{"id":1275,"slug":"google-maps-march-2025-pricing","title":"Google Maps Platform restructured pricing March 1, 2025 — replaced the universal $200/month credit with per-SKU free caps and Essentials/Pro/Enterprise tiers","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["data-infrastructure","mapping-apis"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **Google Maps Platform restructured pricing on March 1, 2025**, replacing the universal **$200 monthly credit** with per-SKU free caps and **Essentials / Pro / Enterprise tiers**.\n\n**Source:** https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/march-2025\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Second major pricing event after the 2018 overhaul ([[google-maps-2018-1400pct-pricing-change]]). The pattern — *the rent goes up when you depend on it* — is the strongest single argument for treating mapping as a portable concern (OSM/Mapbox option preserved). See [[rule-never-rent-mission-critical-when-vendor-can-reprice]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"google-maps-2018-1400pct-pricing-change","title":"Google Maps July 16, 2018 pricing overhaul — per-1,000 map-call rate from $0.50 to $7; free map calls from 25,000/day to 28,000/month","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-data-driven-tools-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: live data and data-driven tools for SMBs — when it's an edge, when it's overkill (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-never-rent-mission-critical-when-vendor-can-reprice","title":"R4 — Never rent mission-critical data infrastructure when the vendor can reprice unilaterally; keep the path to a free alternative warm","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T16:57:38.876Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T16:57:38.876Z"}