{"id":1277,"slug":"streeteasy-300k-google-maps-osm-switch","title":"StreetEasy switched from Google Maps to OpenStreetMap after calculating Google would cost ~$300k/year; Foursquare also switched","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["open-data","mapping-apis","open-data-licensing"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** After Google's 2018 pricing change, real-estate portal **StreetEasy moved to OpenStreetMap** after calculating Google would cost **~$300,000 a year** (VentureBeat). Foursquare switched to OSM / Mapbox in the same window, initially price-driven (TheNextWeb).\n\n**Source:** https://venturebeat.com/dev/google-maps-api-price-foursquare-streeteasy-openstreetmaps/ ; thenextweb.com.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Caveat:** OSM data is free but the user bears hosting/maintenance; public OSM tile servers are not built for heavy commercial traffic (most route through a provider like Mapbox); coverage and Street View parity vs Google are uneven.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** The standard worked example of [[rule-never-rent-mission-critical-when-vendor-can-reprice]]. Most SMBs don't map at StreetEasy scale, but the principle is the same — keep the path to a free alternative warm.","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"},{"slug":"openstreetmap-odbl-license-share-alike","title":"OpenStreetMap uses the Open Database License (ODbL) — attribution + share-alike on derivative databases; \"produced works\" (rendered maps) can be licensed freely","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"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":"2026-06-20T16:57:38.887Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T16:57:38.887Z"}