Google Maps Scraper - Official Places API

What does Google Maps Scraper do?

Google Maps Scraper extracts business data from Google Maps using the official Google Places API (New). Search for restaurants, hotels, shops, and any business worldwide to get names, addresses, phone numbers, ratings, reviews, photos, opening hours, and more.

Simply enter a search query like "restaurants in New York" or "coffee shops near Paris" and get structured business data in seconds.

Why use Google Maps Scraper?

✅ Official API - Reliable & Compliant

Unlike web scrapers that break when websites change, this Actor uses the official Google Places API (New). That means:

• No rate limiting issues or CAPTCHAs
• Compliant with Google's Terms of Service
• Reliable, consistent data structure
• No proxy management needed

✅ Rich Business Data

Extract 17+ data fields per business:

Field	Description
name	Business name
address	Full street address
latitude, longitude	GPS coordinates
rating	Star rating (1-5)
user_ratings_total	Total review count
phone	Local phone number
international_phone	International format
website	Business website URL
google_maps_url	Direct Google Maps link
open_now	Current open status
business_status	Operational status
price_level	Price category ($ - $$$$)
types	Place categories
opening_hours	Weekly hours
photos	Up to 5 photos with URLs
reviews	Up to 10 reviews sorted by date

✅ Pay-Per-Event Pricing

Transparent pricing - only pay for what you use:

Event	Price
Place result	$0.001 per place
API call	$0.005 per call

Example: 20 places + 1 API call = (20 × $0.001) + (1 × $0.005) = $0.025

✅ Two Search Modes

Mode	Max Results	Pagination	Best For
Text Search	60	✅ Yes	Natural language queries
Nearby Search	20	❌ No	Location-based radius search

✅ Platform Features

When you use this Actor, you get all Apify platform advantages:

• 🔄 Scheduling - Run automatically on a schedule
• 🔌 Integrations - Connect to Make, Zapier, n8n, and more
• 📊 API Access - Programmatic access to results
• 📁 Multiple Formats - Export as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML
• 💾 Data Storage - Automatic dataset storage
• 📈 Monitoring - Run history and logs

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How to use Google Maps Scraper

Quick Start

1. Enter your search query - e.g., "restaurants in Tokyo" or "dentists near me"
2. Set max results - Up to 60 for Text Search, up to 20 for Nearby Search
3. Configure filters (optional) - Rating, open status, price level
4. Click Start - Results appear in the dataset
5. Download - Export as JSON, CSV, or Excel

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Basic Text Search

Query: "pizza in Brooklyn"
Max Results: 20

This returns up to 20 pizza places in Brooklyn with all available data.

Search with Location Bias

Query: "coffee shops"
Location: "San Francisco, CA"
Radius: 5000 (5km)

Prioritizes results near San Francisco within 5km radius.

Nearby Search for Precise Location

Search Mode: "nearby"
Location: "Times Square, New York"
Radius: 1000
Included Types: ["restaurant", "cafe"]

Finds restaurants and cafes within 1km of Times Square.

Filter Results

Query: "hotels in Miami"
Min Rating: 4.0
Open Now: true
Price Levels: ["PRICE_LEVEL_INEXPENSIVE", "PRICE_LEVEL_MODERATE"]

Returns only hotels with 4+ stars, currently open, in affordable price ranges.

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How much does it cost to extract Google Maps data?

Pricing Breakdown

The Actor uses Pay-Per-Event pricing. You're charged only for unique results:

Event	Price
Place result	$0.001 per unique place
API call	$0.005 per Google API request

Cost Examples

Scenario	Unique Places	API Calls	Cost Calculation	Total
Small search	20	1	(20 × $0.001) + (1 × $0.005)	$0.025
Medium search	60	3	(60 × $0.001) + (3 × $0.005)	$0.075
Grid search	200	10	(200 × $0.001) + (10 × $0.005)	$0.25
Large grid	500	25	(500 × $0.001) + (25 × $0.005)	$0.625
Max capacity	1000	50	(1000 × $0.001) + (50 × $0.005)	$1.25

Free Tier

Apify provides $5 free platform credits monthly. This covers approximately:

• ~4,000 unique places with single searches
• ~1,000 places with grid search

Cost Factors

• Place result: $0.001 per unique place (duplicates are free)
• API call: $0.005 per request
  • Text Search: 1 call per page (up to 3 pages for 60 results)
  • Grid Search: ~3-6 calls per 100 places
  • Geocoding: 1 call if location needs coordinate conversion

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Input

Google Maps Scraper accepts the following input parameters:

Required Parameters

Field	Type	Description
query	string	What to search for (e.g., "restaurants", "pizza", "hotels")

Optional Parameters

Field	Type	Default	Description
location	string	-	Where to search (e.g., "New York", "Paris"). Required for > 60 results.
maxResults	string	"60"	How many places to extract. Options: 20, 40, 60, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600
reviewSort	string	"newest"	"newest" or "most_relevant"
maxReviews	integer	5	Max reviews per place (1-10)

Input Examples

Basic Search (up to 60 results):

{
    "query": "restaurants",
    "location": "Barcelona",
    "maxResults": "60"
}

Extended Search (up to 600 results with grid search):

{
    "query": "restaurants",
    "location": "Manhattan, New York",
    "maxResults": "300"
}

How Results Work

maxResults	Method	API Calls
1-60	Single search with pagination	1-3
61-120	Grid search (4 cells)	4-12
121-270	Grid search (9 cells)	9-27
271-480	Grid search (16 cells)	16-48
481-600	Grid search (25 cells)	25-75

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Output

The Actor outputs a dataset with structured business data. Each result contains:

Output Example

{
    "place_id": "ChIJ3TNNbQDnIDoR...",
    "name": "La Boqueria Market",
    "address": "La Rambla, 91, 08001 Barcelona, Spain",
    "latitude": 41.3817,
    "longitude": 2.1715,
    "rating": 4.5,
    "user_ratings_total": 42523,
    "phone": "+34 933 19 20 21",
    "international_phone": "+34 933 19 20 21",
    "website": "https://www.boqueria.barcelona",
    "google_maps_url": "https://maps.google.com/?cid=...",
    "open_now": true,
    "business_status": "OPERATIONAL",
    "price_level": "PRICE_LEVEL_MODERATE",
    "types": ["food", "market", "restaurant", "point_of_interest", "establishment"],
    "opening_hours": [
        "Monday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM",
        "Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM",
        "Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM",
        "Thursday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM",
        "Friday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM",
        "Saturday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 PM"
    ],
    "photos": [
        {
            "url": "https://places.googleapis.com/v1/places/.../media?maxWidthPx=800&key=...",
            "width": 4032,
            "height": 3024,
            "author": "Maria Garcia"
        }
    ],
    "reviews": [
        {
            "rating": 5,
            "text": "Amazing fresh produce and local delicacies!",
            "author": "John Smith",
            "time": "2 weeks ago",
            "date": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
        }
    ]
}

Data Download Formats

Export your results in multiple formats:

• JSON - For programmatic use and APIs
• CSV - For spreadsheets and data analysis
• Excel - For business reports
• HTML - For web display

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⚠️ Important: Result Limits

Google Places API has hard limits imposed by Google:

Search Mode	Maximum Results	Why?
Text Search	60 results	3 pages × 20 results
Nearby Search	20 results	No pagination available

Getting More Results

To extract more than 60 results, use multiple searches:

1. Smaller areas - Search specific neighborhoods instead of entire cities
2. Different queries - "Italian restaurants", "Chinese restaurants", etc.
3. Grid approach - Multiple overlapping radius searches
4. Type-specific searches - Search by place type categories

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Tips & Advanced Options

🔍 Better Search Queries

Query Type	Example	Best For
Location-based	"restaurants in Tokyo"	City-wide searches
Category	"coffee shops"	All coffee shops (use with location bias)
Specific	"Pizza Hut"	Chain locations
Category + location	"dentists near Central Park"	Area-specific

💰 Optimize Costs

• Set realistic maxResults - Don't request 60 if you only need 10
• Use specific queries - "Italian restaurants" vs just "restaurants"
• Limit maxReviews - Set to 1-3 if reviews aren't critical
• Filter early - Use minRating and openNow to reduce irrelevant results

📍 Nearby vs Text Search

Use Nearby Search When...	Use Text Search When...
You have exact coordinates	You want natural language queries
You need radius precision	You want maximum results (60)
You want to filter by place types	You want to filter by rating/price
You're mapping local businesses	You're researching across areas

⚡ Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Empty results	Try broader search terms or larger radius
Fewer results than expected	Google may have limited matching places
Rate limited	Actor handles this automatically with retry
Geocoding failed	Check location spelling or use coordinates

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FAQ

Is it legal to use Google Maps data?

This Actor uses the official Google Places API, which is compliant with Google's Terms of Service. However, you should:

• Review Google's Places API Terms of Service
• Ensure your use case complies with applicable laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• Don't use data for unsolicited marketing or spam

Why only 60 results per search?

This is a hard limit set by Google for the Places API. Google returns 20 results per page, with a maximum of 3 pages. This cannot be bypassed. To get more results, run multiple searches with different queries or locations.

What's the difference between Text Search and Nearby Search?

Feature	Text Search	Nearby Search
Query style	Natural language	Coordinate-based
Max results	60	20
Pagination	✅ Yes	❌ No
Type filters	❌	✅
Rating/Price filters	✅	❌

Can I get reviews and photos?

Yes! Each place includes:

• Up to 10 reviews (configurable via maxReviews)
• Up to 5 photos with direct URLs
• Reviews sorted by newest or most relevant

Do I need a Google API key?

No! The Actor handles all API authentication. You just need an Apify account. The Google API costs are included in the Pay-Per-Event pricing.

Can I use this for commercial purposes?

Yes, but ensure your use complies with:

• Google's Places API Terms of Service
• Applicable data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA)
• The extracted data is used ethically

How do I find place types for filtering?

Common place types include:

Category	Types
Food	restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery, meal_takeaway
Lodging	hotel, lodging
Health	dentist, doctor, hospital, pharmacy
Services	hair_care, laundry, car_repair
Shopping	store, clothing_store, shopping_mall

See all types: Google Place Types Documentation

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Need Help?

• 🐛 Bug Reports - Use the Issues tab to report bugs
• 💬 Questions - Ask in the Actor's discussion section
• 📧 Custom Solutions - Contact us for custom features or integrations

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Integrations

Connect Google Maps Scraper with your favorite tools:

• Make (Integromat) - Automate workflows
• Zapier - Connect to 5000+ apps
• n8n - Self-hosted automation
• API - Programmatic access to all results
• Webhooks - Real-time notifications

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Keywords: Google Maps API, Google Places API, business data extraction, local SEO, lead generation, restaurant finder, hotel search, place data, geocoding, maps scraper, places extractor, Google Maps data, business listings, phone numbers, reviews API