Google to charge businesses for Google Maps APIs

It was announced yesterday that Google will begin charging app developers and businesses who host Google Maps APIs on their website if they exceed 25,000 visits a day. In its blog post announcing the changes, Google said no site exceeding the limits will stop working immediately but it does offer three firm solutions: reduce usage limits, pay for the excess or upgrade and buy a Maps API Premier license.

The excess usage charges, reported in the media to be around $4 per 1000 users, will be enforced in early 2012. Thor Mitchell, product manager of Google Maps API said in his blog post, “We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning. However with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API we need to secure its long term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable. By introducing these limits we are ensuring that Google can continue to offer the Maps API for free to the vast majority of developers for many years to come.”

It is thought that the fees will only impact around 0.35 per cent of user accounts. To read Thor Mitchell's full blog post click here, or visit the B2B Marketing website.