Google Maps API free tier: what is free and what you will pay
By Eli Foltyn · Updated November 5, 2026
Short answer
Since March 2025 there is no $200 credit. Each Google Maps API has its own free monthly allowance instead: 10,000 for most basic ("Essentials") calls like map loads, routes and geocoding, 5,000 for "Pro" calls, and 1,000 for "Enterprise" calls. A small company showing customers a map and an ETA can stay free if it refreshes the ETA sensibly.
When I was building my failed rideshare app, the Maps bill was the thing I was most scared of. It turned out to be the smallest problem, as long as you do not call the API every second.
Free calls per month, by API
Show an interactive map
- API (tier)
- Dynamic Maps (Essentials)
- Free each month
- 10,000 loads
- Then, per 1,000
- $7
Drive time and route, A to B
- API (tier)
- Compute Routes (Essentials)
- Free each month
- 10,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $5
Route with extras, like stop optimization
- API (tier)
- Compute Routes (Pro)
- Free each month
- 5,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $10
Many-to-many drive times
- API (tier)
- Compute Route Matrix (Essentials)
- Free each month
- 10,000 elements
- Then, per 1,000
- $5
Best stop order, one vehicle
- API (tier)
- Route Optimization single vehicle (Pro)
- Free each month
- 5,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $10
Best stop order, many vehicles
- API (tier)
- Route Optimization fleet (Enterprise)
- Free each month
- 1,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $30
Address to coordinates
- API (tier)
- Geocoding (Essentials)
- Free each month
- 10,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $5
Address search box
- API (tier)
- Places Autocomplete requests (Essentials)
- Free each month
- 10,000
- Then, per 1,000
- $2.83
| What it does | API (tier) | Free each month | Then, per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show an interactive map | Dynamic Maps (Essentials) | 10,000 loads | $7 |
| Drive time and route, A to B | Compute Routes (Essentials) | 10,000 | $5 |
| Route with extras, like stop optimization | Compute Routes (Pro) | 5,000 | $10 |
| Many-to-many drive times | Compute Route Matrix (Essentials) | 10,000 elements | $5 |
| Best stop order, one vehicle | Route Optimization single vehicle (Pro) | 5,000 | $10 |
| Best stop order, many vehicles | Route Optimization fleet (Enterprise) | 1,000 | $30 |
| Address to coordinates | Geocoding (Essentials) | 10,000 | $5 |
| Address search box | Places Autocomplete requests (Essentials) | 10,000 | $2.83 |
Google's US list prices for the first paid tier, checked November 5, 2026. Prices drop at higher volume. Check Google's pricing page before you budget, since Google changes this.
The math for a driver tracking page
Say you run 5 trucks doing 8 jobs a day each, about 1,000 jobs a month. Each customer gets a link showing the truck on a map with an ETA.
- Map loads: each customer opens the page about 3 times. 3,000 loads a month. Free.
- ETA every second: a 30-minute drive is 1,800 route calls per job. 1.8 million a month, thousands of dollars. This is the mistake.
- ETA every minute: 30 calls per job, 30,000 a month. 20,000 over the free 10,000, so about $100.
- ETA every minute, only while the customer has the page open: usually well under 10,000. Free.
The lesson: the map is cheap and the ETA is what costs money. Refresh it on a timer, not on every GPS update, and only when someone is looking.
Ways to stay under the free limit
- Refresh the ETA every 1 to 2 minutes, not every location update.
- Stop refreshing when the customer closes the page or the job ends.
- Geocode each address once and save the coordinates.
- Turn on a daily quota for each API in the Google Cloud console, so a bug cannot run up a bill overnight.
- Restrict your API key to your website and to the APIs you use.
Firebase, the other half
Most people pair Maps with Firebase to store the driver's location. The free Spark plan of the Realtime Database gives 1 GB of storage, 10 GB of downloads a month and 100 people connected at the same time. That covers a small fleet. The trap is the same as with Maps: writing the location every second. Write every 10 seconds, and only when the driver has actually moved.
I did this math the hard way. Take Fleet now runs a tracking link with a map and an ETA for every job, and it is free for companies, so you can use it instead of building it. If you would rather build your own, everything above is what you need.
Try Take Fleet free →Questions people ask
Is the Google Maps API free?+
Each API has a free monthly allowance: 10,000 calls for Essentials APIs like Dynamic Maps, Compute Routes and Geocoding, 5,000 for Pro and 1,000 for Enterprise. After that you pay per 1,000 calls.
Does Google Maps still give a $200 monthly credit?+
No. Since March 1, 2025, Google gives a free monthly allowance for each API instead of the $200 credit.
How much does it cost to show a driver on a map with an ETA?+
Map loads are cheap. The ETA is the cost. Refreshing the ETA once a minute while the customer is watching keeps a small company inside the free 10,000 route calls a month.