Maps, search, directions and geocoding APIs with a free monthly tier per product. Card on file at signup.
Sniffed 4d ago Card required#maps#geocoding#directions-api#navigation-sdk#vector-tiles#pay-as-you-go#location-data
Pretty custom maps, with a card on file before you start. Mapbox is a developer platform for maps, search, navigation and location data, billed per use with a monthly free tier on most products. Its pricing page lists 100,000 free requests a month for Directions, Isochrone, Map Matching and Optimization, 200,000 free vector tile requests, 750,000 raster tile requests and 250,000 permanent geocoding requests, with overage priced per product. A credit card goes on file when you sign up, and Mapbox docs say a card cannot be removed from an account afterwards. G2 reviewers praise customization and developer experience but describe a steep learning curve for new team members. Cost is the recurring theme on Reddit, where one thread asks why Mapbox is getting so expensive.
Free tier quotas
Billing model
Pay-as-you-go with a monthly free tier per product that resets each month
Directions, Isochrone, Map Matching, Optimization
100,000 requests each per month
Matrix API
100,000 elements per month
Vector Tiles and Static Tiles
200,000 tile requests each per month
Raster Tiles
750,000 tile requests per month
Static Images and Tilequery
50,000 and 100,000 requests per month
Geocoding
100,000 temporary and 250,000 permanent requests per month
Search Box API
500 sessions and 50,000 requests per month
Address Autofill
1,000 sessions per month
Navigation SDK v3
100 monthly active users, then $0.30 per user
Geofencing
25,000 monthly active users
Signup
Credit card goes on file, a Reddit commenter says .edu emails can skip it
Last sniffed Oct 21, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+The free tier is set per product and the server-side numbers are large: 100,000 free Directions requests and 250,000 permanent geocoding requests every month.
+Overage is listed per unit on the pricing page, for example $2.00 per 1,000 Directions requests past 100,000, so you can price a workload before shipping it.
+A Capterra reviewer said Mapbox stands out for competitive pricing, especially with the SDKs, and found implementation incredibly easy.
+A G2 reviewer called the customization and developer experience top notch.
+An r/mapbox commenter said Mapbox is totally worth getting into because it is pay as you go and free for the first 50k requests.
+One account covers maps, geocoding, search, navigation, tilesets and geofencing, each with its own free allowance on the pricing page.
+Review volume is decent for a developer API: Capterra shows 4.5 out of 5 from 38 reviews and G2 lists 41 reviews.
👎 Watch out
−A credit card is required to hold an account. Mapbox docs say a card cannot be removed once added, so a runaway script is billed to that card after the free tier.
−A G2 reviewer wrote that Mapbox is extremely capable but has a steep learning curve that makes getting started hard for new team members.
−Another G2 reviewer said the out-of-the-box API tools are not well suited to some operations, with drawing dynamic vector circles as the example.
−A G2 reviewer named satellite imagery as the main thing they dislike about Mapbox, without giving more detail in the excerpt I read.
−A G2 reviewer of the mobile product disliked the size of the Mapbox SDK and said the app gets slower when large data is added.
−Pricing draws criticism. A 2018 Hacker News commenter said they never understood Mapbox pricing, and an r/webdev thread asks why Mapbox is becoming so expensive.
−Trustpilot shows 2.1 out of 5 from 9 reviews for mapbox.com. The sample is small and I did not read the individual reviews.
The catch
Mapbox has no flat free plan. Every product has its own monthly free allowance and then bills per unit, and the allowances reset each month. The numbers above come from the pricing page. The structured read I captured did not list web map loads or mobile map users, which are the billing units most map apps hit first, so check the pricing calculator on the page for those before you commit. An r/mapbox commenter described the free allowance as the first 50k requests, which refers to map loads, though I could not confirm that from the page.
A credit card is needed. The pricing page extract says so, the docs say a card cannot be removed from an account once added, and a Reddit commenter says students with an .edu email can use the free tier without a card through the education program. Commercial use of the free tier is marked unknown because the terms were not read.
Overage examples from the page: $2.00 per 1,000 requests for Directions after 100,000 free, and $5.00 per 1,000 for permanent geocoding after 250,000. Other products list their own overage rates. The page says to contact sales for discounts.
Review sentiment: G2 and Capterra reviewers like customization, SDKs and developer experience, and G2 reviewers mention a steep learning curve. Price complaints show up on Reddit and Hacker News. The Hacker News comment dates from 2018 when pricing was built around monthly active users, so treat it as history.
What’s included
✓Interactive vector and raster maps
✓Directions and Matrix APIs
✓Isochrones
✓Map Matching
✓Optimization API
✓Temporary and permanent geocoding
✓Search Box and Address Autofill
✓Navigation SDK
✓Geofencing
✓Tilesets and static images
✓Custom data hosting
Free tier value
Generosity
B
Estimated value
Free monthly tier across about 20 products
Feature parity
Free monthly tier across about 20 products. Same APIs on every account.
Screenshots
HomepagePricing page
Paid plans
Pay-as-you-go overage
After the free tier you pay per unit. Examples from the pricing page: Directions $2.00 per 1,000 requests, Static Images $1.00 per 1,000, Vector Tiles $0.25 per 1,000 tile requests, Permanent Geocoding $5.00 per 1,000.
Navigation SDK v3
100 monthly active users free, then $0.30 per user. SDK v2 offers unlimited trips for up to 10 monthly active users.
Volume discounts and sales
The page says to contact sales for discounts or additional information on larger usage.
Common questions
Is a credit card required for Mapbox?
Yes for standard accounts. The pricing extract and Mapbox docs say so, and docs add that a card cannot be removed from an account. A Reddit commenter says .edu email holders can use the free tier without a card through the education program.
How much is free each month?
It depends on the product. Examples: 100,000 Directions requests, 200,000 vector tile requests, 250,000 permanent geocoding requests and 1,000 Address Autofill sessions.
Does the free tier reset?
Mapbox docs say pay-as-you-go accounts receive a monthly free tier of services that resets each month.
Is Mapbox expensive?
Opinions differ. A Capterra reviewer called pricing highly competitive with the SDKs, while an r/webdev thread asks why it is becoming expensive. Price your own usage with the calculator on the pricing page.
Is it hard to learn?
A G2 reviewer described a steep learning curve for new team members. Another G2 reviewer rated the developer experience top notch.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
The pricing page lists per-product free tiers, overage prices and a card-on-file requirement. Review counts: G2 41, Capterra 38 at 4.5 stars, Trustpilot 9 at 2.1.
