Mapbox vs Google Maps for developers
Mapbox and Google Maps Platform both sell maps, geocoding, place search, and routing by the request. Google has the richer place data, with reviews, photos, and opening hours. Mapbox gives more away free each month, charges less per request, and lets you design your own map styles. This page compares the two for building an app, with what each costs.
Prices are in US dollars, from Mapbox's pricing page and Google's, last checked October 22, 2026. Each price is the first paid tier; both lower their prices at higher volume.
Side by side
| Mapbox | Google Maps Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Web maps | Mapbox GL JS: 50,000 loads free a month, then $5.00 per 1,000 | Maps JavaScript API: 10,000 loads free, then $7.00 per 1,000 |
| Geocoding | 100,000 free, then $0.75 per 1,000; results you store cost $5.00 per 1,000 | 10,000 free, then $5.00 per 1,000 |
| Place search and autocomplete | Search Box API: 50,000 requests free, then $1.00 per 1,000 | Autocomplete: 10,000 free, then $2.83 per 1,000. Place names and details cost $17.00 to $40.00 per 1,000 |
| Routing | Directions API: 100,000 free, then $2.00 per 1,000 | Compute Routes: 10,000 free, then $5.00 per 1,000 |
| Map data | OpenStreetMap and other sources, plus Mapbox's own | Google's own |
| Map styles | Design any style in Mapbox Studio | Cloud-based styling of Google's map |
| Place details | Names, addresses, and categories, with fewer business details | Also ratings, reviews, photos, opening hours, and phone numbers |
| Traffic | In driving routes and on the map | In routes and on the map |
| Mobile SDKs | iOS and Android, with navigation | iOS and Android; map loads in the SDKs are free |
Mapbox's search price is an introductory one. Its standard rate is $1.70 per 1,000 after 25,000 free.
Where Google is the better choice
- Place data. Reviews, ratings, photos, opening hours, and phone numbers come from Google's own listings, and nobody else has as many.
- People already know the map. Google's map, Street View, and satellite imagery are what most users expect.
- Native map SDKs. Map loads in Google's iOS and Android SDKs cost nothing.
Where Mapbox is the better choice
- Price. Mapbox's free allowances are five to ten times Google's, and its paid rates are lower for every product above.
- Custom maps. Mapbox Studio styles every layer of the map, and you can add your own data as tiles.
- Cheap geocoding at volume, as long as you don't store the results. Results you keep need Mapbox's permanent geocoding, at $5.00 per 1,000, the same as Google's.
What two apps pay
Each is a month of use, priced with each provider's volume tiers.
A web app with 100,000 map loads, 50,000 geocoded searches, and 20,000 routes:
| Mapbox | Google Maps Platform | Mapricot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map loads | $250 | $630 | Free map tiles |
| Geocoding | Inside the free 100,000 | $200 | 70,000 requests in all, inside the free 250,000 |
| Routes | Inside the free 100,000 | $50 | |
| Total | $250 | $880 | $0 |
A larger app with 1 million map loads, 500,000 geocoded searches, and 300,000 routes:
| Mapbox | Google Maps Platform | Mapricot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map loads | $3,050 | $4,970 | Free map tiles |
| Geocoding | $300 | $2,050 | 800,000 requests in all: 250,000 free, then $0.10 per 1,000 |
| Routes | $400 | $1,250 | |
| Total | $3,750 | $8,270 | $55 |
Switching between them
Moving from Google to Mapbox, or the other way, means rewriting map code: Mapbox GL JS and Google's Maps JavaScript API work differently. Moving from Mapbox GL JS to MapLibre GL JS is much smaller, since MapLibre began as a fork of Mapbox GL JS from before its license changed. MapLibre is open source, needs no Mapbox token, and draws any vector tiles that follow the same style format.
A third option
Mapricot covers the same core: free map tiles for MapLibre, geocoding, autocomplete, nearby places, and routes, on open data. It costs one price for every request, $0.10 per 1,000, after 250,000 free every 30 days shared by every API, and results can be stored. It doesn't have Google's place details, live traffic, custom map styling, or navigation SDKs.
Compare it with each in detail: Mapricot vs Mapbox and Mapricot vs Google Maps. For Google's prices in full, see Google Maps API pricing, explained.
Questions
Is Mapbox cheaper than Google Maps? For every product compared here, yes. Mapbox includes more free each month and charges less after that, except for geocoding results you store, which cost $5.00 per 1,000 on both.
Does Mapbox use Google's data? No. Mapbox builds its maps from OpenStreetMap and other sources, along with its own data.