Google is notably reducing the pricing of its Google Maps Platform for Indian developers by up to 70% starting August 1, 2024. This shift introduces a new country-specific pricing structure focused at facilitating the advancement of location-based solutions in India.
Google Cuts Maps API Prices, Takes on Ola in India
significantly, Google is partnering with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to offer further discounts for developers building for ONDC, giving up to 90% discounts on select APIs used for e-commerce and connected use cases. On July 17, announcement was made at Google I/O Connect Bengaluru where Google also disclosed that it will start accepting payments in Indian Rupees (INR), a change from the previous practice of charging in US dollars.
The price cutting is planned to make the Google Maps Platform more accessible to developers in India. This comes as CEO of Ola, Bhavesh Aggarwal has been promoting Ola Maps by offering free one-year access to encourage developers to switch. Bhavesh Aggarwal AI startup Krutrim introduced mapping services via Ola Maps API in May, highlight an “India-first” cost structure. Ola Cabs has recently transitioned entirely from Google Maps to Ola Maps, a move expected to save Rs 100 crore every year. Aggarwal has call attention to the growing adoption of the Ola Maps API on social media.
Google Maps Platform Offers Lower Prices and Discounts for Indian Developers
Google’s new pricing structure is solely for India-based customers with significant usage in the country, who will be billed in INR. New customers will automatically be billed in INR, while existing customers can choose to switch from USD to INR from 1 August. Developers can use the same billing account for both Google Maps Platform and Google Cloud services. The new pricing lowers the pay-as-you-go rates and grows the number of monthly requests in each tier. The Geocoding API, currently priced at $5.00 per 1,000 requests for the first 100,000 monthly requests, will be lowered to $1.50 per 1,000 requests for the first 5,000,000 monthly requests for Indian customers for instance.
Developers building for ONDC can access further discounts on specific APIs through Google Maps Platform partners. These discounts will be accessible to small businesses over all roles in the ONDC network—seller, buyer, technology service provider, and gateway. The discounted pricing will be available for one year starting August 1, 2024, and will be valid until April 1, 2027.
