Setting Up Quotas to Limit Google Maps Usage

Google Maps has a generous free tier, and for most stores it's more than enough to cover normal usage — but it's still a good idea to set hard limits so you're never caught off guard. This guide walks you through setting up quotas for each of the three Google Maps services used by the store locator.

If you haven't read it yet, see Google Maps Licensing Explained for a full overview of how billing works and what each service does.

What Is a Quota?

A quota is a hard ceiling on how many requests a service can process within a given time period. Once the limit is reached, the service stops responding until the period resets — typically the next day.

Think of it like a circuit breaker: instead of letting usage (and costs) grow unchecked, a quota cuts things off at a point you've chosen in advance. This is especially useful as a safety net against unexpected traffic spikes, misconfigured code that makes excessive API calls, or scraper bots hammering your store locator page.

Quotas don't replace billing alerts — they work differently. A billing alert notifies you after usage has already happened. A quota prevents usage from happening beyond your chosen limit in the first place.

What Limits Should I Set?

The store locator uses three Google Maps services, each with its own free tier and cost profile:

Maps JavaScript API is the most visible service — it loads the interactive map every time someone visits your store locator page. It has the highest per-request price ($7.00 per 1,000 after the free tier) but also the largest free allowance: 10,000 map loads per month, or roughly 300 per day.

Geocoding API converts addresses into map coordinates. It's used when customers type their location to find nearby stores. It's moderately priced ($5.00 per 1,000 after the free tier) with the same 10,000 monthly free allowance — roughly 300 per day.

Places API (New) powers the address autocomplete dropdown. It's the cheapest of the three ($2.83 per 1,000 for autocomplete after the free tier), and many of its features — including autocomplete sessions — have unlimited free usage. It still makes sense to set a quota here as a safeguard. The free allowance is 10,000 autocomplete requests per month, roughly 300 per day.

In short: all three services are effectively free for typical store traffic. Setting daily quotas around the values below keeps you safely within the free tier without impacting real customers on normal days.

Setting Up a Quota

Repeat these steps for each of the three services.

1. Log into the correct Google account.

Make sure you're signed into the same Google account you used when creating your Google Maps API key. You can check which account you're currently using on the Google Account page.

2. Open the Google Maps quotas page.

Go to Google Maps Quotas page.

3. Select the right project.

In the top navigation bar, there's a project selector dropdown. Click it and choose the project that contains the API key you're using for your store locator. If you're not sure which project that is, you can find it under APIs & Services → Credentials.

4. Open the API dropdown.

Click the "All Google Maps APIs" dropdown near the top of the page. This filters the quota list to show only the limits for a specific service.

5. Choose the service you want to limit.

Select one of the three services: Maps JavaScript API, Geocoding API, Places API, or Places API (New). You'll need to come back and repeat this step for each service.

6. Find the right quota row.

The quota list can be long. Look for the entries below based on the service you selected, and use the recommended daily limits to stay within the free tier:

The very low limits (1 per day) on SearchTextRequest, GetPhotoMediaRequest, and SearchNearbyRequest are intentional — your store locator doesn't use these features, so there's no reason to allow them at all. Setting them to 1 rather than 0 avoids potential issues with how Google handles zero-value quotas.

7. Edit the quota.

Click the three dots (⋮) at the right end of the row you want to change, then click Edit quota.

8. Enter your limit.

If the Unlimited checkbox is checked, uncheck it. Then type your chosen daily limit into the New value field. Keep in mind that Google's free tier is calculated on a monthly basis, so the daily limits above are conservative estimates — normal day-to-day traffic will stay well under them. Click Submit request, then confirm the new value looks correct.

9. Confirm the quota is saved.

Your new limit should now appear in the quota list with the value you entered.

10. Repeat for the next service.

Go back to Step 4 and choose the next service from the dropdown. Work through all three (or four, if you set quotas for both Places API and Places API (New)) before you're done.

Quotas are a passive safeguard — once set, they work in the background without any ongoing attention needed. If you also want to actively track your usage over time, consider setting up billing alerts with Google so you receive an email if costs ever approach a threshold you define.

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