# German Business Directory Scraper: Gelbe Seiten & Das Örtliche (`cprussin/german-business-directory`) Actor

Scrape German businesses from Gelbe Seiten and Das Örtliche by category and city: name, category, address, coordinates, phone, website, email, rating, review count and opening hours. No login. $2 per 1,000 rows, $4 with detail pages.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/cprussin/german-business-directory.md
- **Developed by:** [Connor Prussin](https://apify.com/cprussin) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 business rows

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## German Business Directory Scraper: Gelbe Seiten & Das Örtliche

**German Business Directory Scraper** exports German businesses from **Gelbe Seiten** (gelbeseiten.de) and **Das Örtliche** (dasoertliche.de) as clean JSON, CSV or Excel. Pick categories and cities; get one row per business with the same fields across both directories. No login, no API key:

- ✅ **Two directories, one schema**: Gelbe Seiten and Das Örtliche, searched side by side, deduplicated per directory.
- ✅ **Contact data**: name, category, street, postal code, city, district, phone and website.
- ✅ **Coordinates**: latitude and longitude (Das Örtliche list pages; Gelbe Seiten detail pages).
- ✅ **Ratings**: average rating and number of ratings.
- ✅ **Detail pages (optional)**: opening hours, published business email, website, keywords/services and full description.
- ✅ **Start URLs**: paste Gelbe Seiten city pages or entries, or Das Örtliche topic pages or entries.
- ✅ Respects each site's robots.txt and identifies itself honestly. Plain HTTP requests, no browser.

### Start in one minute

Click **Start** with the prefilled input:

```json
{
  "categories": ["Friseur"],
  "cities": ["Berlin"],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 10
}
```

You get: 20 hair salons in Berlin (10 from each directory) with `name`, `street`, `postalCode`, `phone`, `website`, `rating` and `url`.

**Cost:** $0.04: 20 rows × $0.002, plus the $0.00005 actor-start fee.

### Use with an AI assistant

Connect the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (`https://mcp.apify.com?tools=cprussin/german-business-directory` loads only this actor), then paste:

```text
Use the Apify actor cprussin/german-business-directory to find 30 dentists (Zahnarzt) in Munich with opening hours and email, and list name, address, phone and website.
```

### Recipes

#### Lead list for one trade in several cities

```json
{
  "categories": ["Steuerberater"],
  "cities": ["Hamburg", "Köln", "Frankfurt am Main"],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 50,
  "maxItems": 300
}
```

#### Full contact data with opening hours and email

```json
{
  "categories": ["Zahnarzt"],
  "cities": ["München"],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 25,
  "includeDetails": true
}
```

#### Every Das Örtliche entry for a category

Das Örtliche paginates through all entries (25 per page).

```json
{
  "categories": ["Restaurant"],
  "cities": ["Leipzig"],
  "sources": ["dasoertliche"],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 2000,
  "maxItems": 2000
}
```

### Who uses German business directory data?

- **Sales and lead generation**: build B2B prospect lists of German SMBs by trade and city.
- **Local SEO agencies**: find businesses without websites or with low ratings.
- **Market researchers**: count and map businesses per category and district.
- **Data enrichment**: match your CRM records to phone numbers, addresses and websites.

### How does it work?

1. For every category × city × directory, the actor opens the directory's public list page: `gelbeseiten.de/branchen/<category>/<city>` and `dasoertliche.de/Themen/<Category>/<City>.html`.
2. It reads the structured data in the page (schema.org JSON-LD and microdata) plus the visible listing fields.
3. Das Örtliche: it follows `-Seite-2.html`, `-Seite-3.html`, ... until `maxItemsPerSearch`. Gelbe Seiten city pages list the top 50 businesses (more results load through its search, which its robots.txt disallows, so the actor doesn't use it). For more Gelbe Seiten rows, search districts, e.g. `Berlin Bezirk Spandau`.
4. With **Include detail pages** on, it also opens each entry for opening hours, email, keywords and description.

### Input

| Field                | Description                                             | Example                                  |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| `categories`         | Categories in German                                    | `["Friseur", "Zahnarzt"]`                |
| `cities`             | German cities or districts                              | `["Berlin", "Frankfurt am Main"]`        |
| `sources`            | `gelbeseiten`, `dasoertliche` (default: both)           | `["dasoertliche"]`                       |
| `startUrls`          | Directory list pages or entries (optional)              | `["https://www.gelbeseiten.de/gsbiz/…"]` |
| `maxItemsPerSearch`  | Max rows per category + city + directory                | `50`                                     |
| `maxItems`           | Max rows in total                                       | `1000`                                   |
| `includeDetails`     | Open each entry for hours, email, keywords, description | `true`                                   |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Apify Proxy (datacenter is enough)                      | `{ "useApifyProxy": true }`              |

- Use the category words the directories use (German): `Friseur`, `Zahnarzt`, `Rechtsanwalt`, `Steuerberater`, `Restaurant`, `Physiotherapie`, `Elektriker`, ...
- A category or city a directory doesn't know is reported as **not found** in the run's status message.

### Output

```json
{
  "source": "gelbeseiten",
  "id": "34a107b0-de58-4a66-bd50-87683df0e779",
  "name": "Ihr Frisör Er Sie Es",
  "category": "Friseure",
  "street": "Falkenseer Chaussee 31",
  "postalCode": "13583",
  "city": "Berlin",
  "district": "Falkenhagener Feld",
  "latitude": 52.547836,
  "longitude": 13.184178,
  "phone": "030 3 72 17 23",
  "website": "https://sellwerk.de/firmenprofil/engst-marion",
  "email": "ihr.frisoer.68@googlemail.com",
  "rating": 5,
  "reviewCount": 1,
  "openingHours": [
    "Mo 09:00-18:00",
    "Di 09:00-18:00",
    "Mi 09:00-18:00",
    "Do 09:00-18:00",
    "Fr 09:00-18:00"
  ],
  "keywords": ["Damenfriseur", "Herrenfriseur", "Brautfrisuren"],
  "description": "In dem modernen Salon Ihr Friseur ER SIE ES in Berlin ...",
  "url": "https://www.gelbeseiten.de/gsbiz/34a107b0-de58-4a66-bd50-87683df0e779",
  "hasDetails": true,
  "searchCategory": "Friseur",
  "searchCity": "Berlin",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.gelbeseiten.de/branchen/friseur/berlin",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-29T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

- `email`, `openingHours` and the full `description` need **Include detail pages**. Gelbe Seiten coordinates also come from detail pages; Das Örtliche has them on list pages.
- Fields a business didn't publish are `null`.

### How much does it cost?

Pay-per-event, only for rows written to your dataset:

| Event                     | Price      |
| ------------------------- | ---------- |
| Business row              | **$0.002** |
| Business row with details | **$0.004** |

That's **$2 per 1,000 rows**, or **$4 per 1,000 with detail pages**. If a detail page fails, the row is kept with list data and billed as a plain row. If you set a **maximum cost per run**, the actor stops cleanly when it reaches it.

### FAQ

**Is this an official API?** No. It reads the public pages gelbeseiten.de and dasoertliche.de show to visitors, only paths their robots.txt allows.

**Why only 50 rows per Gelbe Seiten search?** Gelbe Seiten city pages show the top 50; the rest load through its search, which its robots.txt disallows. Search districts for more, or use Das Örtliche, which paginates.

**Is the data GDPR-compliant?** The actor outputs only what businesses published in these directories. You are responsible for a lawful basis (e.g. legitimate interest for B2B) and for UWG rules on cold calls and emails in Germany.

**Disclaimer:** This actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Gelbe Seiten or Das Örtliche. Their names are trademarks of their owners. You are responsible for complying with their terms and applicable laws when using the data.

### Related actors

- [Impressum Extractor](https://apify.com/cprussin/impressum-extractor?fpr=to54nm): legal name, register number, VAT ID and contact data from German company websites.
- [New Business Registrations](https://apify.com/cprussin/new-business-registrations?fpr=to54nm): newly registered companies from official registries.

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Business categories in German, as the directories name them: <code>Friseur</code>, <code>Zahnarzt</code>, <code>Rechtsanwalt</code>, <code>Steuerberater</code>, <code>Restaurant</code>, <code>Autowerkstatt</code>, ... Every category is searched in every city.

## `cities` (type: `array`):

German cities, e.g. <code>Berlin</code>, <code>München</code>, <code>Hamburg</code>, <code>Frankfurt am Main</code>. Districts work too on Gelbe Seiten (<code>Berlin Bezirk Spandau</code>) and Das Örtliche (<code>Berlin-Spandau</code>).

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Which directories to search.

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional directory pages: Gelbe Seiten city pages (<code>https://www.gelbeseiten.de/branchen/friseur/berlin</code>) or entries (<code>https://www.gelbeseiten.de/gsbiz/\<id></code>), Das Örtliche topic pages (<code>https://www.dasoertliche.de/Themen/Friseur/Berlin.html</code>) or entries.

## `maxItemsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Stop each category + city + directory search after this many businesses. Gelbe Seiten city pages list up to 50 businesses; Das Örtliche paginates through all of them.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many businesses across all searches. Each row is billed once.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Open each business's directory entry for opening hours, email, website, keywords, full description and (Gelbe Seiten) coordinates. One extra request per business, billed as a detailed row.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy (datacenter is enough). The actor switches IP when a request is blocked and falls back to direct requests if the proxy keeps failing.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "Friseur"
  ],
  "cities": [
    "Berlin"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "gelbeseiten",
    "dasoertliche"
  ],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 10,
  "maxItems": 100,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "categories": [
        "Friseur"
    ],
    "cities": [
        "Berlin"
    ],
    "maxItemsPerSearch": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cprussin/german-business-directory").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "categories": ["Friseur"],
    "cities": ["Berlin"],
    "maxItemsPerSearch": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cprussin/german-business-directory").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "categories": [
    "Friseur"
  ],
  "cities": [
    "Berlin"
  ],
  "maxItemsPerSearch": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call cprussin/german-business-directory --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,cprussin/german-business-directory"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/5tYYtw92cNOXaBAiI/builds/5s1jZCd5MtZ924s8N/openapi.json