Geocoding Backfills: How to Geocode a Large List
Geocode millions of addresses once and keep the results. Size your instances, estimate costs, and see how providers compare.
Quick answer
To geocode a large list, run the backfill on Geocodio Unlimited for one or two months. Then scale down to the plan that fits your ongoing volume. A 250 million address backfill in North America costs about $2,350 on two Unlimited instances, and you can store every result permanently. Data appends like Census tracts, timezones, and school districts are included on Unlimited at no extra charge. They only use instance capacity. Geocode a sample of your list free →
Years of loan applications. A national property file. A CRM that has never had coordinates. A backfill geocodes all of it in one pass and attaches the extra data you need to each record.
Before you compare per-lookup prices, check whether the provider lets you keep the results. That one term decides most of what a backfill costs.
What is a geocoding backfill?
A geocoding backfill is a one-time job that geocodes every existing record in a database. After it finishes, you geocode new records as they come in.
That plan depends on storage rights. Some providers cap storage at 30 days. With them, the backfill has to run again every month to stay within the terms, and the database it re-processes grows each time.
How much does it cost to geocode 250 million addresses?
Scenario: 250 million addresses in the US, Canada, and Mexico, then 5 million new addresses a month. Forward geocoding only, list prices in USD.
| Month 1 | Year one | Three years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geocodio Unlimited (geocode once, keep the results) | $2,350 | $17,200 | $49,600 |
| Google Maps Platform (re-geocode every 30 days) | $102,650 | $1,357,200 | $4,892,400 |
The Geocodio figure is two Unlimited instances for the backfill month, then one instance at $1,350 a month. The Google figure follows its 30-day caching rule, explained below.
How many Unlimited instances does a backfill need?
Unlimited gives you dedicated Geocodio instances with no per-lookup charges and no rate limit. Each instance handles about 5 million lookups a day when you send batches.
Every address is one lookup, and each data append adds one more. Appends cost nothing extra on Unlimited, so size your instances on total lookups.
| For 250 million addresses | Lookups per address | Total lookups | Finish in one month | Finish in two months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinates only | 1 | 250 million | 2 instances: $2,350 | 1 instance: $2,700 |
| Plus one append, such as a Census year | 2 | 500 million | 4 instances: $4,350 | 2 instances: $4,700 |
| Plus two appends, such as timezone and school district | 3 | 750 million | 6 instances: $6,350 | 3 instances: $6,700 |
The one-month column assumes 25 days of processing, which leaves room for retries. Extra instances cost $1,000 a month each. For comparison, 250 million lookups on Pay-as-you-go would cost $250,000 at the standard rate.
How to run a backfill on Geocodio
Count your lookups. Multiply your record count by one plus the number of appends.
Start Unlimited and add instances. Unlimited is month-to-month. If you only need it for one month, downgrade right after upgrading. You keep access for the full 30 days, and auto-renewal turns off. See the Unlimited guide.
Send batches in parallel. Run 3 to 4 simultaneous batches of up to 10,000 lookups per instance, or use the Lists API. Spreadsheet uploads can be up to 1 GB each.
Store the results. Save them in your database, warehouse, or CRM. Geocodio's terms place no restrictions on map display, point-in-polygon analysis, derivative datasets, or industries. See the Terms of Use.
Scale down. Remove the extra instances, then move to the plan that fits your ongoing volume.
Which plan should you use after the backfill?
Pick the plan based on ongoing monthly lookups, appends included.
| Ongoing lookups per month | Plan that usually costs least | Approximate monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Under 325,000 | Pay-as-you-go | Up to $325 |
| 325,000 to 1.4 million | Flex 350, 650, or 850 | $325 to $1,350 |
| Over 1.4 million | Unlimited, one instance | $1,350 flat |
These estimates exclude the 2,500 free lookups per day on Pay-as-you-go and Flex. Pay-as-you-go is for single-user accounts. Annual billing lowers costs further, and Find My Plan calculates the exact numbers.
In the 250 million scenario, 5 million new addresses a month is above 1.4 million, so one Unlimited instance is the lowest-cost option. With two appends, that becomes 15 million lookups a month, which still fits on one instance.
Backfill examples
Fair lending compliance: loan applications from 2015 to 2022
Banks and credit unions report Census tracts under HMDA and CRA, and tract boundaries change between Census vintages. Each loan needs the tract from the vintage that applies to its reporting year.
Match the year. Group loans by application year and request the matching field, such as
census2015orcensus2022. Geocodio has Census FIPS codes for every year from 2010 to 2025, plus 2000.Count 2 lookups per loan. That covers the geocode plus one Census year. Each additional Census year you request counts as another lookup.
10 million loans become 20 million lookups. One Unlimited instance finishes in about four days, for $1,350. The same job on credits would cost $16,000 to $20,000.
Adding FFIEC income levels: The
ffiecappend covers the current FFIEC data release. For earlier releases, join the tract to the FFIEC flat file and confirm which Census year that file used.
If your security team requires SOC 2 Type II, a security review, or a custom DPA, run the same backfill on Enterprise Unlimited, which starts at $3,250 a month. More: Financial Services · FFIEC geocoder alternative · Census data guide
Real estate: residential addresses with timezones and school districts
Real estate platforms that pull listings from many MLS feeds use two appends. Timezones let them schedule showings with agents in their local time. School districts show buyers which schools serve a home.
Request both appends at once. Add
timezoneandschoolto the same request. Each address is 3 lookups.150 million addresses become 450 million lookups. Four instances finish in about 23 days for $4,350, or two instances finish over two months for $4,700.
Messy input works. Geocodio parses and standardizes messy MLS addresses as it geocodes them.
More: Real Estate
Why do Google geocoding costs compound every month?
Google's Service Specific Terms (6.3.1) allow caching Geocoding API coordinates for up to 30 consecutive calendar days, after which they must be deleted. A narrow 2024 exception allows caching per end user inside the app that made the request, but it cannot be shared across users or used to build a stored dataset.
For a backfill, that means re-geocoding the entire database every 30 days. Each month's run includes everything from before plus the 5 million new addresses.
| Addresses Google re-geocodes | Google list price | Geocodio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 250 million | $102,650 | $2,350 |
| Month 12 | 305 million | $123,550 | $1,350 |
| Month 24 | 365 million | $146,350 | $1,350 |
| Year one | 3.33 billion | $1,357,200 | $17,200 |
| Year two | 4.05 billion | $1,630,800 | $16,200 |
| Three years | 12.15 billion | $4,892,400 | $49,600 |
Geocodio geocodes 250 million addresses once, then 5 million new ones each month.
A few more things to plan for with Google:
Rate limits. The Geocoding API has a limit of 3,000 queries per minute. That works out to about 130 million lookups per 30 days, so re-geocoding 250 million addresses takes about 58 days. You would need a quota increase to finish inside the cache window.
No batch endpoint. Each address is its own request.
Map and analysis rules. Google results can't be shown on a non-Google map. Google doesn't offer Census or school district appends, and its terms name point-in-polygon analysis as an example of prohibited content creation. See the terms of use comparison.
Google may offer negotiated rates at this volume. The 30-day rule still applies, so the volume to re-geocode keeps growing each month.
Which geocoders support batch geocoding and permanent storage?
| Provider | Batch geocoding? | Can you keep the results? | Year-one estimate for this backfill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geocodio | Yes: 10,000 per request, Lists API, 1 GB spreadsheets | Yes, permanently (North America) | $17,200 |
| Google Maps Platform | No batch endpoint | No. Delete coordinates after 30 days | $1.36 million (monthly re-run) |
| HERE | Yes, asynchronous batch jobs | No. 30-day cache limit | About $2.34 million (monthly re-run) |
| TomTom | Yes, Batch Search | No. Caching only as response headers allow | About $2.70 million (monthly re-run) |
| Mapbox | Yes: 1,000 per request | Yes, on the Permanent tier ($5.00/1,000). No redistribution | $1.53 million |
| AWS Location Service | Asynchronous Jobs for address validation with coordinates | Yes, on the Stored tier ($4.00/1,000) | $1.22 million |
| Azure Maps | Yes: 100 per request | While your Azure account is active ($4.50/1,000) | $1.37 million |
| Smarty | Yes | Rooftop results while subscribed, or with a paid perpetual license | Quote |
| US Census Geocoder | Yes: 10,000 per file | Yes, public domain | Free. Interpolation only, about 85% match rate |
How these estimates work
These estimates cover 250 million addresses plus 5 million a month, forward geocoding only, at list prices as of September 2026. Google, HERE, and TomTom re-geocode the full database every 30 days to follow their storage terms. Mapbox, AWS, and Azure are priced on their storable tiers. HERE's published list runs $0.88 per 1,000 after 30,000 free, dropping to $0.70 between 5 and 10 million a month. Its tiers stop at 10 million a month, and TomTom's rates sit behind a configurator, so treat both as rough estimates. Large accounts can often negotiate with any provider.
Sources: Google pricing, Google Service Specific Terms, Mapbox Geocoding API docs, AWS Places pricing, AWS Jobs pricing, Azure Maps batch geocoding, Microsoft Product Terms, HERE Platform Terms, TomTom Terms, Smarty Terms, US Census Geocoder.
Geocodio comparisons: Google · HERE · TomTom · Mapbox · Smarty
When another provider may fit better
Global coverage. If you need addresses outside the US, Canada, Mexico, and the UK, Google, HERE, and Mapbox cover most of the world.
Autocomplete. If you need address suggestions as users type, Google, Mapbox, Smarty, and others offer them.
Display-only lookups. If you never store results, Mapbox's temporary tier and AWS's standard tier cost less per lookup.
Small, free jobs. If your list is small and time isn't a factor, the free US Census Geocoder handles 10,000 addresses per file.
Competitor information was reviewed against each provider's published pricing and terms in September 2026. See a mistake? Email Geocodio.
Common questions about geocoding backfills
About 25 days on two Unlimited instances, or about 50 days on one. Processing scales linearly with each instance you add.
Yes. Unlimited is month-to-month with no commitment, and you can downgrade from the dashboard at any time.
No. Each append uses one lookup of instance capacity and no credits.
Yes, for North American results. UK reverse geocoding results can be stored for up to one year after a subscription ends, for data licensing reasons.
Enterprise Unlimited is SOC 2 Type II audited and HIPAA compliant. It runs on separate, US-hosted infrastructure. It costs $3,250 a month, and each extra instance costs $2,250 a month.
Common questions about geocoding backfills
About 25 days on two Unlimited instances, or about 50 days on one. Processing scales linearly with each instance you add.
Yes. Unlimited is month-to-month with no commitment, and you can downgrade from the dashboard at any time.
No. Each append uses one lookup of instance capacity and no credits.
Yes, for North American results. UK reverse geocoding results can be stored for up to one year after a subscription ends, for data licensing reasons.
Enterprise Unlimited is SOC 2 Type II audited and HIPAA compliant. It runs on separate, US-hosted infrastructure. It costs $3,250 a month, and each extra instance costs $2,250 a month.
Related Resources
Geocodio Unlimited guide
How dedicated instances work, how to size them, and how to downgrade after a one-month job.
Terms of Use and Data Storage Comparison
What each geocoder lets you do with results, with sources, and what storage restrictions cost at scale.
Financial Services
Census tracts, historical FIPS codes, and FFIEC data for HMDA and CRA reporting.
Real Estate
Clean messy MLS addresses and add coordinates, school districts, and Census data in bulk.
Planning a large backfill? Start with a sample of your list.
Then use Find My Plan to size your instances.