Google Maps Geocoding guide (coverage, pricing, rate limits, licensing)
Last updated: 2025-11-04 | Updated by: Coordable | Sources: Google Maps Platform Pricing, Coverage Details, Terms of Service
Table of contents
Google Maps Geocoding API is one of the most widely used geocoding services worldwide, powering billions of location queries daily. Part of the Google Maps Platform, it converts addresses and place names into geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude), offering exceptional accuracy, comprehensive global coverage, and the largest POI (Points of Interest) database available.
⭐ Excellent Accuracy 🏆 Best POI Coverage 💰 Premium Pricing ❌ Restrictive License
Key features:
- Proprietary data from Street View imagery, satellite data, and user contributions
- Intelligent parsing handles typos, abbreviations, and incomplete addresses
- Massive POI database with 200M+ places worldwide
- Regular updates to addresses, roads, and business information
- Global coverage in 200+ countries and comprehensive search capabilities for POIs, business names, and landmarks
Advantages and disadvantages
Google Maps Geocoding API is definitely a market leader for geocoding services, but it has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look at them:
✅ Advantages
Exceptional accuracy and coverage
- Rooftop-level precision in most urban areas
- Strong rural coverage leveraging Street View and satellite data
- Covers 200+ countries with consistent quality
Unmatched POI database
- 200M+ businesses and places worldwide
- Real-time business information (hours, ratings, reviews)
- Multi-language support and local landmarks
Intelligent query parsing
- Handles typos, abbreviations, incomplete addresses
- Works with natural language queries
- Excellent autocomplete and suggestions
Enterprise infrastructure
- Robust APIs, SDKs, and documentation
- Seamless integration with Google ecosystem
- Low latency worldwide
❌ Disadvantages
Premium pricing
- $5 per 1,000 requests (Geocoding API)
- Volume discounts available
Restrictive licensing
- Cannot store results permanently (30-day cache limit)
- Must display results on Google Maps only
- No pre-fetching or bulk geocoding for storage
Coverage
Google Maps Geocoding API provides coverage in 200+ countries and territories, with quality varying by region. The following interactive map is an estimation of the coverage and accuracy computed by Coordable.
Interactive coverage map
● Excellent - Rooftop-level precision, comprehensive POI database
● Very Good - Mostly rooftop precision, good POI coverage
● Good - Street-level precision, basic POI coverage
● Standard - Basic coverage (all other countries)
Important note: this interactive map showcases coverage per country as of October 2025 and stated by Google officially . This coverage mentions countries where Google Maps Geocoding API is available (source). But the accuracy within the country may vary (e.g. rural areas may have lower accuracy).
Google's data advantage: Google maintains its geocoding database through multiple sources including Street View vehicles, user contributions, business owner updates, and satellite imagery. Notably, Street View imagery enables Google to build comprehensive address and POI databases even in regions lacking official address systems or structured location data.
More info:
Address types supported
Google Maps Geocoding API can geocode addresses, business names, administrative boundaries, postal codes, etc. Here are some examples:
-
Housenumber addresses:
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA -
Street addresses:
Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA -
Business names:
Starbucks Times Square,McDonald's Paris -
Points of Interest (POIs):
Eiffel Tower,Central Park -
Postal codes:
10001,75001 -
Administrative boundaries:
Paris,California
Intelligent address parsing: Google Maps Geocoding API can handle imperfect input. It can automatically correct minor typos, interpret common abbreviations (e.g., "St" for "Street", "Ave" for "Avenue"), and understand addresses with missing or incomplete components. This makes it particularly robust for user-generated input where spelling errors or informal address formats are common.
Google Maps Geocoding API pricing
The following section provides a detailed breakdown of API pricing through an interactive pricing table and cost simulator. You can use it to estimate the cost of your geocoding requests for Google Maps Geocoding API.
March 2025 Pricing Changes
As of March 1, 2025, Google replaced its previous $200 USD monthly credit model with per-SKU free usage thresholds (for example, ~10,000 free billable events/month for many “Essentials” SKUs, including Google Maps Geocoding API). It also expanded the automatic volume-discount tiers so that usage beyond millions of events receives larger discounts.
Learn more: Google Maps Platform March 2025 Changes
Google Maps Platform uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model with volume discounts. A monthly free tier of 10,000 requests is available. The following table shows how pricing evolves with the number of requests (i.e. number of addresses geocoded):
| Monthly volume | Price per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| 0 – 10,000 | FREE |
| 10,001 – 100,000 | $5.00 |
| 100,001 – 500,000 | $4.00 |
| 500,001 – 1,000,000 | $3.00 |
| 1,000,001 – 5,000,000 | $1.50 |
| 5,000,000+ | $0.38 |
Prices as of October 2025. Source: Google Maps Platform Pricing
The chart below illustrates how Google Maps Geocoding API pricing scales with volume, including the tiered discount structure:
Cost calculator
Use the following calculator to estimate the monthly cost of your geocoding requests for Google Maps Geocoding API:
Disclaimer: this calculator is for informational purposes only and does not take into account any discounts or other factors that could apply to your account. For more accurate pricing, please refer to the Google Maps Platform Pricing page.
Rate Limits
Google Documentation states a rate limit of 3,000 requests per minute is applied to the Geocoding API. This means you cannot make more than 3,000 requests per minute, or ~50 requests per second.
When reaching the rate limit, you will receive a 429 HTTP status code.
License and Terms of Service
Google Maps Platform has strict licensing terms that significantly limit how you can use geocoded data. These restrictions are more stringent than most competitors and are actively enforced.
🚫 Restrictions
Storage limitations
- Geocoded coordinates can only be cached for 30 days maximum
- After 30 days, you must re-geocode or delete the data
- No permanent storage of results allowed without enterprise agreement
- Must implement automated cache cleanup
Display requirements
- Results must be displayed on Google Maps only
- Cannot use geocoded data with Mapbox, Leaflet, or other map providers
- Violates terms to geocode with Google but display on competitor maps
- Even static maps require Google Maps Display API
Pre-fetching restrictions
- Cannot pre-geocode addresses for future use
- No bulk geocoding for building stored databases
- Requests must be in response to real user actions
- Automated batch processing violates terms for non-enterprise users
Redistribution
- Cannot sell or redistribute geocoded data
- Cannot build derived products using Google's results
- Cannot combine with other datasets for commercial purposes without permission
✅ What you CAN do
- Cache results for up to 30 days
- Use for internal business applications
- Display on Google Maps with proper attribution
- Store limited metadata (not coordinates)
Learn more in the official documentation:
Conclusion
Google Maps Geocoding API offers industry-leading accuracy and the most comprehensive POI database available, making it ideal for applications requiring the highest quality geocoding. However, it comes with a premium pricing and restrictive licensing terms that you should be aware of, especiall if you are geocoding a large volume of addresses and/or on a recurring basis.
Optimize your geocoding costs: If you're geocoding large datasets, Coordable can help you maximize accuracy while minimizing costs through intelligent provider selection and address cleaning.
Last updated: 2025-11-04 | Updated by: Coordable | Sources: Google Maps Platform Pricing, Coverage Details, Terms of Service
Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes. Always refer to official Google documentation for current terms and pricing.