Plus Codes

What Plus Codes does

Plus Codes is a free, open-source digital addressing system developed and operated by Google LLC that converts latitude and longitude coordinates into short, shareable alphanumeric codes (e.g., "97MF+27 Mumbai, India"). It is designed to serve people and places that lack traditional street addresses, including residents of informal settlements, rural areas, and rapidly urbanizing regions where conventional addressing infrastructure does not exist. The technology, based on the Open Location Code specification, uses a 20-character set that excludes vowels and visually ambiguous characters, is not case-sensitive, and supports variable resolution by adding or removing characters after the "+" delimiter. It works offline and is language-independent.

The product suite consists of the core Plus Codes feature integrated natively within Google Maps (iOS, Android, and web), the standalone plus.codes map interface, and the Address Maker tool, which allows organizations to generate codes for locations without using the full Maps interface. The underlying code libraries are open source, enabling third-party developers and organizations to embed Plus Codes in custom logistics, humanitarian, and government systems. Named organizational users include NGOs such as CEP Digital and Favela Brasil Xpress (Brazil) and Shelter Associates (India), alongside use cases in commercial delivery, emergency services, and government service delivery.

Plus Codes operates as a public-good initiative rather than a standalone revenue-generating product. It is provided at no cost to individuals or organizations, with no pricing tiers, subscriptions, or usage fees. Its value to Google is indirect: it extends the utility of Google Maps for the billions of users in unaddressed regions, reinforcing Maps as the default geospatial platform. There is no separate legal entity, no external funding, no disclosed headcount, and no monetization mechanism; the initiative is sustained entirely as an internal Google project under Alphabet Inc.

Name

Plus Codes

Legal name

Google LLC

Website

https://plus.codes

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Plus Codes is a free, open-source digital addressing system developed by Google that converts latitude and longitude into short alphanumeric location codes for people and places lacking traditional street addresses, distributed natively through Google Maps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free Public Service: Plus Codes is provided free of charge as an open-source technology. The initiative functions as a public good and brand extension for Google Maps rather than a standalone revenue-generating product. No direct monetization is pursued; value is derived from enhanced Google Maps utility and digital inclusion initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Plus Codes is a free, open-source digital addressing system developed by Google that converts latitude and longitude coordinates into short, shareable alphanumeric location codes. It enables people, businesses, and organizations to identify and share precise locations anywhere in the world, including places without traditional street addresses. The system is distributed primarily through native Google Maps integration, the plus.codes website, and the Address Maker self-serve tool.

Product overview

Plus Codes is a single unified product offering a free, open-source digital addressing system developed by Google. The core Plus Codes product provides location-based codes derived from latitude and longitude coordinates that work globally without internet connectivity. The product suite includes the main Plus Codes platform (accessible via Google Maps), the Address Maker tool for creating and managing location codes, and the Plus.codes Map interface for exploring and obtaining codes. All products share the same underlying open-source technology that converts geographic coordinates into alphanumeric codes using 20 characters (excluding vowels and confusing characters), making them short, shareable, and language-independent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plus Codes A free, open-source digital addressing system that converts latitude and longitude coordinates into short, shareable alphanumeric location codes for people, businesses, and places without traditional street addresses. Distributed through Google Maps and the plus.codes website; intended for individuals, SMBs, logistics operators, emergency services, governments, and NGOs.
• Address Maker A self-serve web tool that allows organizations and individuals to create and manage Plus Codes for locations, enabling digital address assignment to places without street names without using the full Google Maps interface.
• Plus.codes Map An interactive map interface at plus.codes that allows users to explore locations and obtain Plus Codes for any point on the map, with multi-language support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55 Brazilian favelas provided with digital inclusion and e-commerce capabilities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CEP DigitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership bringing digital inclusion and e-commerce capabilities to 55 Brazilian favelas through Plus Codes implementation. CEP Digital leverages the addressing system to enable residents to receive deliveries and access services digitally.
• Favela Brasil XpresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrassroots partnership providing digital addresses to 120,000 residents in Brazilian favelas. This initiative demonstrates community-led adoption of Plus Codes technology for urban inclusion.
• Shelter AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial organization leveraging architectural expertise combined with Plus Codes to bring formal addresses to 1,700 families in the Rajendra Nagar dense urban settlement in India.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mapbox: Mapping and geocoding platform providing location services APIs used by developers, logistics firms, and enterprises. Comparable because it powers geocoding and address solutions in applications that may integrate or substitute for Plus Codes-style addressing.
• Esri: GIS software and mapping platform widely used by governments and humanitarian organizations for location-based record-keeping. Comparable as a tooling layer for organizations that need to assign, manage, and share coordinates in underserved regions.
• TomTom: Mapping and location technology provider serving automotive, logistics, and consumer applications. Comparable as a competitor in the broader digital mapping and geocoding space where Plus Codes operates.
• Maxar Technologies: Geospatial imagery and analytics provider serving humanitarian, government, and commercial customers. Comparable as part of the broader geospatial intelligence ecosystem that supports mapping in regions with incomplete addressing data.
• HERE Technologies: Major location platform offering geocoding, reverse geocoding, and address services to logistics, automotive, and enterprise customers. Comparable as a competing source of structured address and coordinate data underlying last-mile delivery and mapping use cases.

Direct peers

• OpenStreetMap: Open-source collaborative mapping project providing geographic data including informal-settlement and unmapped-area coverage. Comparable to Plus Codes as an open, community-driven source of location information for regions lacking formal addressing.
• what3words: Direct competitor offering an alternative short-code location addressing system (3-word addresses) targeting the same use cases — deliveries, emergency response, and addressing in regions without formal street infrastructure. Both systems aim to give every 3m×3m square on Earth a short, shareable code.

Others

• what3words for Automotive / Logistics ISVs: Adjacent ecosystem participants — including delivery management ISVs and automotive telematics platforms — that integrate short-code addressing APIs. Relevant as channel partners and competitive substitutes for Plus Codes in last-mile and automotive deployments.

Emerging players

• Geohash: Public-domain geocoding system that encodes latitude/longitude into short alphanumeric strings of variable precision. Comparable to Plus Codes as an alternative short-code coordinate format designed for sharing precise locations.
• Uber H3: Open-source hexagonal hierarchical geospatial indexing system providing coordinate-based location identifiers at variable resolutions. Comparable to Plus Codes as an alternative open-source coordinate encoding used for logistics, analytics, and addressing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plus Codes