Geocodio vs Google Maps Geocoding

Last updated: July 14, 2026. All information regarding Google Maps Platform is accurate to the best of our knowledge using information from Google’s website as of that date.

The biggest differences between Geocodio and Google Maps

People often ask us how we compare to Google. We've compiled this list of some of the most important considerations. Which provider is best for you depends on your use case.

If you're looking for an alternative to Google Maps geocoding, there are several important factors customers often consider.

Terms of Use: Does Google let you store geocodes?

Google's terms of use are extremely restrictive and generally don't let you store the data. Geocodio's terms are very permissive.

Google does not allow you to keep geocodes: coordinates from the Geocoding API can be cached for up to 30 consecutive calendar days, after which they must be deleted (Service Specific Terms 6.3.1). A narrow carve-out added in 2024 allows caching per end user, inside the application that made the request, but it cannot be shared across users or used to build a stored dataset (6.3.2). Google Maps also has many other restrictions on how you use their results: you cannot display them on anything except a Google map, cannot use them for point-in-polygon analysis, cannot use them to train or fine-tune AI/ML models, and must delete all content from the Services when your agreement ends. If you're considering using Google Maps, you may want to have a lawyer review both their Terms of Service and Service Specific Terms first to make sure your use case is allowed.

Additional data

Geocodio allows you to add a wide variety of data appends all in the same request, such as timezone, Census FIPS codes (tracts), Census statistical data, political districts, school districts, and more. While Google has some of this data, they prohibit you from storing it (for example, timezones).

International support

Geocodio supports the US, Canada, Mexico, and the UK, whereas Google has global support.

How much does geocoding cost with Google vs Geocodio?

Geocodio is significantly cheaper than Google, even before considering that you can store the data from Geocodio (whereas with Google, you might have to pay for the same addresses over and over again due to storage restrictions).

Google limits free geocoding to 10,000 per month and you must have a credit card on file to use their free tier. Extra lookups above that start at $5.00/1,000, with automatic volume discounts stepping down to $1.50/1,000 above 1 million lookups per month. Further discounts above 10 million per month are at Google's discretion via their sales team.

Geocodio is much more affordable. Geocodio offers the first 2,500 lookups free per day with no credit card required. After that, they're $.0010 each, or $1.00/1,000. Our pricing is transparent and you can calculate how much it would cost you here. You can also purchase credits if you would like to lock-in a volume discount. Geocodio credits never expire.

The real cost: storage restrictions mean re-geocoding the same addresses

Because Google's terms require deleting cached coordinates after 30 days, a team that maintains a geocoded database has to re-process the entire cumulative database every month. Here is the estimated year-one cost for a team adding new addresses each month, using each provider's most cost-effective published plan (list prices, July 2026):

Assumptions: single user, forward geocoding only, no appends. Google modeled at 10,000 free/month then published tiered rates from $5.00 down to $1.50 per 1,000. And this compounds: in year two the cumulative database keeps growing, so the re-run volume nearly triples. See the full methodology on our terms of use comparison page.

See Geocodio's pricing here.

What is Google Maps’ Geocoding API rate limit?

The Google Maps Platform geocoding rate limit is limited to 50 calls per second. Google Maps Geocoding was not built for batch or bulk geocoding.

Geocodio is a geocoder that was purpose-built for high-volume batch and bulk geocoding. Geocodio's single request API endpoint has a rate limit of 1,000 requests per minute on the pay-as-you-go plan. This is for individual API calls, so using our batch geocoding you will be able to process thousands of lookups without having to worry about a rate limit. Our Unlimited plan, for both our self-service and Enterprise products, is not rate limited.

Can you geocode a spreadsheet of addresses with Google geocoding?

No. If you have a spreadsheet, you can't use Google geocoding. They only have an API. (Unless you are familiar with working with APIs in your spreadsheet and don't mind paying for geocoding every time you open your spreadsheet.)

How do Geocodio's results compare to Google's?

Geocodio and Google use different data sources. Geocodio relies on official government datasets for our underlying data (mostly from local and state governments). Sometimes, Geocodio is more accurate, and sometimes, Google is more accurate.See our feature comparison here.

Unfortunately, Google prohibits us from publishing benchmarking data. We encourage you to run a test of 1,000 cleaned addresses through both services to do your own comparison.

We can say that from what our customers have told us, our results are comparable. Some companies use Geocodio as their main geocoder and Google as the fallback, and others use Google as the main and Geocodio for the fallback.

Can you get timezone data from the Google Maps API?

Google Maps allows you to append Timezones by using their separate Timezone API. However, you are prohibited from storing the data.

Geocodio lets you add additional data at the same time and in the same format as your coordinates or addresses, including:

• Timezones

• Congressional districts and legislator contact information

• State legislative districts

• School districts

• Census data (including Census tracts, MSAs, FIPS codes, and so forth),

• and more...

Routing, Distance, and Directions

Geocodio’s suite of Distance APIs let you calculate straight-line (Haversine) or driving distance at scale, with support for background processing and permanent data storage.

Google Maps APIs are powerful for navigation and real-time routing, but they come with strict limits: smaller matrix sizes and restrictions on data storage.

With the Google Maps distance matrix API, you're limited to 25x25 origins x destinations (625 total calculations). With Geocodio's, you can do ~223×223 (50,000 calculations).

When Google Maps makes sense

• Global coverage and multiple transportation modes

• Real-time traffic–based driving times (limited to 10x10 locations, i.e. 100 calculations)

• Interactive routing or navigation use cases

• No need to store distance or time results (Google's TOS prohibits permanent storage)

When Geocodio is the better choice

• Large-scale analytics or batch distance calculations

• Typical driving time and distance (no real-time traffic required)

• Permanent storage of forward geocoding results / data for North America (allowed by our Terms of Use)

• U.S., Canada, Mexico, and UK–based data

• Direct address-to-address calculations (no pre-geocoding required)

In short: Google Maps is built for live navigation where you don't mind throwing out the results after using them once. Geocodio is built for data analytics workflows, given that data storage is permitted (restrictions apply only to UK reverse geocoding) and we provide typical driving times.

If you need scalable distance calculations you can store, analyze, and reuse, Geocodio’s Distance APIs are the better fit.

Learn more in our docs.

This information is complete to the best of our knowledge. We believe competition is a good and necessary thing, and strive to accurately and fairly describe our competitors. See any mistakes? Please email us.