I'm in the process of comparing Mapbox with Google Maps Platform. The usage would be for large full-screen maps with lots of interaction. Comparing map loads/views is not apples to apples. Google counts a single map "load" similar to a page view [1]. The number of tiles loaded doesn't influence cost. With Mapbox, a map "view" is 4-15 tiles (depending on how they're styled) [2].

[1] https://developers.google.com/maps/faq?_ga=2.255037760.93939...

[2] https://www.mapbox.com/help/define-map-view/

That Mapbox pricing page seems to be talking about custom maps... What are the built-in styles considered?

https://www.mapbox.com/api-documentation/#styles

Hey Chris, you can make custom maps with Mapbox but you don't have to - here's a look at our core styles + designer styles that come out of the box, https://www.mapbox.com/help/studio-manual-styles/#mapbox-tem.... Pricing is based on transactions for each API. Lots of folks find this table helpful - https://www.mapbox.com/help/account-faq/#what-api-requests-d....

Note - I work at Mapbox

Check out Mapfit (mapfit.com) as well - top notch team with a lot of interesting ideas, and similarly much better prices than Google.

I'll tag on to Nelson's post to plug a new geocoding service two of us ex-Mapzen folks started called https://geocode.earth.

We offer geocoding, especially autocomplete, with much more liberal usage restrictions than either Mapquest or Google, and some pretty powerful features like address interpolation.

As we're still really getting the platform around the geocoder off the ground, we don't have a permanent free tier, but I'd be happy to set anyone up with a demo key if they are looking for something new.

I would be interested in a demo key. Former GIS, now web developer.

sure, shoot an email to [email protected] and we'll set you up

Thinking seriously about switching to MapBox.

Google's pricing is insane after this change -- $7 per 1000 map views!?!?! Did they add an extra zero accidentally?

For reference - If i'm reading this right, it was 50 cents per 1000 map views before (up to 100k per day).

https://web.archive.org/web/20180307020901/https://developer...

I'm working on the design of a system right now that is intended to be commercial if we can bootstrap it with profits. I had already decided to find an alternative to Google Maps because of the risk of getting technologically locked into a completely custom API/service. What, for example, would happen to our profits and bootstrapping plans if Google decided to, say, double or triple its pricing overnight? Big trouble right?

So, here we have people who built around Google Maps wishing the prices were only tripled. I'm not yet sure what we will do, but we'll try to improvise something from less-featureful maps before we'll build a nest out on a Google branch and dare them to cut it off. I'm glad I learned my lesson from the experiences of others before this even happened. This is a great reminder about the hazards of designing around single-source, critical inputs.

Mapbox is pretty expensive for small commercial apps, $499 flat rate + usage costs. If your commercial usage is on the smaller side, the new Google Maps pricing looks really good.

I was a Mapzen customer, their pricing model was great, very sorry to see it go.

I've never understood Mapbox pricing. $499 lets you give maps access to 250 users. That's steep for solo devs / small shops that want to create a map-based app. And there's no way of knowing how that pricing will scale without contacting them for an enterprise plan!

some other good OSM map options are:

http://www.thunderforest.com

https://stadiamaps.com

For geocoding: https://geocoder.opencagedata.com

For routing: https://www.graphhopper.com

Hey Tyler, I work as a customer success manager for our commercial segment and are happy to say we're willing to work with you on a price that fits your business. If you write in through our contact forms just ask to speak with Erin and we can work something out! https://www.mapbox.com/contact/sales/

Note - I work at Mapbox

Also TomTom offers an aternative for Google Maps with high quality maps, geocoding, routing and traffic APIs + web and mobile SDK: https://developer.tomtom.com/tomtom-maps-apis-developers Pricing includes a free tier of 2,500 transactions/day and is much more affordable than the new Google Maps prices. I work for TomTom so in case you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Is there a demo available?

Yes, demo's for the Web SDK are available here: https://developer.tomtom.com/maps-sdk-web/functional-example.... There are also demo's available for the mobile SDKs.

Mapbox is not cheap either. I use geocode.xyz to batch geocode data for Singapore and it works great (there is a free batch geocoding api) It even correctly geocodes some addresses I could not find on Google Maps. And you can get unlimited access for $100 per month.

Mapbox's maps look great, though I wish they had a generic product like Google Maps that I could use.

Does any such general navigation app using Mapbox exist? Basically a vector OpenStreetMap with good search and routing.

https://www.mapquest.com/ uses Mapbox in the background. https://maps.mapcat.com/ uses OpenStreetMap vector tiles. On mobile I use https://maps.me/download/ (free, offline use possible).

MapQuest feels a bit strange with the huge amount of advertising. I'd much rather pay.

OsmAnd can do this. It's generally recommended as the OpenStreetMap app, but almost everyone uses it with offline maps. If you click past that and enable the built-in online tiles addon, you can have tiles. Search and navigation, I don't remember seeing it in recent versions but there are so many options, I'm almost certain it must be in there somewhere. Search for custom or online navigation provider in OsmAnd and you should be able to find it.

As you see, it's not exactly built for this type of usage, but it is supported and the app is generally considered as the best alternative out there, so it might be worth a try!

For good search and routing, you need a high-quality map data designed to deliver professional find, routing and navigation services. I recommend you take a look at developer.tomtommaps.com