Directions API Usage and Billing

The Directions API uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Directions API requests generate calls to one of two SKUs depending on the type of request: basic or advanced. Along with the overall Google Terms of Use, there are usage limits specific to the Directions API. Manage your costs and usage with tools available in the Google Cloud Console.

How the Directions API is billed

The Directions API uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model. The Google Maps Platform APIs and SDKs are billed by SKU. Usage is tracked for each SKU, and any API or SDK may have more than one product SKU. Cost is calculated by

SKU usage × Price per each use

Use our Pricing and Usage calculator to estimate your usage cost per API or SDK. For qualifying Google Maps Platform SKUs, a $200 USD Google Maps Platform credit is available each month for each billing account. This credit is automatically applied1 to the qualifying SKUs.

Pricing for the Directions API

SKU: Directions

A request to the Maps JavaScript API’s Directions Service (excludes requests triggering the Directions Advanced billing SKU) or the Directions API.

MONTHLY VOLUME RANGE
(Price per QUERY)
0–100,000 100,001–500,000 500,000+
0.005 USD per each
(5.00 USD per 1000)		 0.004 USD per each
(4.00 USD per 1000)		 Contact Sales for volume pricing

SKU: Directions Advanced

A request to the Maps JavaScript API’s Directions Service or the Directions API that uses traffic information, more than 10 waypoints, waypoints optimization, and/or location modifiers.

MONTHLY VOLUME RANGE
(Price per QUERY)
0–100,000 100,001–500,000 500,000+
0.01 USD per each
(10.00 USD per 1000)		 0.008 USD per each
(8.00 USD per 1000)		 Contact Sales for volume pricing

A Directions Advanced SKU is charged for a Maps JavaScript API’s Directions Service or a Directions API request that uses one or more of the following:

  • Traffic information. Traffic information is used when all the following apply (these are the conditions required to receive the duration_in_traffic field in the Directions response):
    • The travel mode parameter is driving, or is not specified (driving is the default travel mode).
    • The request includes a valid departure_time parameter. The departure_time can be set to the current time or some time in the future. It cannot be in the past.
    • The request does not include stopover waypoints. If the request includes waypoints, prefix each waypoint with via: to influence the route but avoid stopovers. For example, 
      &waypoints=via:San Francisco|via:Mountain View|...
  • More than 10 waypoints (between 11 and 25).
  • Waypoints optimization. The optimize parameter is set to true for waypoints. For example, 
    &waypoints=optimize:true|San Francisco|Mountain View|...
  • Location modifiers. When you use the following location modifiers to indicate how drivers should approach a particular location:
    • side_of_road
    • heading

Other usage limits

While there is no maximum number of requests per day, the following usage limits are still in place for the Directions API:

Terms of Use restrictions

For information on terms of use, see policies for the Directions API, and the License Restrictions section of the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service.

Manage your cost of use

To manage your cost of use of the Google Maps Platform APIs, set daily quota limits on all requests to any billable API. Daily quotas are reset at midnight Pacific time.

To view or change quota limits for the Directions API:

  1. In the Cloud Console, open the Google Maps Platform Quotas page.
  2. Click the APIs drop-down and select the Directions API.
  3. To view the quota limits, scroll down to the Requests card.
    A table lists the quota names and limits.
  4. To change a quota limit, click the Edit icon for that limit.
    In the dialog that appears, in the Quota Limit field, enter the preferred billable daily quota limit (up to the quota limit, if any, specified by Google) and select Save.

If your API usage reaches your billable quota limit on any given day, your application will not be able to access the API for the remainder of that day.

  1. Users in India must create a Google Cloud Platform billing account before creating a Google Maps Platform billing account to receive the Maps Platform credit. ↩