Question

I’m trying to Geocode a large number of addresses, and wrote a small program in python to automate the process and extracts the data I need which I run daily as the limit is 2500 per day. I noticed the Google Maps Javascript API v3 which has a 25,000 courtesy limit and has a geocoding function. Is it possible to do do the geocoding with the Google Maps API, or am I misunderstanding something here?

Thanks

Answer 1

The Geocoding API documentation states

Use of the Google Geocoding API is subject to a query limit of 2,500 geolocation requests per day.

25000 is mentioned in the FAQ but refers to map loads, not calls to the geocoder service.

The geocoder documentation says

The Google Maps API provides a geocoder class for geocoding addresses dynamically from user input. These requests are rate-limited to discourage abuse of the service.

I can’t find published rates for the Javascript geocoder, but the Google Group mentions 2500 for that as well. The burst rate is variable because it is influenced by server load and other factors, but the overall rate is 2500/day. Actually it’s measured in 6-hour chunks: 625 in every six hours.

Google has published an article on geocoding strategies and I have a demonstrator showing how a variable delay can be introduced to satisfy the burst rate limit. Nothing will get round the total limit, though.