Bhavish Aggarwal unveils new Ola Maps pricing day after Google Maps cuts rates

Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

Krutrim, the artificial intelligence (AI) startup of Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, unveiled an updated pricing structure for Ola Maps on July 18, aiming to boost adoption of its mapping and location-based services among developers.

The AI startup also stated plans to launch new application programming interfaces (APIs), software development kits (SDKs), and features in the coming months to bolster its offerings to developers.

This move comes a day after tech giant Google announced that it is slashing the rates on the Google Maps platform for developers in India by as much as 70 percent from August 1, 2024.

In addition, Google had announced that it will also start accepting payments in Indian Rupees (INR). Prior to this, India-based customers were charged in US dollars.

As per Ola Maps' new pricing structure, the company is introducing a free tier for all of its mapping and location-based APIs to developers, allowing up to 5 million API calls per month at no cost.

This includes APIs such as autocomplete, reverse geocoding, vector tiles, and directions.

In a post on X (previously Twitter), Aggarwal claimed that this tier will cover almost all startups in India.

A look at Ola Maps pricing structure (Image: Ola Krutrim)

For higher volumes, Ola Maps claimed that its rates are 50 percent of Google's reduced prices.

Further, Aggarwal said that the company will be waiving off charges for the first two years for developers who are committing to Ola Maps for over three years.

"It’s time we build world class alternatives to big tech giants and empower Indian innovation" he said in a statement.

Ola is also partnering with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to offer three years of free access to Ola Maps APIs for all startups and small businesses building on ONDC.

"This move will significantly boost innovation among our network participants. It's inspiring to see homegrown tech leaders supporting India's digital transformation. This partnership exemplifies the collaborative spirit driving our tech revolution forward" said T Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC.

This partnership comes a day after Google announced a similar partnership with ONDC, offering developers building on ONDC additional discounts on select Google Maps Platform APIs used to drive ecommerce and related use cases.

Google Maps is letting businesses sign up for ONDC's discounted pricing for one year, starting August 1, 2024. This will be valid for three years, until April 1, 2027, Moneycontrol reported.

Krutrim, which claims to be the country's first AI unicorn, introduced mapping and location-based services for developers via the Ola Maps API in May, as reported first by Moneycontrol.

Aggarwal had previously stated that one of Krutrim's key differentiators will be providing services to developers on an "India-first" cost structure.

Earlier this month, Aggarwal said that Ola Cabs had completely exited Google Maps and moved to its in-house Ola Maps. This measure is expected to save the company Rs 100 crore a year, he said.

In recent weeks, Ola chief Bhavish Aggarwal has been publicly encouraging developers to adopt Ola Maps for their mapping needs by offering free one-year access.

In a blogpost on July 18, Aggarwal claimed that more than 10,000 developers have signed up on its platform and the company is witnessing growing adoption of its offerings.

"While all main APIs are supported by Ola Maps today, we will be feature-complete for all kinds of APIs, SDKs and niche use cases by December" Aggarwal said.

This includes new APIs across different categories such as routes API, map tiles API, places API, and maps API; SDKs for web, Android, and iOS platforms.

Ola Maps also plans to offer a Map Style Editor that will allow users to create, edit, and publish custom map styles along with a dedicated test environment.