Use channels to track usage and billing

Channels are a convenient way to track usage and billing for different facets of your application.  Whereas API keys provide a means to segment Maps Platform usage from structural and security perspectives, channels are a great way to label requests for more fine-grained usage tracking.  Channels can be used with both API keys and Client IDs.

To get started with channels, append the query parameter channel to your Maps JavaScript API script load or web service requests.

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/json?
origin=Toronto&destination=Montreal
&key=YOUR_API_KEY
&channel=YOUR_CHANNEL

Note: Channels are not available to use with the mobile SDKs.

Reporting on channels

Once your requests are decorated with the channel parameter, they will be available in the Billing Report Filters as labels.  These labels are also available in the BigQuery billing export data.

Channel details

Channel ID format requirements are as follows:

• Former Premium Plan project - alphanumeric, 2000 distinct values per API key
• Maps Platform project - numeric only, within range 0-999

Channels are NOT available for the following services:

• Roads - Route Traveled
• Roads - Nearest Road
• Roads - Speed Limits