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.

Each NIMBO plan includes a monthly GeoCredit allowance. Every NIMBO tile request accounted by the service deducts 1 GeoCredit from that allowance.

1 tile request = 1 GeoCredit

The accounting rule is the same for standard and HD imagery: consumption is based on the number of map tiles requested.

Your plan defines the monthly limit

GeoCredits are deducted from a known allowance. They do not create an open-ended, pay-as-you-go invoice.

Usage remains visible and controllable

Monitor the remaining balance in your dashboard or through the response header returned by NIMBO map streams.

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 square images of 256 × 256 pixels.

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. If the tile is not already available in the client cache and is requested from NIMBO, the request consumes 1 GeoCredit. 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, radar or several monthly basemaps.

Concrete consumption examples

Assume that an application requests 16 NIMBO tiles to fill one viewport. The following examples show how the calculation works.

User action	Calculation	Indicative consumption
Open one layer for one month	16 tiles × 1 layer	≈16 GC
Compare two months side by side	16 tiles × 2 dates	≈32 GC
Display three NIMBO layers together	16 tiles × 3 layers	≈48 GC
Pan and load 6 new tiles with two layers active	6 new tiles × 2 layers	≈12 additional GC
Change to another month with one layer active	One new 16-tile set	≈16 additional GC

These examples are deliberately based on tile counts rather than labels such as “city” or “country”. The exact number requested by a map client can vary because of viewport size, tile buffering, refresh behaviour and caching.

Does NIMBO HD consume more GeoCredits?

Not per tile. A standard tile and an HD tile each consume 1 GeoCredit when requested. In practice, HD users often explore at deeper zoom levels, which can increase the number of unique tiles needed to inspect the same geographic area.

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

The same account allowance is used when accessing NIMBO through TMS, WMS or WMTS. The protocol itself does not apply a separate GeoCredit multiplier.

What changes consumption is the request behaviour of the client software: viewport, zoom, active layers, dates, refreshes, users and caching.

• 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.

Rights for internal commercial use, client-facing integration, redistribution, OEM use or data delivery depend on your subscription or Enterprise agreement.

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?

Only if the tile is requested from NIMBO again. 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?

No. Each requested tile consumes 1 GeoCredit. Total consumption may nevertheless increase if HD is explored at deeper zoom levels or if standard and HD layers remain active together.

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?

No. The included allowance resets on the subscription renewal date. Refill-credit validity is described on the Pricing page.

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