Google Maps API vs Google Maps Engine?

Question

I'm brand new to web technologies, and in researching a web app that I want to create I got a little bogged down. I want to be able to use a Google Map on my site, including the functionality that allows you to use layers and draw shapes and lines on top of it, but I'm confused at the difference between the Google Maps API and Google Maps Engine and which one would best suit me.

Is one of those a better option for me? There seems to be a lot of red tape on getting Maps Engine for a site, but I'm unclear on if Maps API has all the functionality I'd want.

Sorry for the beginner question, but I haven't found any sort of FAQ that's addressed this. I'd really appreciate any insight. Thanks!

Answer 1

So Google actually offers three different products.

• Google Maps JavaScript API is intended for developers, and it lets you take Google's base maps and draw on them programmatically by writing your own JavaScript that calls the API.
• Google Maps Engine is for creating your own base maps. You could use it to render shapes and lines on top of a map, but if that's all you want to do, it's probably overkill (and it's not free).
• Google Maps Engine Lite is the new boy in town, and it's still beta as I type this, but it might fit your use case the best: you can draw by hand on top of Google's standard maps, import a variety of formats with geo data, and then share your results or embed them on your website, all without having to write a lick of JavaScript.