Free does not mean watched: anybody can edit it, and it can still be suspended.
The answer to the question in the heading is one sentence: nothing. A Google Business Profile is free, verification is free, and ordinary day-to-day management stays free. Google does not charge a cent for any of it, and says so in its own words.
Almost everyone asking whether the profile costs anything is asking for one of two reasons. Either they are setting one up and do not want to hit a hidden fee, or somebody just sent them an invoice or called them and they want to know if it is real. The second group is larger, and the rest of this page is written mainly for them.
Nothing. Creating the account, verifying the business, and ordinary management, editing hours, photos, category, or description, are free for every eligible business regardless of size or industry. That includes appearing in Maps and Search once verified, since that is part of the same profile rather than a separate paid service. It also includes every verification method, by mail, phone, or video: none of them cost anything extra.
No, not through the profile and not through anybody else. Google addresses this directly to business owners, as a warning against agencies claiming the opposite:
"Third parties can't promise or directly influence your business ranking."
Tips for working with third parties to manage your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
No app is required for any of this: the whole profile is managed in the browser, in Search and in Maps.
It will stay free. Google states this directly in its own help center:
"That's because Google never charges for help with your Business Profile."
Help protect your Google Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
This is not only a description, it is a warning. Google wrote that sentence because enough people claim otherwise that it needed somewhere to point to. It holds regardless of how long the profile has run, how many reviews it has, or whether the business changed address or ownership.
Anybody can call you, but it will not be Google. Google charges nothing for help with the profile, exactly as stated above, so anyone claiming otherwise is either mistaken or lying.
A few signals Google itself lists as red flags for third parties: a sender address with no @google.com, a promised ranking boost, a price that does not match what was agreed, and a threat that you will lose the profile if you do not sign up immediately. That last one is a flat prohibition in Google's own policy, not just advice:
"threatening customers that they'll lose their listing if they don't sign up"
Tips for working with third parties to manage your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help, read September 14, 2026
The same calls and emails circulate under other names too, directories, verification services, or registry listings built around the profile. They work the same way: they look official and bank on nobody checking who is actually on the other end. Two different businesses issuing listing services have separately published the exact same warning about invoices carrying their name without their authorization, which says less about either of them individually and more about how common this specific scam is across the whole industry.
It does not mean somebody is watching it for you. Google runs the profile, not the owner, it can be edited on somebody else's suggestion, and most changes go unnoticed until you happen to open the profile and compare it against what you remember. Without your own watch, you find out only by accident, or when somebody else notices and tells you. Google also says an unclaimed profile is more exposed, and the full mechanism is on who actually owns a Google Business Profile.
Yes. Free does not mean nothing can break. The profile can be suspended, its details can change without the owner's knowledge, and a review can be reported but is not deleted just because somebody asked. None of that costs money either way, which is exactly why nobody involved has a financial reason to fix it for you.
Anyone selling the work around the profile, not the profile itself. Somebody sells a card for the counter that shows a guest where to leave a review. Somebody sells a watch, a regular check for changes in the profile, or hours from an agency that manages it on the owner's behalf.
All of that is a legitimate business, as long as it is clear exactly what you are paying for. The problem starts the moment somebody sells access to the profile itself, its existence, or a better ranking, things Google gives away free and that nobody else can sell either. A counter card or a nightly watch sits in the first, legitimate category. A promise of faster verification or a better search position never does.
$0 one-time for installation, $599 a year for the plan, and $79 a year for each additional card; the full price list and what each plan does is on pricing.
This still is not payment for the profile. It is payment for a card that offers a guest a Google review and a private message to the owner equally, and for a nightly read of the profile that compares six fields against yesterday. You never pay for anything Google gives away free, but the work Google does not do costs money, because real work happens every night behind it.
If you landed here while setting up a profile, more common questions are answered on what a Business Profile is. If somebody just edited your profile or is claiming it, the ownership mechanics are on who owns a Google Business Profile.
Every citation on this page comes from one of these pages. The link goes to the original source, not to our summary of it.
$599a year, plus $79 for each extra card. See the full price.