# Google Maps Platform, free usage cap, POST /v1/forecast:lookup: Air quality API

> Returns air quality forecast for a specific location for a given time range.

Google Maps Platform's air quality API on its Free Usage Cap plan. It costs $0.00 per 1,000 places. It returns none of the 6 key fields we check: US AQI, European AQI, Particles, Gases and 2 more.
We rank 94 plans by price. [OpenWeather's £370 monthly plan](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/openweather/370-monthly-professional-get-data-2-5-air-pollution/llms.txt) is the cheapest paid plan per 1,000 places: $0.00049.
[WeatherAPI.com](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/weatherapi-com/7-monthly/llms.txt), [Open-Meteo](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/open-meteo/99-monthly-api-professional-get-v1-air-quality-air-quality/llms.txt) and [Weatherbit](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/weatherbit/495-monthly-business-get-v2-0-forecast-airquality/llms.txt) are the best air quality API providers in our benchmark.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-post-v1-forecast-lookup
- [Best air quality API in 2026: pricing compared](https://datacircle.dev/best-air-quality-api.txt)
- Get it: https://mapsplatform.google.com/pricing/
- Request: `POST https://airquality.googleapis.com/v1/forecast:lookup`
- API key: with the plan, on https://mapsplatform.google.com/pricing/
- Its API docs: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/air-quality/reference/rest/v1/forecast/lookup
- Sold by: Google Maps Platform (https://mapsplatform.google.com)
- Checked: 2026-10-30

## In the answer

- Completeness: 0%

## Price

- $ per 1,000 places: $0.00
- Per: call
- Billing: free

## Charges

- Also pays for: from the same budget: Air Quality API: Get current conditions

## Overage

- Units cap: soft

## Not found

- $ per 1,000: $0.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: Returns air quality forecast for a specific location for a given time range.

## Data

- Keep data: Hourly forecast values: one hour, after which Customer must delete the cached Google Maps Content
- Use data: Customer may only use the data retrieved from Air Quality API in (a) air quality based routing solutions developed by Customer, and (b) Customer environmental risk indices and correlational research. [...] Customer will not export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the Services. For example, Customer will not: (i) pre-fetch, index, store, reshare, or rehost Google Maps Content outside the services [...] Customer will not cache Google Maps Content except as expressly permitted under the Maps Service Specific Terms. Customer will not create content based on Google Maps Content. For example, Customer will not: [...] (vii) use Google Maps Content to improve machine learning and artificial intelligence models, including to train, test, validate or fine-tune the models. Customer will not use the Services to create a product or service with features that are substantially similar to or that re-create the features of another Google product or service. Customer’s product or service must contain substantial, independent value and features beyond the Google products or services. [...] Customer will display all attribution that (i) Google provides through the Services (including branding, logos, and copyright and trademark notices), or (ii) is specified in the Maps Service Specific Terms. Customer will not modify, obscure, or delete such attribution.

## Plan

- Pay: $0
- You get: 10,000 requests a month
- Enough for: 10,000 calls a month

## Rate limit

- Per second: 100
- Batch: 1

## The call

- You send: location.latitude, location.longitude, one of dateTime or period.startTime and period.endTime. Optional: extraComputations, uaqiColorPalette, customLocalAqis, pageSize, pageToken, universalAqi, languageCode
- Method: POST
- Path: /v1/forecast:lookup

## About the plan

- Plan: Free Usage Cap
- Who can get it: anyone who enables billing on a Google Cloud project

## The 24 fields the plan's answer can hold

time, region code, AQI index code, AQI index name, AQI, AQI display, AQI color, AQI category, dominant pollutant, pollutant code, pollutant name, pollutant full name, pollutant concentration, pollutant concentration units, pollutant sources, pollutant health effects, health advice for the general population, health advice for the elderly, health advice for people with lung disease, health advice for people with heart disease, health advice for athletes, health advice for pregnant women, health advice for children, next page token

## Google Maps Platform's plans (9)

- [Google Maps Platform, free usage cap, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, pay as you go, Cap - 100,000, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/pay-as-you-go-cap-100000-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $5.00 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, pay as you go, 100,001 - 500,000, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/pay-as-you-go-100001-500000-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $4.00 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, pay as you go, 500,001 - 1,000,000, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/pay-as-you-go-500001-1000000-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $2.00 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, pay as you go, 1,000,001 - 5,000,000, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/pay-as-you-go-1000001-5000000-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $0.50 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, pay as you go, 5,000,000+, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/pay-as-you-go-5000000-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $0.25 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, $275 monthly, Essentials, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/275-monthly-essentials-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $2.75 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, $1,200 monthly, Pro, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/1200-monthly-pro-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): $4.80 per 1,000, 0% complete
- [Google Maps Platform, contact us, Enterprise, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/contact-us-enterprise-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt): 0% complete

## Google Maps Platform's calls for this API (2)

- `POST /v1/currentConditions:lookup`: [Google Maps Platform, free usage cap, POST /v1/currentConditions:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-post-v1-currentconditions-lookup/llms.txt)
- `POST /v1/forecast:lookup`: [Google Maps Platform, free usage cap, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt)

## Google Maps Platform's APIs (3)

- [Google Maps Platform: current weather API pricing, 9 plans](https://datacircle.dev/current-weather-apis/google-maps-platform/free/llms.txt)
- [Google Maps Platform: air quality API pricing, 9 plans, POST /v1/forecast:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-post-v1-forecast-lookup/llms.txt)
- [Google Maps Platform: weather forecast API pricing, 9 plans, GET /v1/forecast/days:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/weather-forecast-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-get-v1-forecast-days-lookup/llms.txt)
- [Google Maps Platform: weather forecast API pricing, 9 plans, GET /v1/forecast/hours:lookup](https://datacircle.dev/weather-forecast-apis/google-maps-platform/free-usage-cap-get-v1-forecast-hours-lookup/llms.txt)

## Google Maps Platform: air quality API alternatives

- [API Ninjas, $149 monthly](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/api-ninjas/149-monthly/llms.txt): $0.149 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [Seniverse, CNY 1,499 pack, Visit pack 1,000,000 (访问量套餐), GET /v3/air/hourly.json](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/seniverse/cny-1499-pack-visit-pack-1000000-get-v3-air-hourly-json/llms.txt): $0.224 per 1,000, 33% complete, 24 hours
- [Windy, €990 yearly](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/windy/990-yearly/llms.txt): $0.31 per 1,000, 33% complete
- [ReefAPI, $1,200 yearly](https://datacircle.dev/air-quality-apis/reefapi/1200-yearly/llms.txt): $0.333 per 1,000, 50% complete, live

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-10-30.

- https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms
- https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/maps-service-terms
- https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/pricing
- https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/air-quality/policies
- https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/air-quality/reference/rest/v1/forecast/lookup
- https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/air-quality/usage-and-billing
- https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/weather/overview
- https://mapsplatform.google.com/pricing/