Google's Geocoding API costs $5 per 1,000 requests after a 10K free tier, but volume discounts drop to $0.38 at scale. Mapbox, HERE, and OpenCage offer 82–90% savings. This analysis compares pricing across five providers and explores when scraping beats APIs entirely for lead generation workflows.
I stared at a Google Cloud bill recently and felt something I haven't felt since I discovered my seventh-grade diary had been read aloud at a family dinner. That specific blend of horror, violation, and the sinking realization that I'd agreed to something I didn't fully understand.
The culprit? Google's Geocoding API. $5 per 1,000 requests sounds harmless until you're processing 10,000 addresses a day and doing the math. So I went down a rabbit hole — comparing every geocoding API pricing model I could find — and what I learned saved me thousands. Here's everything I found.
Geocoding API Google Pricing
Google's Geocoding API pricing works on a volume-tiered pay-as-you-go model that changed significantly in March 2025. Before that date, Google offered a flat $200 monthly credit that could be spent across any SKU. Now each SKU gets its own free monthly allowance, and the Geocoding API (classified as an "Essentials" SKU) includes 10,000 free requests per month Google Maps Platform Pricing. Above that threshold, pricing scales through five tiers: $5.00 per 1,000 for 10,001–100,000 requests, $4.00 per 1,000 for 100,001–500,000, $3.00 per 1,000 for 500,001–1,000,000, $1.50 per 1,000 for 1,000,001–5,000,000, and $0.38 per 1,000 beyond 5 million Google Developers March 2025 Changes. There's also a rate limit of 3,000 queries per minute to contend with Google Geocoding Usage and Billing.
Google Maps Geocoding API Cost
Here's where it gets painful. Let's say you're running a real estate platform that geocodes 30,000 new property addresses per day — about 900,000 per month. Under the current pricing, your first 10,000 requests are free. The next 90,000 cost $5 per thousand ($450), the next 400,000 cost $4 per thousand ($1,600), and the remaining 400,000 cost $3 per thousand ($1,200). That's $3,250 per month just for one API call type Coordable Google Maps Geocoding Guide. And this is purely for Geocoding — if you're also loading maps ($7 per 1,000), running Places lookups, or hitting Directions, each of those has its own SKU with its own pricing. One app I know was paying over $8,000 a month across five SKUs before they switched gears.
Google Geocoding API Pricing Alternatives
The good news is the alternatives landscape in 2026 is robust. Mapbox offers Temporary Geocoding with 100,000 free requests per month, then $0.75 per 1,000 up to 500,000 — roughly 85% cheaper than Google's equivalent tier Mapbox Pricing. HERE Geocoding starts at 30,000 free requests per month and charges approximately $0.83–$1.00 per 1,000 thereafter, making it about 82% cheaper than Google at similar volumes Placematic HERE vs Google Comparison. OpenCage takes a subscription approach starting at $50 per month for 50,000 requests/day (roughly 1.5M/month), with no surge pricing and permanent data storage included OpenCage Pricing. Radar offers 100,000 free API calls per month and charges $0.50 per 1,000 after that — a 90% savings versus Google APIScout Best Geocoding APIs 2026.
| Provider | Free Tier (Monthly) | First Paid Tier (per 1K) | Mid-Volume (per 1K) | High-Volume (per 1K) | Batch Support | Storage Rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Geocoding | 10,000 req | $5.00 | $4.00 | $1.50 | No | 30-day cache limit |
| Mapbox (Temporary) | 100,000 req | $0.75 | $0.60 | $0.45 | No (per-request) | Display only |
| HERE Geocoding | 30,000 req | $0.83 | ~$0.75 | ~$0.66 | Yes (native) | Permitted |
| OpenCage | 75,000 req (2.5K/day) | ~$0.17 (X-Small) | ~$0.13 | ~$0.11 | Per-request | Permanent |
| Radar Geocoding | 100,000 req | $0.50 | Contact sales | Contact sales | No | Permitted |
At 100,000 monthly requests, Google costs approximately $450. HERE costs roughly $58. Mapbox (temporary) costs $0 since the 100K free tier covers it entirely Coordable Google vs HERE Comparison. The gap widens proportionally with volume — at 1 million monthly requests, Google runs about $3,550 while HERE is approximately $805.
When to Use Geocoding API vs Address Scraping
Here's a question nobody on a pricing page will answer for you: do you actually need a geocoding API at all? If your goal is to get coordinates for a list of known, well-formatted addresses — and especially if those addresses come from Google Maps itself — you're paying Google to convert their own data back into coordinates. An alternative approach is extracting structured business data (including lat/lng and full address fields) directly from Maps via a tool that handles extraction and enrichment in one pass. When you're fighting Google's CAPTCHA systems and bot detection, an API-only approach becomes even more brittle. Many lead generation workflows also run into export failures and formatting issues when trying to move geocoded data into their CRM. If you're enriching leads at scale, ask whether geocoding is even the bottleneck — or whether you'd be better off with a tool that extracts the data fully formed on the first pass.
FAQ
What is the Google Geocoding API free tier in 2026? Google offers 10,000 free Geocoding API requests per month under the Essentials SKU. This resets monthly and applies automatically. No special signup is needed beyond enabling billing on your Cloud project.
How much does Google Geocoding API cost per 1,000 requests? The base rate is $5.00 per 1,000 requests for the first paid tier (10,001–100,000). Volume discounts bring this down to $4.00 (100K–500K), $3.00 (500K–1M), $1.50 (1M–5M), and $0.38 (5M+).
Is Mapbox geocoding cheaper than Google? Yes, significantly. Mapbox Temporary Geocoding costs $0.75 per 1,000 requests after the 100,000 free tier — roughly 85% cheaper than Google's $5 per 1,000 at similar volumes.
Does HERE Geocoding support batch processing? Yes, HERE offers native batch geocoding — submit thousands of addresses in a single job and receive results asynchronously. Google does not offer batch geocoding in its standard tier.
Can I store geocoding results permanently? It depends on the provider. Google restricts caching to 30 days. OpenCage, HERE, and Radar allow permanent storage. Mapbox requires its more expensive Permanent Geocoding tier for storage rights.
What is the cheapest geocoding API alternative to Google? OpenCage offers the lowest per-request cost at roughly $0.11–$0.17 per 1,000 on higher-tier plans. Radar offers $0.50 per 1,000 with a 100K free tier. For very high volumes, self-hosting Nominatim can be nearly free.
What is Google's Geocoding API rate limit? Google limits Geocoding API requests to 3,000 queries per minute (50 per second), calculated as the sum of client-side and server-side requests.
Which geocoding provider should I choose for lead generation at scale? If you need to geocode structured addresses at volume, HERE or OpenCage offer the best cost-to-feature ratio. If your goal is extracting business data (including coordinates) from Google Maps directly, a scraping-based approach bypasses geocoding costs entirely.
By now you might be wondering if there's a way to skip the whole geocoding tax. If you're extracting local business leads and don't want to pay per coordinate, try LeadsAgent free — it extracts structured business data including addresses, coordinates, phones, and emails directly from Maps in one pass. The no-Website Filter alone can save you weeks of manual prospecting. And if you're scaling an agency or outreach operation, grab the Professional plan here — 50,000 monthly credits, 14-day money-back guarantee, and no geocoding API bills to decipher at 3 AM.
