How to Geocode Addresses in Google Sheets

Updated July 7, 2026 · Geloky team

Google Sheets feels like it should geocode addresses natively — it's Google, after all — but there is no =GEOCODE() function. You have two real options: a small Apps Script, or exporting to CSV and batch geocoding. Which one to use depends on how many rows you have.

Option 1 — Apps Script custom function (good for small, live sheets)

Extensions → Apps Script, paste, save, then use =GEOCODE(A2) in the sheet:

function GEOCODE(address) {
  if (!address) return null;
  Utilities.sleep(500); // be gentle with quotas
  var result = Maps.newGeocoder().geocode(address);
  if (result.status !== 'OK' || !result.results.length) return 'NOT_FOUND';
  var loc = result.results[0].geometry.location;
  return [[loc.lat, loc.lng]];
}

The catches, learned the hard way:

• Daily quotas. The Apps Script Maps service allows on the order of a thousand geocodes per day on consumer accounts (Google adjusts quotas — check current docs). A 3,000-row sheet will die mid-column.
• Recalculation re-fires requests. Custom functions re-run when the sheet recalculates, silently burning quota. The usual fix: paste the results as values immediately.
• Speed. One request per row, sequentially. Hundreds of rows take minutes.
• Terms. Results from Google's geocoder are subject to Google Maps terms — if you plan to export the data elsewhere, read them first.

Option 2 — Export, batch geocode, import back (good for whole sheets)

1. File → Download → CSV.
2. Upload to the batch geocoding tool, map the address columns, preview the first rows free, convert. 100 records/day are free, then $1 per 1,000.
3. Import the result back: File → Import → Upload → Replace/Insert sheet. Your original columns come back with latitude/longitude appended.

Two minutes of export/import beats an afternoon of quota babysitting once you're past a few hundred rows — and there are no per-account daily ceilings to plan around.

Decision rule

• Under ~200 rows, needs to stay live in the sheet: Apps Script.
• Hundreds to hundreds of thousands of rows, one-off or periodic: export → batch geocode → import.
• Continuous pipeline feeding other systems: a geocoding REST API called from your backend, not from the spreadsheet.