specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Google Places
providerId: google-places
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-06-02'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Geolocation
  - Google
  - Maps
  - Places
  - Rate Limiting
description: >-
  Google Places API (New) enforces rate limits per API method per Google Cloud
  project. Each method (Text Search, Nearby Search, Place Details, Place Photos,
  Autocomplete) has its own independent per-minute quota. The default per-minute
  quota is configurable in the Google Cloud Console under Google Maps Platform >
  Quotas, and can be raised by request. Limits are scoped to the project rather
  than to an individual API key or IP. Quota-exceeded and throttled requests
  return HTTP 429 with the gRPC status RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED. The numeric default is
  not published as a fixed value on the docs page and must be confirmed per
  project in the Cloud Console.
sources:
  - https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/usage-and-billing
  - https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/report-monitor
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  quotaExceeded: 429
limits:
  - name: Per-method per-minute quota
    scope: project/method
    metric: requests_per_minute
    limit: 'per-method, configurable in Cloud Console > Google Maps Platform > Quotas'
    notes: >-
      Each Places API method has a separate per-minute quota counted against the
      project. Adjustable and raisable via a quota increase request.
  - name: Daily quota cap (optional)
    scope: project
    metric: requests_per_day
    limit: 'optional cap set by the project owner to control spend'
    notes: >-
      Project owners may set a daily request cap per API to limit billing
      exposure; not enforced by default.
policies:
  - name: Per-Method Scoping
    description: >-
      Rate limits are applied independently to each API method, so heavy use of
      Text Search does not consume the quota available to Place Details.
  - name: Backoff Strategy
    description: >-
      On HTTP 429 (RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED), clients should retry with exponential
      backoff and jitter rather than immediate retry.
  - name: Quota Management
    description: >-
      View and adjust per-method per-minute quotas in the Google Cloud Console
      under Google Maps Platform > Quotas; request increases through the console
      when sustained higher throughput is required.
  - name: Spend Capping
    description: >-
      Set daily request caps and budget alerts to bound cost, since billing is
      usage-based per SKU rather than a fixed plan quota.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com