ONCE $399 A YEAR, GOOGLE EARTH PRO IS NOW

Lots of people have dabbled with Google Earth to
fly around their neighborhood or poke around a
3D version Paris. But how many dropped $400
(per year!) for a Pro subscription?
Not a ton, it would seem. At least, not enough
for Google to keep counting on it as an income
source.
Google has just nixed the subscription fee for
Google Earth Pro, dropping it from $400 a year
to completely free.
You’ll still need to get a key from Google to
unlock the Pro features, but that’s a matter of
filling out a quick form. (Ignore the “free trial”
bit in the URL; the new free license should work
indefinitely.) Then you’d download the free Pro
client from right here.
So what’s different about Google Earth Pro that
once made it $400 a year? It’s primarily good
for project planning and tinkering with data.
It’s not something everyone will need — but hey,
it’s free now!
Here’s what it can do that the non-Pro version can’t:
- Print images at 4800×3200; non-Pro is capped
at 1000×1000.
- Automatically import a few thousand
addresses at once to be pinned on a map
- Capture HD videos of what’s on screen.
- Measure distances/areas using lines, paths,
polygons, circles, and more. Non-pro can only
handle lines/paths.