Google Maps API
Shares rank 4 of 5 mapping APIs by recommenders
People recommend it for its polished, familiar maps and a generous free tier for small projects. The most common caveat is steep pricing at high usage.
People recommend it for its polished, familiar maps and a generous free tier for small projects. The most common caveat is steep pricing at high usage.
23 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 17
- approval share
- 26%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Expensive at high usage
“Google's steep charging for their Maps API at high usage that has brought companies to their knees is well known”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Everyone in Seattle hates AI” “GMaps API won't hand out public transport trips in some countries. And where you can, it's fairly expensive.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “What is the best shape of a city? Modelling effect of urban form on distance” “no throwing $1500/month at google for what amounts to 3 colored circles on a map”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore” - Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: An interactive map of Tolkien's Middle-earth”
- Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “CheapFoodMap – A map of good meals under $10, crowdsourced verified prices”
Surprise bills and pricing changes
“The Maps API is definitely getting worse, and the pricing setup seems like it was cooked up by someone from Microsoft.”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore” “That map pricing change stole literally months of my life having to rip out google from an app”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore” “we will tell you when you go over our undeclared free limit and send you a bill”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore” - Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore”
Strict licensing limits data use
“Google Maps API has pretty strict licensing terms - you have to delete data within 30 days”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Launch HN: Voygr (YC W26) – A better maps API for agents and AI apps” “for developers, offline usage is effectively contractually off-limits”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Offline tiles and routing and geocoding in one Docker Compose stack” Monopoly and trust concerns
“Google is very dangerous (lot of nightmare stories), you have to avoid as much as possible their public API services.”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore” “one of the biggest monopolies on the planet, that gatekeeps innovation”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “State of the Map 2026”
Other mapping APIs people recommend
The four most recommended other mapping APIs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 5 mapping APIs, rankedWhat people said
22 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“you can use the Google Maps API”
“GMaps API won't hand out public transport trips in some countries. And where you can, it's fairly expensive.”
“one of the biggest monopolies on the planet, that gatekeeps innovation”
“It is expensive.. but I think its most polished and familiar with useres”
“Google API costs way too much to scale.”
“switched LA maps to show pre-fire Palisades in a blatant act of putting your finger on the scale of an election”
“Google should have simply done with by origin URL if they wanted stuff to be open like that.”
“the Google maps API can get very expensive very quickly”
“Google Maps API has pretty strict licensing terms - you have to delete data within 30 days”
“it immediately popped up a screen with "This is your API key for maps to start using!" without my input.”
“Imagine enabling Maps, deploying it on your website”
“Google gives a pretty generous free tier for small projects.”
“I'm VERY surprised that the Google Maps API is priced in such a way that you can actually afford this if it got any amount of scale.”
“we will tell you when you go over our undeclared free limit and send you a bill”
“That map pricing change stole literally months of my life having to rip out google from an app”
“Google is very dangerous (lot of nightmare stories), you have to avoid as much as possible their public API services.”
“entered the "squeeze" phase, I'd say it's worse today than it was in 2019.”
“The Maps API is definitely getting worse, and the pricing setup seems like it was cooked up by someone from Microsoft.”
“no throwing $1500/month at google for what amounts to 3 colored circles on a map”
“for developers, offline usage is effectively contractually off-limits”
“Google's steep charging for their Maps API at high usage that has brought companies to their knees is well known”
“if you need more accurate data, you may wanna use the Google Maps API”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.