I'm just starting a side project that uses similar, i think it's the pricing around autocomplete and places information that seems like the most painful part to me.

Currently I'm using it to search and add points on a map, it seems like it could really add up

There are a few free alternatives to Google:

arcgis has a free place suggestions API: https://developers.arcgis.com/rest/geocode/api-reference/geo...

OpenCageData is pretty good for geocoding with a good free tier.

My company https://stadiamaps.com does map tiles at very generous tiers.

Thanks for the suggestions! Will definitely have a look