> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.placematic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Do I buy from HERE or Placematic?

> Direct contract or Gold Partner. When each makes sense, what a partner contract actually changes, and when you should go direct.

# Do I buy from HERE or Placematic?

**Short answer:** Depends on your volume and your tolerance for procurement. If you're a large enterprise with a vendor management function and can meet minimum volume commitments comfortably, go direct. Otherwise a Gold Partner is usually simpler.

We sell HERE. Read the "buy direct" section carefully.

## What a partner contract changes

**One contracting party.** Placematic USA LLC. You never open a HERE account, never receive a HERE invoice, never negotiate with HERE.

**Entitlements confirmed before you build.** The `403`-in-week-six problem becomes a conversation in week one.

**Pricing tiers.** Gold Partner pricing tiers are not available to direct customers at standard volume levels. Whether that beats your negotiated direct pricing is an empirical question — bring your current terms.

**No minimum volume commitment for pilot access.**

<Info>
  **Contractual price stability is a term in your contract, not a property of the platform.** HERE pricing through a partner does not reprice mid-term because the contract says so. Negotiate it, or don't claim it.
</Info>

## Buy direct if

* You have a dedicated vendor management function and want the relationship in-house
* You can meet minimum volume commitments comfortably
* Your legal team prefers a direct agreement with the data provider
* **A routing defect traced to map data needs the shortest possible escalation path.** Through a partner, that path is one hop longer. Whether that matters depends on whether a wrong route is an inconvenience or a bridge strike.

## Buy through a Gold Partner if

* You want partner pricing tiers
* You don't want to negotiate volume minimums
* You want one contract, one invoice, and someone accountable for the *integration* working — not just for the API being up
* Entitlement and licensing questions should be resolved before your sprint starts
* You're embedding HERE in a product you sell, and the **redistribution** question needs answering

## The redistribution question

<Warning>
  Exposing HERE APIs to *your* customers may constitute redistribution, which carries different licensing terms than internal use.

  There's a spectrum. **Internal consumption** — your platform calls HERE, renders a map, shows an ETA. **Pass-through** — your API returns HERE's response shape to your customer's engineers. **Redistribution** — your customer builds against what is effectively a HERE proxy.

  The further right you sit, the more likely you need explicit terms. **Resolve this before you build.** Discovering it during a customer's security review is expensive.
</Warning>

This is the single clearest reason to have a Gold Partner conversation early. It's a short conversation when the partner is the contracting party.

## Common misconceptions

**"A reseller is a markup."**
Gold Partner tiers exist because HERE prices differently at partner volume. Whether that's better *for you* depends on your negotiated direct terms. Bring them.

**"Going through a partner means slower support."**
It means a different support path. For licensing, entitlement, and integration questions it's faster. For a map data defect, it's one hop longer.

**"I can compare on rate cards."**
Entry-level rates are close. Call mix, tier placement, batching, and caching determine your bill. See [What drives my API bill?](/faq/what-drives-my-api-bill)

## If you already license HERE directly

Bring your current pricing. We'll tell you honestly whether we can improve it. Sometimes the answer is no.

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="HERE Pricing Explained" href="/start-here/here-pricing-explained">
    Call volume vs asset-based, and free bundles that don't pool.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Embedding a Routing API" href="/use-cases/embedding-routing-api">
    Multi-tenancy, quota, and the redistribution question in full.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multi-Tenant Location Platform" href="/architecture/multi-tenant-location-platform">
    Isolation, cost attribution, and the gateway you build regardless.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What support does Placematic provide?" href="/faq/what-support-does-placematic-provide">
    Including what we don't.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

Need production HERE API keys or implementation support? Placematic is an official HERE Technologies reseller and implementation partner. [Talk to us](https://placematic.com/contact/).