Recently Google.com announced some changes to the Google Maps Platform, they are calling it a simplified product structure, pay as you go pricing for all, and more.
“Beginning June 11th, we are launching our new pricing plan and providing all users access to support. We’ll continue to offer a free tier — all developers will receive $200 of free monthly usage of our core products.
In addition, this change will require you to enable billing and associate it with all of your Google Maps Platform projects. Creating a billing account helps us better understand your usage so we can continue developing helpful products. It also allows you to scale easily with less downtime and fewer performance issues if your product grows beyond the $200 of free monthly usage. For additional visibility and control you can set daily quotas or billing alerts.”
How does this affect your website? If you have a simple google map, a dealer locator using google maps, this may have impact. It all comes down to how you are using the APIs, and how much website traffic you are generating. In general, most users should remain in the “free” threshold.
How about a rough breakdown on the costs?
- Google JavaScript Website API (using dynamic map that you can move around on your website)
Up to 28,000 loads on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 loads = $7.00
100,001-500,000 loads = $5.60 - Google Street View Image API
Up to 14,000 loads on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $14.00
100,001-500,000 = $11.20 - Google Maps Geocoding API
Up to 40,000 calls on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $5.00
100,001-500,000 = $4.00 - Google Maps Directions API
Up to 40,000 calls on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $5.00
100,001-500,000 = $4.00 - Google Maps Distance Matrix API
Up to 40,000 elements on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $5.00
100,001-500,000 = $4.00 - Google Maps Geolocation API
Up to 40,000 calls on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $5.00
100,001-500,000 = $4.00
The Places API (usually using the autocomplete function in both admin and user sides):
- Google Places API Web Service
Autocomplete – Per Character
Up to 70,000 chars on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $2.83
100,001-500,000 = $2.26 - Autocomplete – Per Session
Up to 11,000 sessions on the Free $200 amount
0—100,000 = $17.00
100,001-500,000 = $13.60
Can we put Google Maps on your website without using the Google Maps APIs?
Yes. Google Maps now offers the ability to embed the map that you’re viewing into your website or blog, without any programming or use of the Google Maps APIs. More information is available here.
Want more details, take a look at the google website documentation here.
Still have questions, contact us for website solutions.