# Google Maps REVIEWS Scraper (`dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper`) Actor Extract reviews from any **[Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps)** place at scale. The scraper collects review text, ratings, reviewer profiles, photos, and timestamps - **URL**: https://apify.com/dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Tin](https://apify.com/dtrungtin) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 66.7% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $2.00 / 1,000 results 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Google Maps Reviews Scraper Extract reviews from any **[Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps)** place at scale. The scraper collects review text, ratings, reviewer profiles, photos, and timestamps — without requiring a Google account or API key. Run it on the Apify platform with built-in proxy rotation, scheduling, and export to JSON, CSV, or Excel. ### What does Google Maps Reviews Scraper do? This Actor opens a Google Maps place URL in a real Chrome browser, switches to the **Reviews** panel, and intercepts Google's internal `listugcposts` API responses. It then paginates the same API directly via in-page `fetch()` calls — no DOM scrolling — for fast, reliable collection of every review the panel exposes. You can sort by **Most relevant**, **Newest**, **Highest rating**, or **Lowest rating**, and stop early once reviews older than a chosen cutoff date appear. Each review is deduplicated by `reviewId` and pushed to the dataset as a single structured item. Try it by pasting any Google Maps place URL — e.g. `https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/...` — and setting a `maxReviewsPerPlace` limit. ### Why use Google Maps Reviews Scraper? - **Reputation monitoring** — track new reviews for your business or your competitors - **Sentiment analysis** — pipe review text into NLP models to surface trends and complaints - **Local SEO research** — analyse keywords, ratings, and reviewer demographics across markets - **Lead generation** — identify Local Guides and high-volume reviewers in your category - **Travel and hospitality** — bulk-collect reviews for hotels, restaurants, and attractions ### How to use Google Maps Reviews Scraper 1. Open [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps) and search for the place you want. 2. Click the place to open its panel, then copy the URL from your browser's address bar. 3. Open the Actor's **Input** tab and paste the URL into **Start URLs**. 4. Set **Max reviews per place** to control how many reviews are collected (default: 100). 5. Optionally pick a **Sort order** (Most relevant, Newest, Highest rating, Lowest rating). 6. Optionally set **Reviews start date** to skip anything older — supports ISO dates (`2024-05-03`) or relative phrases (`8 days`, `3 months`). 7. Click **Start** and wait for the run to finish. 8. Download your results from the **Output** tab in JSON, CSV, or Excel. ### Input Configure the Actor from the **Input** tab in Apify Console, or provide a JSON input. | Field | Type | Description | Default | |---|---|---|---| | `startUrls` | array | Google Maps place URLs to scrape reviews from | *(required)* | | `maxReviewsPerPlace` | integer | Stop after collecting this many reviews per place | `100` | | `sortOrder` | string | `mostRelevant`, `newest`, `highestRating`, or `lowestRating` | `mostRelevant` | | `reviewsStartDate` | string | Only collect reviews newer than this date — ISO (`2024-05-03`) or relative (`8 days`, `3 months`) | — | When `reviewsStartDate` is set, `sortOrder` is automatically forced to `newest` so the run can stop as soon as it hits an older review. **Example input:** ```json { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/@10.7832864,106.646065,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6" } ], "maxReviewsPerPlace": 200, "sortOrder": "newest", "reviewsStartDate": "3 months" } ```` ### Output Results are saved to the default **Dataset**. Each item is one review. **Example output (1 item):** ```json { "reviewId": "ChdDSUhNMG9nS0VJQ0FnSURGdjgyVjZRRRAB", "placeId": "0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6", "publishedAt": "2025-09-12T14:21:08.000Z", "editedAt": null, "relativeTime": "2 months ago", "stars": 5, "textOriginal": "Great selection of figures, friendly staff.", "textTranslated": null, "languageOriginal": "en", "reviewer": { "id": "1029384756", "name": "Jane Doe", "avatar": "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/...", "profileUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/1029384756", "reviewCount": 42, "photoCount": 17, "isLocalGuide": true, "localGuideLevel": 6, "label": "Local Guide · 42 reviews" }, "photos": [ { "id": "AF1QipM...", "url": "https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipM...", "width": 4032, "height": 3024 } ], "reviewUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/reviews/...", "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/..." } ``` You can download the dataset in various formats such as **JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel**. ### Data fields | Field | Description | |---|---| | `reviewId` | Google's unique review ID | | `placeId` | FID of the place the review belongs to | | `publishedAt` | ISO timestamp of when the review was first posted | | `editedAt` | ISO timestamp of the last edit (null if never edited) | | `relativeTime` | Human-readable relative time as shown on Maps (e.g. `2 months ago`) | | `stars` | Star rating, 1–5 | | `textOriginal` | Review text in its original language | | `textTranslated` | Google's auto-translation if shown | | `languageOriginal` | Language code of the original text | | `reviewer.id` | Reviewer's Google contributor ID | | `reviewer.name` | Reviewer's display name | | `reviewer.avatar` | URL of the reviewer's avatar | | `reviewer.profileUrl` | Link to the reviewer's public Maps profile | | `reviewer.reviewCount` | Total reviews the reviewer has written | | `reviewer.photoCount` | Total photos the reviewer has uploaded | | `reviewer.isLocalGuide` | Whether the reviewer is a Local Guide | | `reviewer.localGuideLevel` | Local Guide level (if applicable) | | `reviewer.label` | Free-form label Google shows next to the name | | `photos[]` | Photos attached to the review (`id`, `url`, `width`, `height`) | | `reviewUrl` | Permalink to the review on Google Maps | | `placeUrl` | The place URL this review was scraped from | ### Pricing / Cost estimation This Actor uses **Puppeteer (headless Chrome)** to render the Maps panel and intercept the reviews API. Typical costs on Apify: - **~0.02–0.05 compute units** per place for ~100 reviews - The Actor blocks images, fonts, and media to keep bandwidth low - After the first XHR is captured, pagination is pure `fetch()` — no extra page loads The **Apify Free plan** includes $5/month in free usage, enough for thousands of reviews. For large-scale or recurring scrapes, a paid plan is recommended. ### Tips and advanced options - **Scrape multiple places** — add several URLs to `startUrls`; each is processed independently. - **Use `reviewsStartDate` for incremental runs** — set it to the timestamp of the previous run to collect only new reviews. Sort order is forced to `newest` so the run exits as soon as it crosses the cutoff. - **Sort by `lowestRating`** — fastest way to surface complaints for QA or competitor analysis. - **Schedule recurring runs** — use Apify's scheduler to monitor reviews daily and trigger alerts on negative sentiment. - **Export to Google Sheets** — use the [Apify Google Sheets integration](https://apify.com/integrations) to push results directly into a spreadsheet. ### FAQ, disclaimers, and support **Is it legal to scrape Google Maps reviews?** Reviews are publicly visible and generally permissible to collect for personal, research, and non-commercial purposes in many jurisdictions. However, Google's Terms of Service restrict automated access. Use this Actor responsibly, respect rate limits, and avoid storing personal data without a legal basis. Always consult a legal professional for your specific use case. **Why are fewer reviews returned than `maxReviewsPerPlace`?** The place may simply have fewer reviews than the limit, or Google may have stopped returning a `nextPageToken` before the limit was reached. Combined with `reviewsStartDate`, the run also stops as soon as it crosses the cutoff. **Why does the Actor occasionally reload the page?** Google sometimes serves a layout that hides the Reviews panel. The Actor retries up to four times — clicking the Reviews tab and reloading — before giving up. A debug screenshot and HTML dump are saved to the key-value store on failure. **Known limitations** - Google frequently changes the internal `listugcposts` response shape; if extraction breaks, the scraper needs an update. - Reviews not displayed by Google's own UI (e.g. flagged or removed) are not accessible. **Support** Found a bug or need a custom solution? Open an issue on the [Issues tab](../../issues) or contact us through [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com). ### Included features - **[Puppeteer Crawler](https://crawlee.dev/api/puppeteer-crawler/class/PuppeteerCrawler)** — headless Chrome with anti-detection fingerprinting - **In-page `fetch()` pagination** — no scroll latency, just direct API calls reusing the page's session cookies - **[Input schema](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/input-schema)** — typed, validated input with sensible defaults - **[Dataset](https://docs.apify.com/sdk/js/docs/guides/result-storage#dataset)** — structured, exportable review records - **[Apify SDK](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/)** — toolkit for building Actors ### How it works 1. `Actor.getInput()` reads the input and extracts the place FID (`!1s` slot) from each URL. 2. `PuppeteerCrawler` opens each place page with a Windows/Linux desktop fingerprint, blocking images and fonts to keep bandwidth low. 3. The handler clicks the **Reviews** tab if the panel did not auto-load and waits for `[data-review-id]` to appear. 4. If a sort order other than `mostRelevant` is requested, the dropdown is opened and the matching option is clicked, triggering a fresh `listugcposts` XHR. 5. A `page.on('response')` listener catches every `/maps/rpc/list` response, strips Google's `)]}'` XSSI prefix, and parses the JSON into structured review objects. 6. Once the URL template and `nextPageToken` are known, pagination switches to direct in-page `fetch()` calls — replacing the `!2s` token slot — until `maxReviewsPerPlace` is reached, no token is returned, or `reviewsStartDate` is crossed. 7. Reviews are deduplicated by `reviewId` and pushed to the dataset with `Actor.pushData()`. ### Getting started For complete information [see this article](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development#build-actor-locally). To run the Actor locally: ```bash apify run ``` ### Deploy to Apify #### Connect Git repository to Apify If you've created a Git repository for the project, you can easily connect to Apify: 1. Go to [Actor creation page](https://console.apify.com/actors/new) 2. Click on **Link Git Repository** button #### Push project on your local machine to Apify You can also deploy from your local machine without a Git repository: 1. Log in to Apify (you'll need your [Apify API Token](https://console.apify.com/account/integrations)): ```bash apify login ``` 2. Deploy your Actor. This builds the Actor on the Apify Platform; find it under [Actors → My Actors](https://console.apify.com/actors?tab=my): ```bash apify push ``` ### Documentation reference - [Apify SDK for JavaScript documentation](https://docs.apify.com/sdk/js) - [Apify Platform documentation](https://docs.apify.com/platform) - [Crawlee documentation](https://crawlee.dev) - [Join our developer community on Discord](https://discord.com/invite/jyEM2PRvMU) # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Google Maps place URLs to scrape reviews from. ## `maxReviewsPerPlace` (type: `integer`): Stop after collecting this many reviews per place. ## `sortOrder` (type: `string`): How Google should order the reviews before we collect them. ## `reviewsStartDate` (type: `string`): Only scrape reviews newer than this date. Absolute ISO date (e.g. 2024-05-03 or 2024-05-03T20:00:00 — UTC) or relative phrase (e.g. '8 days', '3 months'). Supported units: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. When set, sortOrder is forced to 'Newest' so the run can stop as soon as it hits an older review. ## `fuzzySearch` (type: `string`): Fuzzy search the results and print them to console. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/@10.7832864,106.646065,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6!8m2!3d10.7832864!4d106.646065!16s%2Fg%2F11l722hqsf" } ], "maxReviewsPerPlace": 10, "sortOrder": "mostRelevant", "fuzzySearch": "cute shop" } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/@10.7832864,106.646065,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6!8m2!3d10.7832864!4d106.646065!16s%2Fg%2F11l722hqsf" } ], "fuzzySearch": "cute shop" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/@10.7832864,106.646065,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6!8m2!3d10.7832864!4d106.646065!16s%2Fg%2F11l722hqsf" }], "fuzzySearch": "cute shop", } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alien+Store/@10.7832864,106.646065,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x31752fc26ef62299:0x91b03a6ca3ba9aa6!8m2!3d10.7832864!4d106.646065!16s%2Fg%2F11l722hqsf" } ], "fuzzySearch": "cute shop" }' | apify call dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=dtrungtin/google-maps-reviews-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Google Maps REVIEWS Scraper", "description": "Extract reviews from any **[Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps)** place at scale. The scraper collects review text, ratings, reviewer profiles, photos, and timestamps", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "CQtiJzTiLH1PsSkrV" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/dtrungtin~google-maps-reviews-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-dtrungtin-google-maps-reviews-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/dtrungtin~google-maps-reviews-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-dtrungtin-google-maps-reviews-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/dtrungtin~google-maps-reviews-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-dtrungtin-google-maps-reviews-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "startUrls" ], "properties": { "startUrls": { "title": "Start URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Google Maps place URLs to scrape reviews from.", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "url" ], "properties": { "url": { "type": "string", "title": "URL of a web page", "format": "uri" } } } }, "maxReviewsPerPlace": { "title": "Max reviews per place", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Stop after collecting this many reviews per place.", "default": 10 }, "sortOrder": { "title": "Sort order", "enum": [ "mostRelevant", "newest", "highestRating", "lowestRating" ], "type": "string", "description": "How Google should order the reviews before we collect them.", "default": "mostRelevant" }, "reviewsStartDate": { "title": "Reviews start date", "type": "string", "description": "Only scrape reviews newer than this date. Absolute ISO date (e.g. 2024-05-03 or 2024-05-03T20:00:00 — UTC) or relative phrase (e.g. '8 days', '3 months'). Supported units: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. When set, sortOrder is forced to 'Newest' so the run can stop as soon as it hits an older review." }, "fuzzySearch": { "title": "Fuzzy search", "type": "string", "description": "Fuzzy search the results and print them to console." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```