observation; partially overlapping with OS's computer vision and remote sensing work, providing an upstream imagery alternative for change detection and AI-based map updates.
- Carto: Cloud-native location intelligence and spatial analytics platform serving enterprises with mapping, data visualization, and analysis tools; a Geospatial World Forum 2026 co-participant with OS and a partial competitor in commercializing geospatial datasets for business decision-making.
Others
- Overture Maps Foundation: Industry consortium (with Linux Foundation) building open map data infrastructure, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and TomTom; represents a long-term threat to OS's proprietary data moat by promoting an open global mapping alternative for high-volume use cases.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ordnance Survey social profiles
Digital presenceOrdnance Survey compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Ordnance Survey financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ordnance Survey leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Ordnance Survey subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Ordnance Survey funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ordnance Survey M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ordnance Survey
What does Ordnance Survey do?
Ordnance Survey is Britain's national mapping agency, maintaining the OS National Geographic Database of more than 600 million geographic features across Great Britain, updated around 30,000 times daily at centimetre-level precision. It sells licensed geospatial datasets (OS MasterMap, AddressBase Premium, Boundary-Line), developer APIs (OS Places API), open data products (OS Open Zoomstack, OS Open Roads, raster series), paper maps and the OS Maps outdoor navigation application, and delivers professional geospatial consulting and emergency-response mapping services.
Is Ordnance Survey a public or private company?
Ordnance Survey is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Ordnance Survey founded?
Ordnance Survey was founded in 1791. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Ordnance Survey based?
Ordnance Survey is headquartered in Southampton, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Ordnance Survey make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Geospatial Data Licensing is the primary driver. The others are OS Maps Subscriptions, paper Maps and Products and consultancy Services.
Who are Ordnance Survey's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Esri UK, HERE Technologies, TomTom and Mapbox. Broad incumbents are Google Maps, Hexagon AB and Trimble Inc.. Emerging players are Maxar Technologies and Carto. Overture Maps Foundation is listed as an others.
Does Ordnance Survey have an API?
Yes. Ordnance Survey offers multiple APIs through the OS Data Hub platform for accessing geospatial data. The OS Places API provides geocoding and reverse geocoding functionality with secure, scalable, and resilient address data. The OS NGD APIs provide access to the National Geographic Database containing 16 data collections. APIs offer data access for developers without requiring downloading or storage, with up-to-date address information including UPRN and grid references. Developer documentation is at osdatahub.os.uk.
What industry is Ordnance Survey in?
Ordnance Survey's product category is Geospatial data and mapping. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAM, Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAAAEAL, Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery). Its NAICS code is 54137 and its SIC code is 3812.