Geocodio is a drop-in replacement for the Google Maps Geocoding API covering the US, Canada, Mexico, and the UK. It costs up to 80% less, returns Census data, districts, timezones, and ZIP+4 in the same call, and — the biggest difference — its terms let you store and reuse results permanently. Google's terms require deleting cached results after 30 days.

Last updated July 2026. Google Maps Platform details are accurate to the best of our knowledge based on Google's published terms and pricing as of that date. See the full Geocodio vs Google comparison for sources.

Google's Service Specific Terms cap caching of geocoding results at 30 consecutive days, after which they must be deleted. If you maintain a geocoded database — a CRM, an analytics warehouse, a property dataset — staying compliant means re-processing your entire cumulative database every month, and paying for the same addresses over and over.

Geocodio's terms are the opposite: geocode an address once and keep the result for as long as you want.

• Store it anywhere. Databases, CRMs, data warehouses, exports. No deletion deadline, ever.

• Analyze it freely. Market research, dashboards, point-in-polygon and district analysis, compliance reporting — all fine.

• Display it on any map. Google Maps, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet, Tableau — your choice.

• Build on it. Create derived datasets, join with other sources, even resell the results. The only restriction: you can't use Geocodio to build a competing geocoder. (UK reverse geocoding has a storage carve-out for data licensing reasons.)

What the 30-day rule costs at scale

Estimated year-one cost for a team adding new addresses each month and keeping a compliant geocoded database, using each provider's most cost-effective published plan (list prices, July 2026):

And it compounds: in year two the cumulative database keeps growing, so Google's re-run cost at 100,000 new addresses per month roughly doubles to ~$57,900, while Geocodio's stays around $1,170 — each address was only ever geocoded once.

Geocodio's compatibility endpoint accepts requests in the Google Maps Geocoding API format and returns results in the same JSON structure. Your existing parsing code keeps working.

Step 1: Create a free Geocodio API key at dash.geocod.io/register

Step 2: Change the hostname from maps.googleapis.com to api.geocod.io

Forward and reverse geocoding are supported, including address_components, geometry, formatted_address, and standard status codes, for US, Canadian, Mexican, and UK addresses. A few fields differ: place_id is returned but empty, viewport is approximated, and plus_code is not included.

Prefer a gradual switch? Run Geocodio alongside Google on a sample of addresses, compare accuracy and cost, then shift traffic. Many teams also use Geocodio as their primary geocoder with Google as a fallback for low-confidence results — Geocodio returns an accuracy score with every result to make that routing easy. Most teams remove the fallback within 30-60 days.

Example: 100,000 lookups per month

• Geocodio (pay-as-you-go): $50-$100

• Google Maps Platform: ~$500

• Estimated savings: 80-90% — before counting the re-geocoding Google's storage terms force on stored databases

Use the plan finder to estimate costs for your specific volume.

Geocodio is the better fit if you…

• Store geocoded results in a database, CRM, or data warehouse

• Run analytics, reporting, or district/boundary lookups on the results

• Geocode in bulk — spreadsheets, batch jobs, or millions of API lookups

• Want Census, district, timezone, or ZIP+4 data appended in the same call

• Display results on non-Google maps or dashboards (Tableau, Mapbox, Leaflet…)

• Work with US, Canadian, Mexican, or UK addresses

Stick with Google if you…

• Need coverage outside the US, Canada, Mexico, and the UK

• Need Places autocomplete, Street View, or live traffic-based navigation

• Only geocode in real time, display results on a Google Map, and never store them — Google's terms work fine for that

You can also mix: plenty of teams keep Google for autocomplete and international addresses while routing North American and UK batch and storage workloads to Geocodio.

Common questions