Mapsi Google Maps API Pricing 2026
Full SKU Breakdown
Google Maps Platform is not one product — it's 15+ separately billed APIs. This guide covers every SKU rate, the real free tier limits, and what your actual monthly bill looks like at scale.
The Free Tier — What You Actually Get
Google Maps Platform gives every billing account $200 in monthly credits. This sounds generous, but the credit is shared across all APIs. Maps, Places, Geocoding, and Directions all drain from the same pool simultaneously.
Google restructured pricing in March 2025, replacing the flat $200 credit with per-SKU free usage thresholds and introducing subscription plans (Starter ~$100/mo, Essentials ~$275/mo, Pro ~$1,200/mo). For most small apps, the per-SKU thresholds cover development and testing. At scale, costs rise steeply.
Every SKU — Cost Per 1,000 Calls
These are Google's published list prices as of April 2026, after the $200 monthly credit is exhausted. Note that the Route Matrix API bills per element, not per request — two origins × three destinations = six billable elements per call.
| API / SKU | Price | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Maps (map loads) | $7.00 | 1,000 loads |
| Static Maps | $2.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Street View | $14.00 | 1,000 panoramas |
| Geocoding | $5.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Reverse Geocoding | $5.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Places Autocomplete | $2.83 | 1,000 requests |
| Places Details (Basic) | $17.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Places Details (Advanced) | $32.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Directions API | $5.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Distance Matrix | $5.00 | 1,000 elements |
| Routes API | $6.00 | 1,000 requests |
| Route Matrix (per element) | $0.008 | element |
Source: Google Maps Platform pricing page, April 2026. Rates vary by region.
Real-World Cost at Scale
List prices per 1,000 calls don't tell the full story. Here's what a geocoding-heavy application actually costs at common usage levels — after the free tier is exhausted.
| Volume band | Rate (Geocoding) | Cost at 35K/day | Cost at 140K/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 10,000 | $0.00 | $0 | $0 |
| 10,001 – 100,000 | $5.00 / 1k | $125 | $450 |
| 100,001 – 500,000 | $4.00 / 1k | — | $1,600 |
| 500,001 – 1,000,000 | $3.00 / 1k | — | $1,500 |
| 1,000,001+ | $1.50 / 1k | — | $75 |
| Google Total | $3,625/mo | $8,350/mo | |
| Mapsi (flat rate) | $29/mo | $99/mo | |
Hidden Costs Developers Miss
- Route Matrix element billing — a delivery platform checking ETAs for 50 stores against 200 customer addresses generates 10,000 billable elements per batch call, at $0.008 each = $80 per batch.
- Places Details (Advanced) — $32 per 1,000 requests. Commonly triggered by autocomplete flows where users select a result.
- No hard cap by default — a traffic spike or bot crawl can generate an unexpected four-figure bill before you notice.
- Shared credit pool — a feature using the Places API can exhaust the $200 credit, causing your Maps and Geocoding calls to start billing immediately.
- GCP project overhead — billing account, project setup, IAM, API key restrictions — 20+ minutes before your first call.
The Mapsi Alternative
Mapsi covers the core geocoding, routing, and mapping APIs that 90% of developers need — at a flat monthly price that never changes mid-month regardless of usage spikes.
Google Maps
- ✅ 15+ APIs, broadest coverage
- ✅ Street View, routing, elevation
- ❌ Pay-per-call, 15+ SKUs to track
- ❌ Credit card required upfront
- ❌ No batch geocoding
- ❌ GCP setup required (~20 min)
- ❌ Unpredictable bills at scale
Mapsi
- ✅ Geocoding, routing, places, tiles
- ✅ Batch geocoding up to 30K records
- ✅ Flat rate — no per-call billing
- ✅ Free tier, no credit card to start
- ✅ One API key, one auth header
- ✅ First call in under 2 minutes
- ✅ Open GeoJSON output
Start free on Mapsi
3,000 calls/day forever free. No credit card. First call in under 2 minutes.