Google's announced that its making it easier for developers to integrate Google Maps services into their apps with Java and Python libraries.

The Maps Engine API is meant to handle developers’ own data. The whole system, by the way, runs on Spanner, Google’s distributed global database.

Google touts that its new Maps Engine API can be used for virtually any kind of application, with business use cases ranging from healthcare to retail.

From March 2025, Google Maps will offer developers free access to its products including APIs and SDKs, with monthly limits of up to $6,800.

Google offered some details about its plan to rate-limit the Google Maps API in a statement posted yesterday on the company’s Geo Developers blog. Developers who exceed the rate limits will have ...