Tiles & GeoCredits

A GeoCredit (GC) is a unit used to measure NIMBO map-stream usage. It is not a separate monetary charge for each request.

Plans have a GeoCredit allowance. Monitor the balance for the account and workflow being used.

Check the renewal and expiry details for your account, or contact NIMBO for the rule applicable to your plan. Billing for WMS, 512-pixel tiles, NoData or error responses and metadata requests requires clarification; a tile example does not establish the charge for every request type.

No automatic overage on self-service plans

When the available balance reaches zero, new tiles pause until the monthly reset, a refill, or a plan upgrade. You are not automatically billed for additional tile requests.

Open Usage & Balance

See plans and refill options

What is counted?

NIMBO imagery is delivered through a standard tiled-map system. The world is projected in Web Mercator (EPSG:3857) and divided into image tiles. Imagery commonly uses 256 × 256 pixels; Terrain-RGB and Hillshade samples use 512 × 512 pixels. Tile dimensions alone do not establish the billing unit.

A tile is identified by its:

• product or layer;
• date, for monthly basemaps;
• zoom level (z);
• horizontal and vertical position (x and y).

Changing any of these parameters can request a different tile.

Each square represents one map tile. Client caching affects whether a new request reaches NIMBO; special-request counting remains to be clarified. Mapping software may also request a small buffer of tiles around the visible viewport.

When you first open a map, your browser or GIS requests enough tiles to fill the viewport. It then requests additional tiles when you:

• pan into a new area;
• move to another zoom level;
• select another month;
• activate another NIMBO layer;
• open an additional comparison panel or map view.

Simply leaving an already loaded map on screen does not consume additional GeoCredits by itself.

What determines total consumption?

GeoCredit usage cannot be estimated reliably from hectares or square kilometres alone. A large region viewed once at low zoom can consume less than a small site inspected repeatedly at high zoom across several dates and layers.

Zoom level and area explored

For a fixed geographic area, moving one zoom level deeper can require roughly 4× more unique tiles, because each tile is divided into four tiles at the next level.

Active layers and dates

Every layer and month is a separate tile set. Showing two dates in a split comparison requires approximately twice as many NIMBO tiles as showing one date.

Users, applications and refreshes

Requests from all users and applications using the same account contribute to the shared allowance. Concurrent use therefore increases total consumption.

Client-side caching

A cached tile may be reused without a new request to NIMBO. The result depends on the browser, GIS, application configuration and cache lifetime.

Check active layers in GIS projects

In QGIS, ArcGIS and similar tools, keeping several NIMBO layers or dates active can multiply tile requests. Disable or remove layers that are not needed, especially when combining standard imagery, HD, NDVI or several monthly basemaps.

Concrete consumption examples

A viewport can request several tiles for each layer and date. Two dates generally need two tile sets; caching, prefetching and buffering change the request count. This describes client behaviour, not a confirmed billing formula for every request type. Measure the actual balance change during a representative pilot.

Estimate your monthly allowance with a representative pilot

The most reliable way to size a plan is to measure a workflow that resembles real production use.

1. Define the pilot

   Select representative areas, zoom levels, layers, dates, software and users. Include normal comparisons and navigation—not only a carefully controlled demo.

2. Record the starting balance

   Note the available GeoCredits in Dashboard → Usage & Balance before the test.

3. Run the real workflow

   Let the intended users complete a normal task or project cycle. Keep track of active user-days, layers, dates and map views.

4. Measure the observed consumption

   Compare the starting and ending balances, then relate the result to the work completed.

5. Extrapolate and add a planning buffer

   Scale the observed consumption to the expected number of users and active days. Add a buffer for busier periods, additional layers and unplanned exploration.

A simple planning formula is:

Estimated monthly GeoCredits
= observed pilot consumption
× expected monthly activity / observed pilot activity
× planning buffer

Example

A pilot uses 15,000 GC for 2 users over 5 active days.

The expected production workload is 4 users over 15 active days:

15,000 × (4 × 15) / (2 × 5) = 90,000 GC/month

For illustration, adding a 25% planning buffer gives an initial target of approximately:

90,000 × 1.25 = 112,500 GC/month

The 25% buffer is illustrative, not a universal recommendation. This is a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Shared caches, different user behaviour or a change in the number of active layers can make actual consumption lower or higher.

Evaluating NIMBO for a professional workflow?

If the standard trial allowance is not representative of your intended use, send us your area of interest, expected users, software, layers, dates and zoom range. We can help define a controlled pilot and size the allowance from observed usage.

Discuss a representative pilot

Monitor your GeoCredits

In the NIMBO dashboard

Open the NIMBO dashboard and go to Usage & Balance.

The dashboard shows:

• the remaining GeoCredits for the current period;
• the next reset date;
• daily consumption.

In an integrated application

NIMBO map-stream responses include the remaining balance in the following HTTP header:

X-Kermap-Available-Credits: 184250

Applications can log this value and use it to create internal alerts or usage safeguards.

Keep usage under control

• Load only the NIMBO layers and months needed for the current task.
• Avoid keeping duplicate or unused NIMBO layers active in a GIS project.
• Set appropriate minimum and maximum zoom levels in embedded applications.
• Restrict navigation to the relevant geographic extent when the use case covers a defined area.
• Keep normal browser or application tile caching enabled.
• Do not add cache-busting parameters to tile URLs unless they are technically necessary.
• Monitor test, production and client-facing usage separately. For Enterprise integrations, contact us to discuss suitable account or token separation.

What happens when the balance reaches zero?

For self-service plans:

1. new NIMBO tiles stop loading;
2. no automatic overage charge is generated;
3. tiles already stored in the local cache may remain visible;
4. access resumes after the monthly reset, a refill, or an upgrade.

See Pricing for current allowances and refill options.

Enterprise capacity, continuity requirements and usage pools can be defined according to the integration and expected traffic.

TMS, WMS and WMTS

Confirm counting for the exact request type rather than assuming that a WMS image or 512-pixel elevation tile has the same accounting as an ordinary imagery tile.

• TMS documentation
• WMS documentation
• WMTS documentation

GeoCredits and licensing are different

GeoCredits measure the volume of imagery streamed from NIMBO. They do not, by themselves, define the permitted use of that imagery.

Pro and Pro HD allow internal professional use, including work in a GIS.

Do not share full-resolution imagery or HD/4K image exports with third parties, including inside PDFs, presentations or videos.

Degraded imagery may be usable with NIMBO informed and credited, plus the applicable source credits. This is not automatic permission or a requirement for prior approval.

Pro and Pro HD allow statistics and vector outputs in client deliverables, with NIMBO and source credits. Raw imagery streams, accounts, tokens and service access are not included.

No numerical export threshold or automatic definition of degraded imagery is set. Contact NIMBO about ambiguous cases.

Keep the NIMBO and applicable source credits. Attribution alone does not authorize redistribution.

Full usage, sharing and attribution rules

For Enterprise projects

Plan sizing should consider both expected stream usage and the commercial scope of the integration: number of users, client exposure, redistribution rights, service levels and operational requirements.

FAQ

Does reloading the same area consume GeoCredits again?

An already cached tile can be reused without a new request. A valid browser or application cache may reuse the existing tile without a new request, but caching behaviour is not identical across all clients.

Does a split comparison consume twice as much?

A two-date comparison generally requires two separate tile sets, so its initial load is approximately twice the consumption of a single-date view at the same zoom and viewport.

Does switching from standard imagery to HD multiply the price per tile?

Deeper zooms or more active layers can increase the request count. Confirm the applicable counting rule and measure the balance; do not infer a special-request tariff from the image resolution.

Are GeoCredits shared across team members?

Yes. Users and applications connected to the same account consume from the same monthly pool unless a specific Enterprise setup provides separate usage pools.

Do unused GeoCredits roll over?

Check the expiry and next reset shown for your account. Contact NIMBO if you need to confirm the applicable renewal period or any plan exceptions.

Can GeoCredits be estimated from an area in hectares or square kilometres?

Not reliably without the intended zoom range, number of layers and dates, user behaviour and cache configuration. A representative pilot is the recommended sizing method.

Need help sizing an integration?

Send us the following information:

• area or geographic extent;
• expected number of users or client sessions;
• GIS, web application or software stack;
• NIMBO layers and number of dates displayed;
• expected zoom range;
• internal, client-facing or redistribution use.

Contact NIMBO