Setting up quotas to limit Google Maps usage

Stockist uses services provided by Google Maps to power the map on your store locator. These services are provided directly to your website, not through Stockist - for more details, please see our  page explaining Google Maps licensing.

Google provides a generous amount of free map services to all websites, so very few clients need to worry about their usage. However, if you want to make sure that your map usage stays below a certain limit and avoid unexpected costs, follow the steps below to set up a quota.

What is a quota?

A quota is a daily usage limit for a specific Google Maps service. If your website exceeds the configured quota, the relevant service will stop working for the rest of the day. By capping the maximum usage for each Google Maps service, you can ensure you don't incur any unexpected costs. If you set a low enough quota, you can ensure that you stay under Google's free monthly usage limit and do not incur any charges from Google. The quota limit will reset each day.

For details about how each service is used and the associated costs, please see our page explaining Google Maps licensing.

What limits should I set?

The locator uses three Google Maps services:

  • Maps JavaScript API: One "map load" is uses each time someone visits the page with your store locator
  • Geocoding API: One "request" is used each time someone types a search and clicks the search button (or presses the Enter key)
  • Places API: If address suggestions are enabled, one "request" is used each time a visitor types a letter in the search box (e.g. typing "N", "Y", "C" to spell "NYC" would use three requests)

For the Places API (used for address suggestions), visitors will generally not notice if this service stops working, since they will still be able to type a full city or postal code into the search box to perform a search. Since the address suggestion service can be particularly expensive, it's a good candidate for setting up a quota.

On the other hand, the Maps JavaScript API (used to display the map) and Geocoding API (used for address lookups) are integral to the functionality of your store locator. Setting up quotas can limit unexpected costs, but may also prevent your store locator from working properly once the quota has been reached.

As a starting point, we suggest the following limits:

  • Maps JavaScript API: 350 map loads per day ( = ~10,000 per month)
  • Geocoding API: 350 requests per day ( = ~10,000 per month)
  • Places API: 100 requests per day ( = ~3,000 per month)

Setting up a quota

Follow these steps to set up a daily usage quota with Google:

  1. Ensure you're logged into the Google account you used to set up your Google Maps key. You can check the Google Account page to see what account you're currently logged into.
  2. Once you're logged in, click here to open the Google Maps Quotas page.
  3. Ensure that the project selection dropdown at the top of the page is displaying the name of the project that contains the Google Maps key you initially created when setting up Stockist on your website: 
  4. Click on the "All Google Maps APIs" dropdown:
  5. Click on the name of the service you would like to limit:

  6. Expand the relevant section based on the service you picked. The correct section for each service is:

    • Maps JavaScript API: Map loads
    • Geocoding API: Requests
    • Places API: Requests

  7. Click the pencil icon next to the "per day" quota at the bottom of the expanded section:

  8. Uncheck the Unlimited box, then type in your chosen limit per day in the Quota limit box. (Keep in mind that Google's free usage limit is calculated monthly, not daily. If prompted, check the Confirmation box to acknowledge that limiting service usage may affect the functionality of your map if you hit the quota. Then, click Save.

  9. Your new quota should now appear in the list of limits:

  10. Return to Step 4 above if you'd like to set up quotas for another service.

Quotas will limit your Google Maps usage; if you also want to track and monitor your current usage level, consider setting up billing alerts with Google.

If you run into any issues or have any questions, please feel free to contact us for assistance.

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