bing maps cost money?

Question

I am building a new web site in asp.net, and im newbie with using maps.
For my web site i will need the following functionality:

1. display a map of specific location.
   • display route map between two or more location
   • calculate distance between 2 locations.

I found most of the functionality at the Bing Maps interactive SDK site: and it works fine.

My questions are:

1. does it cost money to use this SDK ?
   • for the third task, i understand that i will have to use MapPoint Services.
     (is there another way??) does it code money to use it?

I will really appreciate it if you dont send me links, cause my english is not the best one...

thanks a lot

Donte

Answer 1

It sounds like you're at the decision making stage of your project and weighing up the pros and cons of various frameworks. Due the nature of developing commercial applications using maps (supplied by Google, Bing, Yahoo, or any other map provider), it might be an idea to code against a library called MapStraction.

It allows you to easily swap and change map providers depending on commercial and/or customer requirements. It also provides a consistent interface so changing your map provider half way through the project isn't a big deal.

Regret

Answer 2

Have a look at using OpenStreeMaps. It's completely free, and so far I have been very impressed with it. In my area, it's more accurate and detailed than Google maps.

In the UK OS maps are also free.

Justicz

Actually I'm looking for information about OSM , I just don't buy it ... I mean there is no such a thing as free lunch and I need resiliance since the software we maintain is used in large business (we generate A LOT of traffic on webservices)... so how does OSM is kept free? – Plug

Same way Wikipedia is free to use. It does say in the terms however, that if you are going to be a heavy user, especially a commercial one, you should set up your own tile server(s). And a large business, using OSM should also consider doing the right thing and give back to the OSM community in some way. – Justicz

Hi, thanks for your answer - I didn't knew the exact term , but you've provided the right research term form me: wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tile_usage_policy I completelly agree that anyone who makes a profit from projects such as wikipedia, wordpress or OSM should provide at least a piece of their profits... simplily because energy, space and manpower are not free... In a project like ousr we need to measure the costs , no matter if they are on our servers and maintenence or on a webservice , so we may decide what is the best option. – Plug

Answer 3

Bing Maps is a good option. If your website is public and the map is publically available, then you can make use Bing Maps for free if you have less than 125,000 page views (similar to a session) of your map page in a year as noted here: http://www.microsoft.com/maps/product/licensing.aspx

If you expect a higher volume of usage then you would need a license. Note that Bing Maps licenses tend to be cheaper the Google licenses. This is pretty neat as Bing Maps has much more data than Google.

Also, MapPoint Web Services are not need, nor do they exist anymore.

Janitress

Answer 4

Read the licenses carefully, both Bing and Google Maps cost money, if you use it for commercial purpose.

E.g. read this blog post: http://www.47hats.com/2009/07/google-maps-the-10k-gotcha/

However, if you using it for your non-commercial app, it is free.

Cromorne

If it's a non commercial app behind a firewall it is also not free. – Haye

Edited as the reported link is broken. – Vernation

Answer 5

Another option to consider for those looking at this thread is Azure Maps, Microsoft's newer enterprise mapping platform. It usually costs less than Bing Maps and provides more features and services. It is also a part of Azure which make things a lot easier if you are already developing in Azure. Find more information at https://azure.com/maps

Janitress

Answer 6

You can do all of that using just Bing Maps. The Bing Maps routing service can b sued to calculate the driving distance between two locations. If you want the straight line (as the crow flies) distance then it's just a simply calculation.

For Bing Maps you will always need a license, however there are free licenses. If you qualify for free usage depends on your use case. There's a good tool available for figuring out if you need an Enterprise license or if you qualify for free usage here: http://www.microsoft.com/maps/Licensing/licensing.aspx

Janitress