Google recommends that you use sessions with Autocomplete (New). Sessions help simplify pricing and provide a consistent pricing model for use with Autocomplete (New).
Session pricing starts with the first Autocomplete (New) request that includes a session token, continues through each subsequent Autocomplete (New) request, and is then terminated by a request to Place Details (New) or Address Validation that uses the session token.
After the session terminates, any call to Autocomplete (New), Place Details (New), or Address Validation that uses the expired session token is billed as if there was no session token.
Incomplete sessions, meaning sessions that are not terminated by a request to Place Details (New) or Address Validation, are billed only for the autocomplete requests using the SKU: Autocomplete Requests.
The three most common pricing scenarios are:
- Autocomplete for location data
- Autocomplete for place discovery
- Autocomplete for checkout and delivery
Autocomplete for location data
In this scenario, you are interested in using Autocomplete and Place Details (New) to obtain location information about a place. For example, you select a suggestion from autocomplete and then you use Place Details (New) to get the place's latitude and longitude coordinates to show that place on a map.
Location information can include the place's:
- Address
- Location as latitude and longitude coordinates
- Plus Code
- Types
- Viewport
This session is terminated by a single request to Place Details (New) that requests any fields defined by the SKU: Place Details Essentials.
A session starts with the first Autocomplete (New) request that includes a session token, continues through each subsequent Autocomplete (New) request, and is then terminated by a request to Place Details (New) or Address Validation that uses the session token. For an Autocomplete (New) session, here is how you are billed:
- First 12 Autocomplete (New) requests: You are billed for each Autocomplete (New) request, up to a maximum of 12 requests, using the SKU: Autocomplete Requests.
- For Autocomplete (New) requests 13 and higher in the same session: You are billed at the SKU: Autocomplete Session Usage, meaning there is no charge for those requests.
- Places Details or Address Validation request: You are also billed for the ending request using those SKUs.
Autocomplete for place discovery
In the Autocomplete for place discovery scenario, you are interested in obtaining more than just location data about a place. For example, you might request any of the following:
- Accessibility options
- Current opening hours
- Parking options
- Reviews
- Ratings
For this scenario, your session is terminated by a request to Place Details (New) that requests any fields included in the Place Details (New) Pro, Enterprise, or Enterprise + Atmosphere SKUs.
You are then billed as follows:
- All Autocomplete (New) requests are billed at the SKU: Autocomplete Session Usage, meaning there is no charge for those requests.
Autocomplete for checkout and delivery
The Address Validation API is a service that accepts an address. It identifies address components and validates them. It also standardizes the address for mailing and finds the best known latitude and longitude coordinates for it.
In the Autocomplete for checkout and delivery scenario, you terminate the session with a request to the Address Validation API to validate the selected address. You are then billed as follows:
- All Autocomplete (New) requests are billed at the SKU: Autocomplete Session Usage, meaning there is no charge for those requests.
- One SKU: Address Validation Enterprise request:
Pricing examples
The following table shows pricing examples for the three main session scenarios. This table also lists the SKUs that appear in your billing statement for each scenario.
| Scenario | Request example | SKUs billed | Requests billed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location data |
|
|
|
| Place discovery |
|
|
|
| Checkout and delivery |
|
|
Pricing example without sessions
If you don't use sessions, you are billed per request to Autocomplete (New) using the SKU: Autocomplete Requests.
Fallback pricing for incomplete or abandoned sessions
If a session is abandoned, meaning not terminated by a call to Place Details (New) or Address Validation, Autocomplete (New) requests revert to the per-request pricing model and are billed per the SKU: Autocomplete Requests.