The map that doesn't need a cookie banner.
For product maps such as store locators, dashboards and delivery tracking, Google Maps brings consent requirements and per-SKU pricing you don't need. Rijwind serves maps, geocoding and routing from EU infrastructure, with no visitor tracking.
No consent banner for the map
Embedding Google Maps sends visitor data to Google, which in the EU generally means a consent banner before the map can even load. Rijwind sets no cookies and sends nothing to a third country. The map just loads.
Pricing you can predict
Google bills each SKU separately: 10,000 free events per SKU, then for example ≈ $7 per 1,000 dynamic map loads. Rijwind has one unit pool, plans from €15/month, and a spending cap with a hard stop.
Your map, your style
Google Maps looks like Google Maps; styling lives inside Google's design system. Rijwind serves open MapLibre styles: change every color, font and layer, or bring a fully custom style.
Side by side
Google Maps Platform figures as published June 2026 (post-March-2025 pricing model); check Google's pricing page for current numbers. Map loads and map sessions are comparable but not identical metrics.
A worked example
A site showing an interactive map to 50,000 visitors a month (one map load each).
Dynamic Maps: 10k free events, then ≈ $7 per 1,000, so 40k billable loads.
50k map sessions = 50k units; that fits inside Starter's 500,000 included units, with geocoding and routing from the same pool.
Estimates, not quotes. The bigger practical difference for EU sites: the Rijwind map loads without a consent click, so every visitor actually sees it.
From embed to your own map.
Replace the Google Maps embed or JS API with MapLibre GL and a Rijwind style URL. For zero-JavaScript pages (contact pages, emails, PDFs) the static maps endpoint returns a finished image with your marker on it.
<!-- before: Google embed (needs consent first) -->
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=..."></iframe>
<!-- after: static map, zero JavaScript, no consent needed -->
<img
src="https://api.rijwind.com/styles/v1/light/static/4.8896,52.3740,14/600x400?marker=4.8896,52.3740&key=YOUR_KEY"
alt="Map showing our office in Amsterdam"
width="600" height="400"
/>When is Google Maps the better choice?
If your product depends on Google's places database (opening hours, reviews, photos) or on Street View, Google is the right tool; nobody matches that dataset. For showing your own locations, your own data, on your own map, you're paying for far more than you use, and putting it behind a consent banner too.
FAQ
- Really no cookie banner for the map?
- Rijwind sets no cookies for map delivery and processes requests on EU infrastructure, so the usual reason a map embed triggers a consent banner (data flowing to a US provider) doesn't apply. Mention the map in your privacy policy as usual. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Can I show my own locations and POIs?
- Yes: your markers, paths and data layers render client-side with MapLibre, or server-side via the static maps endpoint. Your data stays yours and never has to be uploaded to us.
- How good is the address search?
- Worldwide forward, reverse and autocomplete geocoding built on open data. For most address and place lookups it holds up well; test your own addresses in the live demo before you commit.
- Do you have routing?
- Yes: turn-by-turn directions, distance matrices, isochrones, GPS-trace matching and stop-order optimization for car, bike and foot, all from the same unit pool.
Try it on the free tier.
Every endpoint, no card required. If it doesn't fit, you've lost an afternoon. Your map code is MapLibre either way.
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