Don’t need your fake generosity: Bhavish Aggarwal responds to Google’s plan to slash maps platform pricing up to 70%

Google announced a significant price reduction of Google Maps Platform  starting August 1, 2024, to increase accessibility to developers in India, but miffed Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal isn't impressed. The tech giant will reduce pricing for its core services by up to 70% and will also accept payments in Indian Rupees (INR).

This announcement comes at a time when Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, has been vocally critical of Google's pricing policies. In a recent statement on Twitter, Aggarwal said, "Dear @Google, too little too late! Reducing prices for @googlemaps, 'offering to price in ₹' after #ExitGoogleMaps. Don’t need your fake generosity!"

“For developers using Google Maps Platform, we’re introducing India-specific pricing that is up to 70% lower on most APIs to make it even easier to build location based solutions,” the tech major said in a blog.

Google stated that the new pricing structure will be available exclusively to India-based customers who primarily use the service within the country and are billed in India. According to the Google Maps dashboard, the company will "monitor eligibility" and may disqualify customers from the reduced pricing tier if they do not meet these criteria.

Aggarwal has been actively encouraging developers to switch to Ola Maps, positioning it as a better alternative. He hinted at further updates, stating, "Tomorrow, I’ll be writing a blog response and announcing major updates on Ola Maps @Krutrim. Stay tuned!"

As Google Maps API sees a price reduction, the Indian developer community will be watching closely to see how this impacts the competitive landscape of mapping services.

Ola's transition

Google's decision to lower prices follows significant feedback from the developer community in India, who have been seeking more affordable solutions. This pricing change is expected to benefit developers with a progressive usage-based discount after 5,000,000+ monthly requests for most Google Maps Platform Core Services.

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

Aggarwal's public call for developers to adopt Ola Maps adds a competitive edge to the mapping services market in India.