Migrating from Google Maps

Plaza can replace most Google Maps Platform APIs. Data comes from OpenStreetMap. The main differences: better pricing, no JS SDK lock-in, and query interfaces Google doesn’t offer.

API mapping

Google Maps API	Google endpoint	Plaza endpoint
Places (Nearby Search)	/maps/api/place/nearbysearch	GET /features
Places (Text Search)	/maps/api/place/textsearch	GET /features
Places (Details)	/maps/api/place/details	GET /features/:type/:id
Geocoding	/maps/api/geocode	GET /geocode
Reverse Geocoding	/maps/api/geocode (latlng param)	GET /geocode/reverse
Directions	/maps/api/directions	POST /route
Distance Matrix	/maps/api/distancematrix	POST /matrix
Places Autocomplete	/maps/api/place/autocomplete	GET /geocode/autocomplete

All Plaza endpoints are under https://plaza.fyi/api/v1.

Auth change

Google uses a query parameter:

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=...&key=AIza...

Plaza uses a header:

curl -H "x-api-key: pk_live_abc123" \
  "https://plaza.fyi/api/v1/geocode?q=..."

SDKs handle this for you — just pass the key at initialization.

Response format

Google returns custom JSON. Plaza returns GeoJSON.

Google

{
  "results": [{
    "formatted_address": "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500",
    "geometry": {
      "location": { "lat": 38.8977, "lng": -77.0365 }
    }
  }],
  "status": "OK"
}

Plaza

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [{
    "type": "Feature",
    "geometry": {
      "type": "Point",
      "coordinates": [-77.0365, 38.8977]
    },
    "properties": {
      "name": "The White House",
      "street": "Pennsylvania Avenue NW",
      "housenumber": "1600",
      "city": "Washington",
      "country_code": "us"
    }
  }]
}

Coordinate order: GeoJSON uses [lng, lat], Google uses {"lat": ..., "lng": ...}. Plaza accepts GeoJSON geometry objects for all coordinate inputs.

Side-by-side code examples

Geocoding

Google (Python)

import googlemaps

gmaps = googlemaps.Client(key="AIza...")
result = gmaps.geocode("1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC")

location = result[0]["geometry"]["location"]
print(f"{location['lat']}, {location['lng']}")

Plaza (Python)

import plaza

client = plaza.Client(api_key="pk_live_abc123")
result = client.geocode(q="1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC")

coords = result.features[0].geometry.coordinates
print(f"{coords[1]}, {coords[0]}")

Nearby search

Google (Python)

results = gmaps.places_nearby(
    location=(48.8566, 2.3522),
    radius=1000,
    type="restaurant",
)
for place in results["results"]:
    print(place["name"])

Plaza (Python)

results = client.features.nearby(
    location={"type": "Point", "coordinates": [2.3522, 48.8566]},
    radius=1000,
    tags={"amenity": "restaurant"},
)
for feature in results.features:
    print(feature.properties["name"])

Directions

Google (Python)

directions = gmaps.directions(
    origin="Paris, France",
    destination="Lyon, France",
    mode="driving",
)
route = directions[0]
print(f"Distance: {route['legs'][0]['distance']['text']}")

Plaza (Python)

route = client.route(
    origin={"type": "Point", "coordinates": [2.3522, 48.8566]},
    destination={"type": "Point", "coordinates": [4.8357, 45.7640]},
    mode="auto",
)
print(f"Distance: {route.properties['distance_m']}m")

Plaza takes GeoJSON Point geometries for coordinates — geocode addresses first if needed.

Travel modes

Google	Plaza
driving	auto
walking	foot
bicycling	bicycle
transit	—

No transit routing — OSM lacks real-time transit schedules.

What Plaza has that Google doesn’t

PlazaQL. Plaza’s purpose-built query language for geospatial data. “All drinking water fountains within 200m of a hiking trail” — one query. No Google equivalent.

Isochrones. “Everywhere reachable within 15 minutes by bike.” Google doesn’t offer isochrone polygons.

Full tag access. OSM tags go deep — wheelchair=yes, opening_hours=Mo-Fr 08:00-18:00, cuisine=sushi, building:levels=5. Google exposes a limited set of attributes. Plaza gives you everything.

No client-side restrictions. Google’s ToS requires displaying results on a Google Map. Plaza has no such restriction.

Pricing comparison

API	Google price (per 1K)	Plaza price (per 1K)
Geocoding	$5.00	$0.50
Directions	$5.00–$10.00	$1.50
Places	$17.00–$32.00	$0.50
Distance Matrix	$5.00–$10.00	$1.50

Plaza’s free tier includes 500 standard requests/day and 10 premium requests/day. No credit card required.