Geocoding API exceeds rate limit
I am using the Geocoding API for querying the location coordinates for a set of 100K users. However, because of rate limit, I am unable to fire more than 2500 requests per day. I need unrestricted access for the purpose of my study. This is for a project in my university. Can someone guide me in the right direction?
Answer
Per the Usage Limits section of the terms of service, even commercial users of the Google Geocoding API do not have unrestricted use:
Users of the standard API [are allowed] 2,500 free requests per day, calculated as the sum of client-side and server-side queries. ... Premium Plan customers: [receive a] shared daily free quota of 100,000 requests per 24 hours; additional requests applied against the annual purchase of Maps APIs Credits. 50* server-side requests per second. ... These limits are enforced to prevent abuse and/or repurposing of the Google Maps Geocoding API, and may be changed in the future without notice. Additionally, we enforce a request rate limit to prevent abuse of the service. If you exceed the per-day limit or otherwise abuse the service, the Google Maps Geocoding API may stop working for you temporarily. If you continue to exceed this limit, your access to the Google Maps Geocoding API may be blocked.
You may want to review the Geocoding Strategies documentation from Google and/or rethink your implementation approach. Does the geocoding need to be dynamic, or is it from a preexisting set of data? Are you obligated to use the Google Maps Geocoding API, or could you use another service?
It's worth noting that most geocoding services will have a similar limit, and if they don't, hitting them with a run of 100,000 or more requests is generally recognized as being poor practice unless a prior arrangement has been made. You may want to consider using another geocoder service, or hosting your own geocoder (e.g. TwoFishes), to get around these limits.