# Local Business Leads Scraper - MX-Checked Emails & Phones (`plotpointtech/local-business-leads`) Actor

Find local businesses by category and city, then get the emails, phones and social links each one publishes on its own website. Every email is MX-checked and graded. OpenStreetMap data, no Google. $4 per 1,000 leads.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/plotpointtech/local-business-leads.md
- **Developed by:** [Plot Point Technologies](https://apify.com/plotpointtech) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.48 / 1,000 business leads

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## Local Business Leads Scraper: MX-Checked Emails and Phones

**Find local businesses by category and city, then get the email addresses each business publishes on its own website.** Every email comes with the page it was found on, a DNS mail-server (MX) check and a plain-language confidence grade, so you can see why it is in your list before you send anything. Business listings come from OpenStreetMap, not Google, so there are no Maps terms to worry about.

### What can this local leads scraper do?

1. **Finds businesses** in OpenStreetMap by exact category (dentist, plumber, restaurant, lawyer, accountant, hairdresser, car repair, pest control and 100+ more, or raw tags like `craft=roofer`) inside the official boundary of a city, county, state or region.
2. **Visits each business's own website** (homepage plus the most likely contact, about and imprint pages) and collects emails, phones and social profile links. robots.txt is respected.
3. **Checks every email:** valid syntax, a working MX record, junk and platform addresses removed. Emails are never guessed from name patterns.
4. **Grades each email** high, medium or low, and picks a `bestEmail`.

| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **high** | Published on the business's website, on its own domain, with a working MX record |
| **medium** | A free-mail address matching the business name, an own-domain address listed only in OpenStreetMap, or similar |
| **low** | An unrelated domain (often the web agency), a non-matching free-mail address, or no MX record |

### What data do you get?

`name`, `category`, `osmTags`, `address`, `street`, `city`, `state`, `postcode`, `country`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `phone`, `phones`, `website`, `bestEmail`, `bestEmailConfidence`, `emails[]` (email, confidence, reason, type, ownDomain, freeMail, mxRecord, sourceUrl, foundOn, foundVia), `socials`, `openingHours`, `osmId`, `osmUrl`, `websiteStatus`, `pagesChecked`, `dataSource`.

### Who uses it?

- **Agencies and freelancers** prospecting local businesses in one sector and city.
- **Software and service companies** building outreach lists for clinics, trades, restaurants or shops.
- **Researchers** who need local businesses with addresses, coordinates and opening hours.

### How to use it

1. Click **Try for free** (or **Start**).
2. Enter **Business categories** (for example `dentist`) and a **Location** (for example `Madison, Wisconsin, USA`).
3. Turn on **Only leads with an email** to pay only for businesses with a checked email.
4. Run it and export to Excel, CSV or your CRM.

### Input example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "dentist"
  ],
  "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA",
  "maxResults": 20,
  "onlyWithEmail": true,
  "minEmailConfidence": "medium"
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "name": "University Square Dental",
  "category": "dentist",
  "osmTags": {
    "amenity": "dentist",
    "healthcare": "dentist"
  },
  "address": "517 North Lake Street, Madison, US",
  "street": "517 North Lake Street",
  "city": "Madison",
  "state": null,
  "postcode": null,
  "country": "US",
  "latitude": 43.0754428,
  "longitude": -89.3971674,
  "phone": "+1 608-256-6839",
  "phones": [
    "+1 608-256-6839"
  ],
  "website": "https://www.usquaredental.com/",
  "bestEmail": "frontdesk@usquaredental.com",
  "bestEmailConfidence": "high",
  "emails": [
    {
      "email": "frontdesk@usquaredental.com",
      "confidence": "high",
      "reason": "published on the business website, on the website's own domain, MX record found",
      "type": "role",
      "ownDomain": true,
      "freeMail": false,
      "mxRecord": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.usquaredental.com/",
      "foundOn": [
        "https://www.usquaredental.com/",
        "https://www.usquaredental.com/dental-implant",
        "https://www.usquaredental.com/meet-the-team"
      ],
      "foundVia": [
        "mailto-link",
        "structured-data",
        "text"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "socials": {
    "facebook": [
      "https://www.facebook.com/usquaredental",
      "https://www.facebook.com/University-Square-Dental-Associates-524897430857375"
    ],
    "instagram": [
      "https://www.instagram.com/usquaredental"
    ]
  },
  "openingHours": null,
  "osmId": "node/6893811219",
  "osmUrl": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/6893811219",
  "websiteStatus": "checked",
  "pagesChecked": [
    "https://www.usquaredental.com/",
    "https://www.usquaredental.com/dental-implant",
    "https://www.usquaredental.com/meet-the-team"
  ],
  "dataSource": "Business listing: © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0), https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright. Emails/phones/social links: published on the business's o..."
}
```

### How much does it cost?

**$4 per 1,000 leads** ($0.004 per business saved), plus a $0.00005 start fee per run. No separate compute charges.

| You get | You pay |
|---|---|
| 20 dentists in one city | $0.08 |
| 250 restaurants with checked emails | $1.00 |
| 1,000 leads | $4.00 |

With "Only leads with an email" on, businesses without a checked email are skipped free of charge. Runs that find nothing cost only the start fee.

### Use it via API, Make, Zapier, n8n or an AI agent

**Apify API.** Start a run and get the results back in one HTTP request (replace `YOUR_API_TOKEN` with the token from Apify Console > Settings > Integrations):

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/plotpointtech~local-business-leads/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"categories": ["dentist"], "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA", "maxResults": 20, "onlyWithEmail": true, "minEmailConfidence": "medium"}'
```

For longer jobs, start the run asynchronously and read the dataset when it finishes. Official `apify-client` libraries exist for Python and JavaScript; the **API** tab on this page has ready-made code.

**No-code automation.** Connect the tool to **Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable** or any webhook with Apify integrations, and use **Schedules** in Apify Console to run it hourly, daily or weekly.

**AI agents (MCP).** Give Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP-compatible agent direct access to this tool through the hosted Apify MCP server. Add this server URL to your client:

```
https://mcp.apify.com?tools=plotpointtech/local-business-leads
```

The agent can then call the tool with the same input fields shown above and read the results.

### FAQ

**Is it legal to collect these leads?**
Listings come from OpenStreetMap under the Open Database License (credit "© OpenStreetMap contributors" if you share derived data; each row carries this note). Emails and phones are the ones businesses publish on their own public websites. Outreach is regulated (GDPR and ePrivacy in the EU/UK, CAN-SPAM in the US, and others): you are responsible for using the contacts lawfully.

**Are the emails verified?**
They are published by the business and MX-checked, which removes dead domains and typos. The tool does not log in to mail servers (SMTP verification), so a mailbox can still be full or closed.

**Why did I get fewer businesses than expected?**
Coverage depends on OpenStreetMap. It is strong for restaurants, cafes, shops, hotels, clinics and dentists in most of Europe and many US cities, and thinner for some trades. The run log shows how many matching businesses the map had. Try a wider area or a related category.

**Does it use Google Maps?**
No. It uses OpenStreetMap (Nominatim and the Overpass API) politely, plus each business's own website.

**Can I search around a point?**
Yes. Use latitude, longitude and a radius, or a bounding box, instead of a place name.

### Related tools from Plot Point Technologies

- [Email & Contact Scraper - Website Emails, Phones & Socials](https://apify.com/plotpointtech/website-contact-finder): emails, phones and social links from any list of company websites.
- [Building Permits Scraper - Construction Leads, 13 Cities](https://apify.com/plotpointtech/building-permits-feed): new building permits from 13 US and Canadian cities, one format.
- [Website Tech Stack Detector - CMS, Analytics & 290+ Techs](https://apify.com/plotpointtech/website-technology-detector): CMS, ecommerce, analytics, pixels and hosting of any website.

Plot Point Technologies is not affiliated with OpenStreetMap, the OpenStreetMap Foundation, Nominatim or the Overpass API.

***

If this tool saved you time, we would be grateful for a short review on this page; it helps other people find it. If something did not work as expected, please open an issue on the **Issues** tab and we will look into it quickly.

# Actor input Schema

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

Plain names such as dentist, plumber, restaurant, lawyer, accountant, hairdresser, car repair, pest control, hotel, or raw OpenStreetMap tags such as craft=roofer or shop=bakery. Only businesses carrying the exact matching tag are returned.

## `location` (type: `string`):

City, county, state or region name, e.g. 'Madison, Wisconsin, USA' or 'Lyon, France'. Searched within the official boundary of that place. Leave empty if you use a bounding box or coordinates below.

## `countryCode` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code (e.g. us, de) to make the place name unambiguous.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many businesses are saved. Businesses with a website are processed first.

## `onlyWithEmail` (type: `boolean`):

Save (and charge for) only businesses where at least one email was found and passed the checks. Others are skipped free of charge.

## `minEmailConfidence` (type: `string`):

Leave out emails graded below this level. High = published on the business's own website domain with a working mail server (MX record).

## `onlyWithWebsite` (type: `boolean`):

Skip businesses that have no website listed in OpenStreetMap.

## `maxPagesPerSite` (type: `integer`):

Homepage plus the most likely contact, about and imprint pages, up to this many pages per business website.

## `boundingBox` (type: `string`):

Instead of a place name: south, west, north, east in decimal degrees, e.g. 43.03, -89.45, 43.12, -89.30.

## `latitude` (type: `string`):

Instead of a place name: search around this point (use with longitude and radius).

## `longitude` (type: `string`):

Longitude of the center point.

## `radiusKm` (type: `integer`):

Search radius around the center point, or around a place name that has no boundary (e.g. a small village). 1-50 km.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many business websites to check in parallel.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "dentist"
  ],
  "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA",
  "maxResults": 20,
  "onlyWithEmail": false,
  "minEmailConfidence": "low",
  "onlyWithWebsite": false,
  "maxPagesPerSite": 4,
  "radiusKm": 10,
  "maxConcurrency": 8
}
```

# 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": [
        "dentist"
    ],
    "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA",
    "maxResults": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("plotpointtech/local-business-leads").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": ["dentist"],
    "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA",
    "maxResults": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("plotpointtech/local-business-leads").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": [
    "dentist"
  ],
  "location": "Madison, Wisconsin, USA",
  "maxResults": 20
}' |
apify call plotpointtech/local-business-leads --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/RgWk36YAPoPIIqbbk/builds/VBpyhWYZ5KqlH62lQ/openapi.json