Google Maps Platform gaming services Usage and Billing

Pay-As-You-Go Pricing

Google Maps Platform gaming services uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model. In this model:

  • Google Maps Platform APIs are listed in billing as line-item Product SKUs.
    • The customer may only use Playable Locations API content on maps generated by the Maps SDK for Unity.
    • A SKU is the combination of the Product API and the service or function called (for example, gaming services).
  • For each billing account, a $200 USD Google Maps Platform credit is available each month, and automatically applied to the total cost incurred by all qualifying Google Maps Platform SKUs.
    • For example, if you use the gaming services and Places API, you will receive a $200 credit each month applied to the total cost incurred using both gaming services and Places API.

For more information, see Billing overview for Google Maps Platform products.

Pricing for Google Maps Platform gaming services

Google Maps Platform gaming services requests are billed according to Total Monthly Daily Active User (DAU) volume, which is the sum of all daily unique Maps SDK for Unity active users for a given month.

For example, for a game with 1,000 unique users every day in the month of September, your charge would be:

  • 30 days * 1,000 DAU = 30,000 Total Monthly DAU

For these purposes, DAU means the number of unique Daily Active Users (DAU) of Maps SDK for Unity on a device during a 24-hour period. If one user logs into your app 10 times in one day, that counts as one DAU toward your monthly total.

Note that:

  • For counting DAUs, a 24-hour period begins at 12:00 AM Midnight, Pacific Time.
  • If the same user logs in once on each of three separate devices, that counts as three DAU.
  • We do not track individual user IDs, so if a user performs a Clear Cached Data action in your app, that will count as an additional DAU.

For additional billing examples, see Usage and billing examples.

Pricing scales with volume

Rates are based on monthly usage, determined at the end of each month. For simplicity, prices listed are per 1,000 DAUs. Note that you incur a charge on your bill for each DAU, not for each 1,000 DAUs.

When your Total DAU in a single month is more than 1,500,000, you pay less per user for the additional volume.

Total Monthly DAU Volume Range Rates
0 - 1,500,000 DAU 1,500,001 - 7,500,000 DAU 7,500,001+ DAU
$10 per 1,000 DAU $8 per 1,000 DAU Contact Sales for volume pricing

For example, if you have 2 million Total DAU in July, your charges will be:

  • $10 per 1,000 DAU, for 1.5 million DAU (equal to $15,000)
  • $8 per 1,000 DAU, for 0.5 million DAU (equal to $4,000)
  • The total charge for this month will be $19,000.

Monthly Credit for Google Maps Platform gaming services

For each billing account, a $200 USD Google Maps Platform credit is available each month, and is automatically applied to the total cost incurred by all qualifying Google Maps Platform SKUs. Unused credits do not roll over from month to month.

Billing currencies

By default, billing for the gaming services is set to USD. Additional currencies may be available within the console. When you select a different currency, rates will convert from the USD equivalent listed in the chart.

Usage and billing examples

Here are some examples of possible Google Maps Platform gaming services usage and billing scenarios. The examples assume a 30-day month.

Example 1: You are under the monthly credit threshold

If you have an average of 500 Maps SDK for Unity DAU per day over the course of the month, you will be covered by the automatic $200 monthly credit:

  • Your billing amount is based on 500 DAU * 30 days = 15,000 Monthly DAU.
  • Your rate is $10 per 1,000 DAU for a charge of $150.
  • Your $150 charge is under the threshold of the automatic $200 credit, so it is completely covered.
    • The remaining $50 in credits do not roll over to the next month.

Example 2: At 1,000 DAU, you are above the monthly credit threshold

If you have an average of 1,000 Maps SDK for Unity DAU per day over the course of the month, you will be charged $100:

  • Your billing amount is based on 1,000 DAU * 30 days = 30,000 Monthly DAU.
  • Your rate is $10 per 1,000 DAU for a charge of $300.
  • Your $200 credit is automatically applied, and you will be charged $100.

Example #3: At 75,000 DAU and higher, you reach a lower pro-rated price per user

If you have an average of 75,000 Maps SDK for Unity DAU over the course of the month, you will be charged $20,800:

  • Your billing amount is based on 75,000 DAU * 30 days = 2,250,000 Monthly DAU.
  • Two rates apply to your Total DAU:
    • The first 1,500,000 DAU are charged at the original rate of $10 per 1,000 DAU, for a charge of $15,000.
    • The remaining 750,000 DAU are charged at the next rate of $8 per 1,000 DAU, for a charge of $6,000.
  • Your $200 credit is automatically applied, and you will be charged a total of $20,800.

Example #4: When your Total Monthly Volume is more than 7,500,000 DAU

If you have an average of 251,000 Maps SDK for Unity DAU over the course of the month, then Contact Sales for potential volume discounts:

  • Your billing amount is based on 251,000 DAU * 30 days = 7,530,000 Monthly DAU.
  • This DAU total puts you over the 7,500,000 Total Monthly DAU threshold.

Other usage limits

The following usage limits apply to Google Maps Platform gaming services:

  • 60,000 tile requests per minute.
  • 6,000 tile requests per minute per user.

The per user limit is measured per IP address and might reflect multiple end users.

Quotas are configured on the API Quota page. If you are exceeding or might exceed your quota, contact customer support.

Checking your usage and billing balance

You can use the Google Cloud Console to check your usage and billing balance at any time.

To check your usage and billing balance:

  1. On the Google Cloud Console, select your project to go to its dashboard.
  2. On the Navigation menu, select Billing.
  3. On the Billing page, select View detailed charges. If you don't see the Billing page, click Customize in the upper right of the dashboard to enable it.
  4. On the Detailed Charges page, look for the Maps SDK for Unity row in the table underneath the graph. You should see your DAU count in the Usage column and the associated cost.

The Usage amount is a cumulative count of totals DAUs over the period selected in the filters to the right. The cost numbers are in your local currency.