Tile requests

When someone views a map that uses Sarkoa-hosted raster or vector tiles, their browser (or GIS client) fetches small map squares, often called tiles, from Sarkoa. Each successful fetch of one tile counts as one tile request for billing and plan limits. Panning or zooming loads new tiles. Revisiting a view you have already seen often reuses cached tiles, so it may not count again, depending on how your browser and any CDN in front of it handle caching.

Storage is billed separately, and API calls that list files or manage uploads are not tile requests at all.

flowchart LR
  Viewer[Map viewer or GIS client]
  Delivery[Tile delivery]
  Quota[Tile usage accounting]
  Owner[Hosting organization]
  KeyHolder[API key org]
  Viewer --> Delivery
  Delivery --> Quota
  Quota -->|public embed, share, or guest view| Owner
  Quota -->|private member view| Owner
  Quota -->|public API, private file| KeyHolder

Published and shared map views always count toward the hosting organization (the org that stores the file), whether the viewer is anonymous or signed in with a Sarkoa account. Viewers are never billed separately for opening your maps.

How to estimate volume

  • One map view might load on the order of dozens of tiles (viewport size, resolution, and layer count matter).
  • Every pan or zoom that reveals new area can load more tiles.
  • More people viewing at once, or maps that stay open longer, multiply requests.

Exact numbers depend on your map library, tile size, zoom levels you expose, and how people use the map. Treat the examples below as rough illustrations, not guarantees.

Example scenarios

These are rounded examples to build intuition. Check your own usage in the app when you need precise numbers.

Situation Approx. tile requests / month Why
Team demo map: a few teammates pan around a city-scale layer occasionally Under 100K Few people, infrequent sessions, limited panning
Small project: one public map, modest traffic, light panning 100K – 1M More sessions and some repeat visitors
Busy embedded maps: maps on client sites or apps with many daily sessions 1M – 10M Usage grows with visitors and how often they interact with the map
High-traffic public map: maps on popular pages with many daily visitors 10M+ Every session × tiles per view adds up quickly
Heavy GIS / many layers: users stack rasters + vectors and zoom deeply Higher than a simple basemap More layers often mean more tile requests per view

If your site embeds the same map on many pages, or auto-refreshes layers, factor that in, it can increase requests without more people.

Plans and overage

Community, Essential, and Pro include unlimited tile requests (no tile overage charges). On the Free plan, usage above the monthly included allowance can be billed as overage when you turn overage on (in 10,000-request increments; see current rates on the pricing page or in the app).

Paid unlimited plans are subject to our Fair Use Policy. Approximate monthly guidelines (not hard caps): Community 15M, Essential 45M, Pro 130M tile requests. If usage stays well above typical levels for your plan, Sarkoa may notify you, throttle tile delivery, and (for abuse or unresolved excess) suspend streaming. A dedicated high-volume plan may be available for sustained high volume.

The FAQ answer How are tile requests billed, and when does the asset owner pay? covers who pays when a map is shared publicly rather than viewed by your own team.

Reducing tile usage

  • Cache appropriately at the browser or CDN where your setup allows.
  • Avoid unnecessary layer toggles or rapid refresh loops that refetch tiles.
  • Serve appropriate zoom ranges so clients do not load detail users never see.