Alternatives to Google Directions API
These restrictions are usually placed to discourage misuse of services. However, if you need more quota it can be easily requested through Google for Work Support Portal. There are no restrictions to how much quota you can request but you should take the appropriate measures to ensure it's proper usage. For example: Implementing Exponential Back-off Algorithm to avoid hitting frequent rate-limit errors.
Disclosure : I work for TomTom.
Have you considered our TomTom Maps APIs.
We believe we are the best alternative for Maps APIs. To get directions you can use the Routing API's instructions type parameter :
instructionsType string. If specified, guidance instructions will be returned (if available). Possible values are:
- coded: Returns raw instruction data without human-readable messages.
- text: Returns raw instructions data with human-readable messages in plain text.
- tagged: Returns raw instruction data with tagged human-readable messages to permit formatting.
You can request a free API KEY (No credit card required and no locked-in contracts) and TomTom will allow you to mix and match APIs from different providers.
Check out our tutorials for JS.
One replacement for Google Directions API is GraphHopper. It is a routing engine written in Java which uses OpenStreetMap data. It is Open Source, extremly fast and suitable for self-hosting. You have two options:
- Embbeded in your Java application
- Self-hosted as a web service with access via API
You can try it online: https://graphhopper.com/maps/
If you want to know more about embedding GraphHopper in your application you can visit my article at https://bmehner.github.io/graphhopper/