Photon Geocoder Scraper

Photon Geocoder Scraper

Convert addresses to coordinates and coordinates to addresses with the free Photon geocoder, up to a million results per run. Each match returns its latitude, longitude, full address, place type, and bounding box. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Google's Geocoding API charges per request and needs a billing account. This Actor calls the public Photon API, built on OpenStreetMap data, to geocode place names or reverse geocode coordinates. You get a flat list of matching locations with no rate limits to manage.

Who uses it	What they scrape Photon Geocoder for
Data analysts	Enrich a list of addresses with coordinates for mapping.
Logistics planners	Convert delivery point coordinates into readable street addresses.
Real estate researchers	Geocode property listings to analyze spatial distribution.
App developers	Batch geocode user-submitted place names for a location feature.

What it does

This Actor geocodes a free-text query into matching places or reverse geocodes a latitude/longitude pair into the nearest address, and returns each result as a flat row.

• 📍 Forward geocoding: Turn a place name or address into coordinates and structured location data.
• 🔄 Reverse geocoding: Turn a latitude and longitude pair into the nearest human-readable place or address.
• 🌐 Multi-language results: Request place names in English, German, French, Italian, or Spanish where available.
• 📊 Structured output: Each row includes the display name, latitude, longitude, place type, and bounding box.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Photon Geocoder data

🗺️ Geocode a list of addresses for a map.

A data analyst runs the Actor with a CSV of place names, collects coordinates for each, and plots them on a Leaflet map.

📍 Find what is at a specific coordinate.

A field researcher feeds a GPS point into reverse geocoding mode to get the nearest street address and neighborhood name.

🏘️ Enrich a property database with location data.

A real estate analyst geocodes property addresses to join them with school district and transit shapefiles.

🚚 Normalize delivery addresses from GPS pings.

A logistics planner reverse geocodes driver stop coordinates to verify the actual delivery location against the manifest.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Photon is a free, public API. You do not need to register an app or manage credentials.
OpenStreetMap data	Results are based on the community-maintained OSM database, updated continuously.
Flat output	Every match arrives as one row, ready for spreadsheets, databases, or map visualizations.

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Photon Geocoder the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	Photon Geocoder Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Photon Geocoder changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a single search query for forward geocoding or a coordinate pair for reverse geocoding, and set a maximum number of results to cap your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "query": "Brandenburg Gate, Berlin",
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "query": "Brandenburg Gate, Berlin",
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.004 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.40
1,000 results	$4.00
10,000 results	$40.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Photon Geocoder Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Photon Geocoder through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/photon-geocoder-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your query is spelled correctly and is specific enough. For reverse geocoding, verify that both latitude and longitude are filled in and use a period as the decimal separator.

The Actor returns results in the wrong language.

Set the Result Language field to your preferred language. If Photon does not have a name in that language, it falls back to the local default.

I set a high maxItems but got fewer results.

Photon returns only the matches it finds. If your query is very broad, try making it more specific or adding a bounding box to narrow the area.

The reverse geocoding result is not the exact address I expected.

Photon returns the nearest named place or address in OpenStreetMap. For a precise street address, ensure the coordinate is accurate and try a forward geocoding query with the full address instead.

I get a timeout or server error.

The public Photon API may be temporarily overloaded. Retry the run after a few minutes. If the problem persists, reduce the maxItems value to lighten the request.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is Photon?	Photon is an open-source geocoder built on OpenStreetMap data, maintained by Komoot. It provides a free, public API for forward and reverse geocoding without an API key.
Do I need an API key to use this Actor?	No. The Actor calls the public Photon API endpoint, which does not require authentication or an API key.
How many results can I get per run?	You can set the maximum items up to one million. The actual number returned depends on how many matches Photon finds for your query.
What is the difference between forward and reverse geocoding?	Forward geocoding converts a text query like 'Berlin' into coordinates. Reverse geocoding converts a latitude and longitude pair into the nearest place or address.
Can I geocode multiple queries in one run?	The Actor processes one query or one coordinate pair per run. To batch many queries, use Apify's task scheduling or call the Actor from an integration like Make or Zapier.
What data does each result contain?	Each row includes the place name, full address, latitude, longitude, OpenStreetMap place type, and a bounding box array.
Which languages are supported for place names?	You can request results in English, German, French, Italian, or Spanish. The default is English.
What coordinate format should I use for reverse geocoding?	Provide latitude and longitude as decimal degrees, for example 52.5162699 and 13.3777034.
Is there a rate limit on the Photon API?	The public Photon endpoint has a fair-use policy. For very large volumes, consider self-hosting a Photon instance or running the Actor with a reasonable delay.
Can I filter results by country or bounding box?	The Photon API supports a bounding box filter. You can add a bbox parameter directly in the query string, for example 'Berlin&bbox=13.0,52.4,13.8,52.7'.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Komoot GmbH. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.