The Google Maps Platform offers free usage tiers and monthly credits for its various APIs and SDKs, but these are subject to specific limits and changes over time.
Key aspects of Google Maps API free limits:
Free Monthly Credits:
As of March 1, 2025, Google Maps Platform provides free monthly credits distributed across its Maps, Routes, Places, and Environment APIs/SDKs. This replaces a previous fixed $200 monthly credit. The amount of free usage can be up to $3,250 worth, but this is spread across different products and depends on your specific usage patterns.
Product-Specific Free Tiers:
Each product within the Google Maps Platform (e.g., Maps, Routes, Places) has its own free usage cap. For example, the Map Tiles API offers 100,000 free 2D Map Tiles and Street View Tiles per month.
Essentials, Pro, and Enterprise Tiers:
Google offers different pricing tiers (Essentials, Pro, Enterprise) with varying levels of free monthly billable events per SKU. For instance, the Essentials tier provides 10,000 free calls per SKU per month.
Usage-Based Billing:
Beyond the free limits, usage is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis, with pricing varying per API and usage volume.
When you set Up Billing for Google Maps API (Free Tier)
Although Google requires you to set up billing to use the Maps API, the free tier is usually more than enough for small businesses. Google provides $200 of free usage each month. For most small businesses, this free usage tier covers a significant number of API requests, meaning you might never even see a charge unless you hit the limit.
For reference, this free tier covers approximately:
• Up to 28,000 map views per month
• 40,000 geolocation requests
• 200 store locator searches per day, more than enough for most small businesses.
To set up billing, head to the Billing section of the Google Cloud Console, and follow the prompts. Don’t worry—you’ll be notified before any charges apply if you exceed the free usage limits.
Important Considerations:
Exceeding Limits:
If your application exceeds the free usage limits for a particular API or SKU, you will be billed for the additional usage.
Monitoring Usage:
It is important to monitor your Google Maps Platform usage in the Google Cloud Console to understand your consumption and avoid unexpected charges.
API Restrictions and Security:
You can restrict API keys to specific platforms (e.g., Android, iOS, web) and specific APIs to enhance security and control usage