Quick Answer
How many people use Google maps in 2025?
More than a billion people in 220 countries and territories use Google Maps every month.
Today, it is harder to get lost exploring a new place than to find where its exact location is.
Thanks to the arrival of digital maps, the world had suddenly become smaller and more familiar.
Jetsetting using a web mapping platform reimagined and optimized the way people travel.
Around seventeen years ago, Google Maps came into the scene.
Navigating places has never been the same again since its launch–people are now more confident to travel on their own.
Read on to find out the Google Maps number of users in 2025 and the app’s exciting features you might not know about.
How Many People Use Google Maps in 2025?
You use it. Your friends use it.
Almost everybody else you know has it installed on their phones.
The latest statistics reveal that more than a billion people in 220 countries and territories use Google Maps every month.
This means that a quarter of the internet’s four billion regular users are drawn into using this application.
Thanks to its real-time updates and 24/7 availability, users are becoming heavily reliant on this technology for their every journey.
The integration of helpful features, particularly the Google Street View in 2007, caused an influx of users into the application.
How Many Websites Use Google Maps?
Beyond regular travelers, websites are also leveraging Google’s accurate mapping technology to optimize their operations.
Google Maps is used by more than five million websites and applications weekly.
Google Maps Information Update
The world changes very fast and updating mapping information in real-time is critical for the navigation business.
Google says that information on its maps updates every second of every day. How is this possible?
Apparently, the platform mobilizes people to do some work for free!
Aside from satellite imagery and street view operators, Google Maps also allow users to contribute to updates.
About 200 contributions are made per second, totaling 20 million new updates a day.
What is Google Maps?
Google Maps is a web mapping platform launched in 2005.
It is currently the world’s most-used navigation site and houses more than 170 billion images to date.
It provides accurate imaging and detailed information about geographic locations not only on earth but also on the moon and Mars.
This service provider allows users to virtually go around places, get accurate directions, view street details, book reservations, and get toll fee information, among its many offerings.
Mapping Competitors
Before Google Maps was ever a thing, Yahoo! Maps used to dominate the entire digital mapping business.
However, today Yahoo! holds only 2% of the total digital navigation market while Google Maps captured the other 67%.
Here are other platforms making a name in the field and their respective market shares:
- Waze – 12%, Google acquired this application in 2013
- Apple Map – 11%
- MapQuest – 8%
Mobile Users and Download Count
Half of Google Maps’ one billion market access the application using their mobile phones. It sports five billion total downloads to date.
The reason behind this growing mobile phone user base is its speed.
Directions to a place load less than six seconds and Google Maps is considered the fastest map service engine in the world.
Annual Revenue
How does Google Maps generate revenue even when operating as a free-of-charge service? Advertising.
Google Maps allow listed merchants and establishments to post advertisements on the site.
This helps business owners generate brand exposure among the app’s billion users in exchange for payment.
Google advertising generated $209 billion in revenue last year and a chunk of this came from Google Maps ads.
It is expected to generate total revenue of $11 billion next year as more people use and advertise on the space.
Moreover, it generates a steady income as a supplier of mapping technology to mobility service providers such as Uber and Lyft.
Why are So Many People Drawn to Google Maps?
Many people use this mapping technology for different reasons. Here are some of the common reasons behind its billion user count.
Clear Direction Details
Whether you go by foot, car, bike, or are using mass transportation, Google Maps is a reliable source of travel information.
It provides real-time traffic updates which help users find alternative routes and avoid getting late for their appointments.
Since it updates information every second, the majority of instructions you find on the platform are up-to-date and reliable.
It is Free
Everybody likes to use free stuff especially if it is a technology that can make life easier.
Google Maps services are offered for free, with unlimited access to its features. As mentioned, advertising is the bread and butter of Google.
The more people using the app means more marketers are willing to pay to post their marketing campaigns on the site.
Ancillary Services
Google Maps is king when it comes to ancillary services. To book reservations in advance, there is a BOOK ONLINE feature to secure a sure slot.
Users can also message establishments directly inside Google Maps in case of clarifications and other concerns.
During the pandemic, Google introduced the Covid layer tool which allows people to see the number of Covid cases present in an area.
This year, Google Maps expanded to adding toll prices on its site.
About 2000 toll roads are now loaded on the app from countries including the United States, Japan, India, and Indonesia
Fun Facts About Google Maps
Aside from people, sheep are also making their share to load more images on the landscapes of Faroe Island.
This archipelago is home to 70,000 sheep which are larger in number compared to the local population.
Solar-powered cameras are strapped on some of the sheep’s backs to get a better view of the surrounding place.
These images are then used for the street view imagery of the nation.
Conclusion
Google Maps changed the way people navigate places.
Now, anyone can travel to any corner of the world with ease and confidence.
You have learned about Google Maps monthly active users in 2025 and the reason behind this very strong user base.
Plot your next travel plan and ensure to install the application before boarding to a new place.
Sources
Techcrunch | Builtwith | |
Maps People |