Google Maps Platform vs HERE pricing
Both are in maps & geocoding apis. Google Maps Platform is billed per 1k requests (per-sku); HERE is billed per 1k req / transactions. Numbers below are copied from each vendor's pricing page.
Google Maps PlatformFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- 10k free geocoding events/mo (Essentials SKUs)
- Billed
- Per 1k requests (per-SKU)
- Best for
- Enterprise-grade global maps & places
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
HEREFree tier or trial
- Free tier
- 30k req/mo (Base Plan, card required)
- Billed
- Per 1k req / transactions
- Best for
- Automotive & enterprise location data
- Verified
- Jun 27, 2026
Google Maps Platform plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go (free tier) | $0 | Free monthly cap per SKU: 10,000 events for Essentials SKUs, 5,000 for Pro, 1,000 for Enterprise; plus a $300 new-customer trial credit. |
| Starter (subscription) | $100/mo | 50,000 monthly calls; includes Dynamic Maps and Geocoding; marketed as saving up to $180 vs pay-as-you-go. |
| Essentials (subscription) | $275/mo | 100,000 monthly calls across the most popular Maps, Routes, Places, and Environment products. |
| Pro (subscription) | $1,200/mo | 250,000 monthly calls with advanced features and enhanced customization. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom monthly call allowances and access to the most powerful/customizable features; requires contacting sales. |
- Expensive at high request volumes compared to Mapbox, HERE, and MapTiler
- Pricing structure is complex and bills can spike unpredictably; the March 2025 removal of the $200 universal credit frustrated many existing users
- Per-SKU billing model makes cost forecasting hard, especially for keystroke-heavy autocomplete usage
HERE plans
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium / Base | $0/mo | Includes 250,000 platform transactions per month; ~5 requests/second rate limit. Replaced the discontinued Limited Plan (after Aug 31, 2025). |
| Pay-as-you-grow | $1 per 1,000 transactions | Overage pricing applied beyond the 250,000 free monthly transactions; no hard daily caps, monthly quota model. |
| Pro | $449/mo | Includes up to 1 million platform transactions per month plus support and service guarantees. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom pricing with auto-scaling for peak loads; caching/permanent-storage licenses reported to start around $10,000/year for data storage rights. |
- Pricing model is complex and hard to forecast at scale, usage is product- and tier-specific
- Standard plans prohibit permanent storage/caching of geocoding results without a costly enterprise license
- Data freshness/coverage weaker in rapidly changing or emerging-market urban areas than in Western Europe/North America