Separate locator pricing from map pricing
A hosted locator subscription and map-provider usage are different costs. Ask whether the locator vendor includes map traffic, marks it up, or lets you connect your own provider account. The answer affects both your budget and who controls the map relationship.
Google Maps and Mapbox solve different needs
Google Maps is familiar to many teams and can be a natural fit when your organization already uses Google Maps Platform. Mapbox offers a flexible map stack and style workflow. The right choice depends on the map appearance, geocoding needs, expected usage and account your team already manages.
Use keys safely
Create a browser key or token for the map surface, restrict it to the domains that will host the locator and monitor usage in the provider dashboard. Never paste a secret server key into an embed or public documentation page.
- Restrict browser keys by allowed website origins
- Separate development and production credentials
- Set usage alerts and review provider logs
- Confirm which services are enabled for the key
- Rotate credentials if a key is exposed
Choose the map style
Map styling affects readability and brand fit, but it should not hide roads, labels or controls that visitors need. Test the style with your marker colour, clusters and mobile layout. Handled supports provider map styles alongside locator appearance settings.
Estimate before launch
Start with expected monthly locator sessions, searches, geocoding operations and directions actions. Then check the current provider pricing and free-tier terms directly before launch. The map provider guide explains the Handled connection steps, while pricing covers the Handled subscription separately.