Google Maps API

The Maps API returns helpful data about places and locations. It is called by javascript. To use the Maps Embed API you must have an API key. The API includes language localization for over 50 languages, region localization and geocoding, and has mechanisms for enterprise developers who want to utilize the Google Maps API within an intranet. 

The Street View Static API lets you embed a static (non-interactive) Street View panorama or thumbnail into your web page, without the use of JavaScript. The Directions API is a service that calculates directions between locations. You can search for directions for several modes of transportation, including transit, driving, walking, or cycling. The Roads API identifies the roads a vehicle was traveling along and provides additional metadata about those roads, such as speed limits.

The Maps Static API service creates your map based on URL parameters sent through a standard HTTP request and returns the map as an image you can display on your web page. The API HTTP services can be accessed over a secure (HTTPS) connection by Google Maps API Premier customers.

Which APIs are enabled by each product?

Each product (Maps, Routes or Places) enables a set of APIs. You can select multiple products, and use as many of the APIs in each product as you'd like. Here are the APIs enabled within each product:

Maps: Maps SDK for Android; Maps SDK for iOS; Maps JavaScript API; Maps Static API; Street View API; Maps Embed API.

Routes: Maps JavaScript API, Directions API; Distance Matrix API; and Roads API.

The Roads API allows you to map GPS coordinates to the geometry of the road, and to determine the speed limit along those road segments. The API is available via a simple HTTPS interface, and exposes the following services:

Snap to roads This service returns the best-fit road geometry for a given set of GPS coordinates. This service takes up to 100 GPS points collected along a route, and returns a similar set of data with the points snapped to the most likely roads the vehicle was traveling along. Optionally, you can request that the points be interpolated, resulting in a path that smoothly follows the geometry of the road.

Nearest roads This service returns individual road segments for a given set of GPS coordinates. This services takes up to 100 GPS points and returns the closest road segment for each point. The points passed do not need to be part of a continuous path.

Speed limits This service returns the posted speed limit for a road segment. The Speed Limit service is available to any Google Maps Platform Premium Plan customer with an Asset Tracking license. For Google Maps Platform Premium Plan customers who transitioned to pay-as-you-go pricing, the feature remains active. There are tools that let you download Google Maps image (Google Maps Downloader) on your PC without JavaScript or any dynamic page loading. 

How do I get Google Maps API key?

Click on "Get Started" and complete the flow to get your API key. Your API key will work for any of the APIs in any of the products (Maps, Routes or Places) you've enabled.