Google Distance Matrix API pricing, billed by the element
The 2026 rates, now inside the Routes API, explained.
How much does the Distance Matrix API cost?
Google reworked Maps pricing on March 1, 2025. Figures below are from Google's official pricing page, checked August 4, 2026.
Two things decide your bill: the unit and the tier.
The unit: a distance matrix is billed per element, which means origins times destinations. One request comparing 25 origins against 25 destinations creates 625 billable events, not one.
The tier: a basic request bills as Essentials, which gets 10,000 free elements per month, then $5.00 per 1,000 up to 100,000 monthly events. Between 100,001 and 500,000 events the rate drops to $4.00 per 1,000.
Turning on traffic-aware routing moves the same call to the Pro rate card at double the price. Enterprise features double it again.
| Monthly volume | Essentials | Pro (traffic aware) | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free monthly threshold | 10,000 events | 5,000 events | 1,000 events |
| Up to 100,000 events | $5.00 per 1,000 | $10.00 per 1,000 | $15.00 per 1,000 |
| 100,001 to 500,000 | $4.00 per 1,000 | $8.00 per 1,000 | $12.00 per 1,000 |
| 500,001 to 1,000,000 | $3.00 per 1,000 | $6.00 per 1,000 | $9.00 per 1,000 |
| 1,000,001 to 5,000,000 | $1.50 per 1,000 | $3.00 per 1,000 | $4.50 per 1,000 |
| Beyond 5,000,000 | $0.38 per 1,000 | $0.75 per 1,000 | $1.14 per 1,000 |
Rates are per 1,000 billable events and apply to both Compute Route Matrix (the distance matrix) and Compute Routes (directions). The old $200 monthly credit is retired; each SKU now carries its own free threshold.
Routes API and Directions API pricing
Google now files the standalone Directions API and Distance Matrix API under legacy services and points new work at the Routes API. Same jobs, new names, one rate card.
Inside the Routes API, Compute Routes is the Directions replacement and Compute Route Matrix is the distance matrix replacement. Both use the table above.
The tier depends on features, not volume. A basic request bills as Essentials, setting the routing preference to TRAFFIC_AWARE or TRAFFIC_AWARE_OPTIMAL moves it to Pro, and features like two-wheel vehicle routing bill as Enterprise.
So a directions call costs $5.00 per 1,000 after the free 10,000. The same call with live traffic costs $10.00 per 1,000 after a smaller free 5,000.
What do common volumes cost?
Per-element billing makes small-sounding workloads add up fast.
Run a 20-store locator with 10,000 lookups a month: each lookup compares 1 origin against 20 destinations, so the month totals 200,000 elements. The first 10,000 are free, the next 90,000 bill at $5.00 per 1,000, and the next 100,000 at $4.00, so $850 a month.
A flat 50,000 elements a month is simpler: 40,000 billable at $5.00 per 1,000, which is $200 a month. The free threshold resets monthly and unused allowance does not carry over.
The right-hand receipt applies when your matrix is really a nearest-business problem: with coordinates on every record, ranking by straight-line distance is free math, and you only pay Google for drive times on the short list.
Do you really need a matrix?
A lot of distance matrix spend follows one pattern: take a point, find the businesses around it, rank them by distance, then show drive times for the top few. Most of that work does not need a matrix.
CrustAPI's place search returns every business with latitude and longitude already attached, plus name, address, phone, website, category, rating, and review count. One call, the Maps rate per business, about $1.96 per 1,000 at the entry pack.
Straight-line distance between two coordinate pairs is free arithmetic. Rank the whole list without touching a matrix, then send only the shortlist, five pairs instead of 625, to the Routes API for real drive times.
The matrix shrinks by two orders of magnitude and the business data comes with it.
What data do you get?
Coordinates on every business, from one request.
The businesses as CSV first, coordinates on every row:
Sample rows as CSV, exactly as exported · phones unmasked in the API response
| name | address | lat | lng | phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capsule | 661 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654 | 41.8945219 | -87.6338147 | (312) 589-76•• |
| Walgreens Pharmacy | 2001 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647 | 41.9177729 | -87.688525 | (773) 772-23•• |
| Pharmacy One Plus | 4753 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60625 | 41.9682172 | -87.7083519 | (773) 267-92•• |
| Carnegie Sargent's Pharmacy and Health Center | 845 N Michigan Ave #902W, Chicago, IL 60611 | 41.8980814 | -87.6230972 | (312) 280-12•• |
| Walgreens Pharmacy | 1554 E 55th St, Chicago, IL 60615 | 41.7953637 | -87.5878787 | (773) 667-11•• |
| Chicago Health Mart Pharmacy | 1260 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60660 | 41.9983251 | -87.6629248 | (773) 856-09•• |
And one record as JSON:
How much does CrustAPI cost?
Maps costs $1.96 per 1,000 businesses at standard prices, down to $0.40 for the largest deposit. Empty and failed searches are free. Every eligible account gets $6 of free usage monthly. Paid funds never expire.
| Deposit | Google Search / 1,000 requests | Maps / 1,000 businesses | LinkedIn Profiles / 1,000 | LinkedIn Companies / 1,000 | LinkedIn Posts / 1,000 requests | People, Jobs, Refresh / 1,000 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10+ | $1.00 | $1.96 | $4.00 | $3.00 | $6.00 | $1.96 |
| $149+ | $0.76 | $1.49 | $3.00 | $2.50 | $4.50 | $1.49 |
| $549+ | $0.56 | $1.10 | $2.50 | $2.00 | $3.30 | $1.10 |
| $1,999+ | $0.41 | $0.80 | $2.00 | $1.75 | $2.45 | $0.80 |
| $6,500+ | $0.33 | $0.65 | $1.75 | $1.60 | $1.95 | $0.65 |
| $27,500+ | $0.28 | $0.55 | $1.60 | $1.50 | $1.65 | $0.55 |
| $50,000+ | $0.26 | $0.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $0.50 |
| $100,000+ | $0.20 | $0.40 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $0.40 |
Every eligible account gets $6 of free usage monthly. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent; paid funds never expire. People and Jobs bill per successful search, Refresh per accessible profile. Full profiles in People use the read rate per full profile. See all billing details.
Larger deposits unlock lower endpoint prices. Each deposit keeps its prices until spent. See the full deposit table on the pricing page. Prices in USD, ex-tax.
How do you get started?
- 1
Create a free account. Try it free, no card needed.
- 2
Type a search in the playground. Something like pharmacies in Chicago. The businesses land in a table, coordinates included.
- 3
Export the CSV. Or copy your key from the dashboard and run the curl above for JSON.
Distance matrix vs located business records
Different tools with an overlapping job: knowing what is near what.
| Google Routes API | CrustAPI place search | |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Origin and destination lists you already have | A business search: category, name, area |
| Output | A matrix of travel times and distances | The whole business record, coordinates included |
| Billing unit | Per element: origins x destinations | Per business returned |
| Free volume | 10,000 elements / month | $6 of free usage each month |
| Paid rate | $5.00 per 1,000, $10.00 with traffic | $1.96 per 1,000 businesses, falling to about $0.40 |
| Unused volume | Resets monthly | Paid funds never expire |
| Setup | Cloud billing account required | API key, no card for the free tier |
When the real Routes API is the right tool: actual drive times, live traffic, turn-by-turn directions, tolls, transit, and SLA-backed terms inside a Google Cloud stack. Straight-line distance is not a drive time; when the route itself is the product, pay for the Routes API. This shortcut only covers finding and ranking businesses by proximity.
Who uses the shortcut?
- Store-locator builders. Rank stores by straight-line distance for free, then buy drive times for the top five only.
- Delivery and field-service ops. Build the customer-to-branch shortlist from coordinates before any routing spend.
- Lead gen teams. The same pull doubles as a call list: phone, website, and rating on every located record.
- Analysts. Coverage maps and nearest-competitor math from one CSV, with no billing account to set up.
Related: Google Geocoding API pricing · Google Maps API pricing · Google Places API pricing
Common questions
Distance matrix calls are billed per element, meaning each origin and destination pair. After 10,000 free elements a month, $5.00 per 1,000 up to 100,000 monthly events, then $4.00 per 1,000 between 100,001 and 500,000, with lower tiers beyond. Traffic-aware requests bill at Pro rates, $10.00 per 1,000. Checked on Google's pricing pages, August 4, 2026.
Yes, but Google files it under legacy services and points new work at the Routes API, where the same job is called Compute Route Matrix. Both bill per element on the same rate card, so the numbers on this page apply either way.
Per element. The bill is origins times destinations, so one request comparing 25 origins against 25 destinations creates 625 billable events. That is also the maximum matrix size per request, and traffic-aware optimal requests are capped at 100 elements.
Compute Routes, the Directions replacement inside the Routes API, gets 10,000 free calls a month, then $5.00 per 1,000 up to 100,000 monthly events, then $4.00 per 1,000 up to 500,000. Traffic-aware routing bills at Pro rates: 5,000 free, then $10.00 per 1,000.
No. Google retired the $200 monthly credit on March 1, 2025 and replaced it with a free monthly usage threshold per SKU. Distance matrix and routes each get 10,000 free Essentials events a month.
If the points in your matrix are businesses, a place search returns each one with latitude and longitude already attached, plus phone, website, category, and rating, at the Maps rate per business, about $1.96 per 1,000 at the entry pack. Straight-line distance from coordinates is free math, so you can rank the whole list and only pay Google for drive times on the short list.
No. Funds are prepaid and never expire, and You can try it free with no card required.
Clay
Check the math on your matrix
If the points in your matrix are businesses, pull one market on the free tier, rank by distance for free, and count the elements you just did not buy.
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