Do I need a Google Maps API key to calculate distance in Excel?

Not with RouteMetrics. Many Excel distance tools are macro workbooks that call Google Maps directly, so they require you to create a Google Cloud project, enable the APIs, generate a key and put a card on file. RouteMetrics does the routing on its own servers, so you install the add-in, sign in with Microsoft and type a formula.

Does RouteMetrics use VBA macros?

No. It is a sandboxed Office add-in distributed through Microsoft AppSource, not a macro-enabled workbook. You are never asked to enable content, and because there are no macros it runs in Excel for the web as well as on Windows and Mac.

Can I calculate distances in Excel for the web?

Yes. Excel for the web does not run VBA, so macro-based distance workbooks cannot work there at all. RouteMetrics is an Office add-in and runs the same on the web as on desktop.

What does it cost to calculate distances in Excel?

RouteMetrics includes the routing in one price. You start with 100 free searches that never expire, then choose a monthly plan or one-time credit packs that also never expire. There is no separate mapping bill, because you are not the mapping provider's customer.

Where do my addresses go?

Addresses you query are sent to the RouteMetrics API and on to HERE Technologies to compute the route. Results are cached for up to 30 days so a repeat lookup is not bought twice. Usage analytics record only a truncated hash of each address, never the address itself; a lookup that fails keeps the address in a diagnostic record so the failure can be shown to you and fixed.

An Excel Distance Calculator With No API Key

No Google Cloud account, no macros to enable, no second bill. Works on Windows, Mac and in the browser.

Search for a way to get driving distances into Excel and you’ll mostly find the same shape of answer: a macro-enabled workbook that calls Google Maps on your behalf. It works. But before it works, you have to become a Google Cloud customer — create a project, enable the right APIs, generate a key, paste it into the file, and put a credit card on file for a pay-as-you-go account. Then you enable macros every time you open the sheet.

RouteMetrics takes the other road. The routing happens on our servers, so there is no key for you to manage and no mapping bill in your name. Install it from Microsoft AppSource, sign in with the Microsoft account you already use for Excel, and type a formula.

=ROUTE.DISTANCE("Boston, MA", "New York, NY")

→ 217.33 road miles. Fill it down a thousand rows.

Get RouteMetrics free on AppSource See pricing

What an API key actually costs you

“Bring your own API key” sounds like a technicality. In practice it moves four jobs onto your desk:

Setup. A cloud console, a project, the right APIs enabled, a key restricted properly so it can’t be abused if the workbook is shared.
A billing relationship. The mapping provider bills you, per lookup, on a meter you have to watch. Your cost for the tool is no longer the price you paid for the tool.
A secret in a spreadsheet. The key lives in the file. Email that file to a colleague and you’ve emailed them your billable credentials.
Ongoing ownership. Keys expire, get rotated, hit quotas, or get disabled when a card lapses — and the failure surfaces as broken cells in someone’s spreadsheet.

None of that is unreasonable if you want direct control of your mapping spend. It’s simply a different product for a different buyer. If what you want is distances in a spreadsheet, it’s four jobs you didn’t ask for.

Why “no macros” is more than a preference

A macro-enabled workbook (.xlsm) carries executable code. That has three practical consequences that have nothing to do with whether you trust the author:

Office blocks macros in files from the internet by default. Anything downloaded arrives with macros disabled, and users are told the file may be unsafe.
Many IT departments block them outright, especially in regulated and logistics environments. “Just enable content” is not always available.
Excel for the web doesn’t run VBA at all. A macro workbook can’t function there, on any plan, ever.

RouteMetrics is an Office add-in: it runs in the browser sandbox Microsoft provides, is distributed and reviewed through AppSource, and is never asking you to lower a security setting. The same formulas work on Windows, on Mac, and in Excel for the web.

Formulas, not a Calculate button

Batch tools tend to work in one direction: fill a sheet, press Calculate, wait, read the output. RouteMetrics functions are ordinary Excel formulas. They fill down, recalculate when inputs change, and nest inside IF, SUM and everything else. Reopening a workbook doesn’t re-run and re-charge for work already done — answers are remembered in the file itself.

Trucking gets its own routing

Car directions are not truck directions. On the Trucking plan, RouteMetrics routes for the rig you actually run — gross weight, height, width, length, axle count and hazmat class — so a route respects the bridge heights and posted limits that apply to you, and not to a generic truck.

ROUTE.STATEMILES — truck miles in one state or province, for IFTA
ROUTE.IFTA — every jurisdiction a quarter of trips crossed, in one formula
ROUTE.TOLLS — toll cost for a lane, priced against your truck
ROUTE.RESTRICTIONS — whether your truck can legally run that lane at all

There’s a free IFTA worksheet with all of it wired up, including the fuel-purchase log and the quarterly tax calculation.

One thing we won’t claim: these are HERE truck-legal miles, not PC*Miler practical miles. If a broker’s contract specifies PC*Miler, use PC*Miler for settlement. For IFTA prep, fuel planning, lane costing and dispatch estimating, this is built for the job.

Buy it the way your work actually runs

100 free searches to start, with no time limit. Not a 14-day trial that expires while you’re busy.
Monthly plans from $9.99 for steady use, including a Trucking plan at $15.
One-time credit packs that never expire — the right shape for quarterly IFTA filing or seasonal work, where a year-round subscription is mostly idle.

In every case the routing is included. There is no second invoice, and no meter of yours to watch.

Where your addresses go

Worth stating plainly, because it’s the honest trade-off for not managing your own key. A local macro workbook talks to Google directly from your machine; RouteMetrics doesn’t, so your addresses pass through our service.

The addresses you query are sent to the RouteMetrics API over HTTPS, and on to HERE Technologies to geocode and route them.
Results are cached for up to 30 days against the address you typed, so the same lookup isn’t bought twice. Traffic-aware results expire in 6 hours.
Usage analytics record only a truncated hash of each address — enough to count repeat lookups, not enough to read them.
A lookup that fails keeps the address in a diagnostic record, so the add-in can show you which row failed and we can fix the cause. That record expires after an hour; server logs are deleted after 30 days.
We never sell data, and we don’t collect personal details beyond the email Microsoft sign-in provides.

Full detail in the privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Google Maps API key?

No. The routing runs on our servers, so there is no key to create, restrict, rotate or pay for.

Does it use macros?

No. It’s a sandboxed Office add-in from Microsoft AppSource. You’re never asked to enable content, and it works in Excel for the web — which macro workbooks cannot.

Will it work if my company blocks macros?

Yes. That restriction doesn’t apply to Office add-ins. Your admin may still control which add-ins are available from AppSource.

Is there a free version?

You get 100 free searches with no time limit. Pricing covers what happens after that.

Does it do truck routing?

Yes — on the Trucking plan, routed for your truck’s weight, height and hazmat class, with per-state IFTA miles, toll costs and restriction checks.

Get RouteMetrics on Microsoft AppSource