GeoFill daily limits and Google geocoding quota errors
GeoFill’s free allowance and Google’s service quotas are separate. GeoFill Pro removes GeoFill’s 100-per-day cap; it does not remove Google’s quotas. Identify which limit stopped your job before upgrading, adding an API key or repeatedly rerunning the sheet.
Three separate limits
| Limit | What it measures | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| GeoFill free plan: 100 lookup rows per day | Your Google account’s GeoFill allowance, across its spreadsheets. It changes to a new day at 00:00 UTC. | Continue on the next UTC day, or use Pro to remove this app cap. |
| Google Apps Script Maps service | Without an own key, the sidebar and Pro formulas use Google’s built-in geocoder. Google currently lists 1,000 geocode calls/day for consumer accounts and 10,000/day for Workspace, per user. | Wait for Google’s quota to reset, reduce repeated calls or use the sidebar with your own eligible API key. Pro alone does not increase this quota. |
| Your own Maps Platform project | With a saved key and Pro, sidebar jobs use the separately billed Geocoding API. That project has its own quotas and billing. | Check the project’s API usage, quota settings and billing in Google Cloud. GeoFill payments do not pay these charges. |
Google’s Apps Script quotas are per user and reset 24 hours after the first request, rather than necessarily at local midnight. Other scripts using that user’s allowance can matter; Workspace trials may have additional restrictions. Google can change its limits. GeoFill’s displayed free lookups remaining are its own app counter, not a meter of your remaining Google quota.
The separately billed API follows a different clock: Google says its daily quotas refresh at midnight Pacific time. See Geocoding API usage and billing.
Match the message to the problem
- Today’s free addresses are used up: this is GeoFill’s app cap. A new spreadsheet does not reset your account’s allowance. If a planned job exceeds it, GeoFill lets you keep partial results or cancel; the preview itself does not reserve allowance.
- Google geocoding limit / service invoked too many times: without an own key, check the Apps Script quota. A short-period or simultaneous-execution limit can also stop work; it is not always a daily allowance. Avoid many independently recalculating formulas at once. For larger jobs, use the sidebar, or pass a range to one Pro formula rather than one formula per cell.
- A saved key is refused, or a quota message appears with your own key: check that the key’s project has the Geocoding API enabled, valid billing and appropriate key restrictions. Check project quota/rate limits before deciding to increase them; doing so can allow more charges.
Google’s Geocoding status documentation
explains that OVER_DAILY_LIMIT can mean invalid/missing credentials, disabled billing, a
self-imposed cap or an invalid payment method. OVER_QUERY_LIMIT means a quota was exceeded.
GeoFill can group these under a quota stop, so waiting until tomorrow will not fix every
own-key error. Check Google’s detailed message and project settings.
Keep completed results and resume
Keep rows already filled by the sidebar. By default, a nonempty Match cell marks a processed row, and GeoFill skips it on the next run; blank inputs are skipped too. Reopen GeoFill, check the chosen inputs/options and continue once the relevant limit is resolved. Use Redo rows that already have a Match only when you intend to process completed rows again.
A completed lookup with no match still uses an app lookup. A cached result can also count toward GeoFill’s free row allowance even when it avoids another Google request. App rows and Google API calls therefore need not be equal.
An own key helps sidebar jobs, not formulas
The Your own Google Maps Platform key (Pro) option is under More options. Saving your key selects the REST Geocoding API for sidebar jobs; any applicable API charges go to your project’s billing account under Google’s current terms. GeoFill supplies no paid Maps key of its own. Review Google’s current pricing and set suitable project quotas before starting a large run.
GEOCODE() and REVERSE_GEOCODE() continue to use the built-in Apps Script Maps service; they
do not use your saved sidebar key. An own key also leaves other Apps Script limits, such as
execution time and URL Fetch quotas, in place.
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