# Google Maps Reviews Extractor (`zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python`) Actor

Extract structured customer reviews from one public Google Maps business or place URL.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python.md
- **Developed by:** [Zapticx](https://apify.com/zapticx) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Social media, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.30 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Extractor

Extract real customer reviews from one public Google Maps business or place URL and save
every review as a clean row in an Apify Dataset.

This is an **unofficial** Actor. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by
Google.

### Quick start

1. Open the business in Google Maps.
2. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar.
3. Paste it into **Google Maps place URL**.
4. Choose how many reviews you want.
5. Select a review order and click **Start**.
6. Open the run's **Dataset** tab to view or download the results.

Direct access is the tested default and avoids proxy charges. If Google repeatedly returns its
limited-view page, enable a working residential proxy in the advanced input.

### What you get

Each Dataset item represents one review and can contain:

- Business name and URL
- Reviewer name and profile URL
- Reviewer's review and photo counts
- Star rating and review text
- Original and normalized review dates
- Owner response and response date
- Review URL and Google review ID

Optional fields are `null` when Google does not provide them. Duplicate reviews are removed
before they are stored.

### Input

| Field | Description | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `startUrl` | One public Google Maps business/place URL | Required |
| `maxReviews` | Maximum unique reviews to collect, from 1 to 500 | `50` |
| `sort` | `relevant`, `newest`, `highest`, or `lowest` | `relevant` |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Optional connection used to load Google Maps | Direct (proxy off) |

Example:

```json
{
  "startUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/EXAMPLE/...",
  "maxReviews": 50,
  "sort": "newest",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "businessName": "Example Coffee",
  "businessUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/EXAMPLE/...",
  "reviewerName": "Example Reviewer",
  "reviewerProfileUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/...",
  "reviewerReviewCount": 12,
  "reviewerPhotoCount": 3,
  "rating": 5.0,
  "reviewText": "Friendly staff and excellent coffee.",
  "reviewDate": "2026-08-06",
  "reviewDateRaw": "a week ago",
  "ownerResponse": "Thank you for visiting!",
  "ownerResponseDate": "5 days ago",
  "reviewUrl": null,
  "reviewId": "Google-provided-review-id"
}
```

This example only demonstrates the record structure. The Actor never adds sample reviews to
your Dataset.

### How it works

```text
Google Maps URL
    → open the business reviews
    → apply the selected order
    → load more review cards
    → extract and remove duplicates
    → save each review to the Dataset
```

The Actor stops when it reaches `maxReviews` or when Google has no more reviews to load. A
failed or blocked page produces a clear error instead of an empty, apparently successful run.

### Downloading results

Open **Storage → Dataset** after a run. Apify can export the results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML,
RSS, or JSONL. You can also access the Dataset through the Apify API.

### Run locally

Python 3.11 or newer is recommended.

```bash
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
playwright install chromium
```

Replace the placeholder URL in `INPUT.json`, then run:

```bash
python -m src
```

Local results appear in `storage/datasets/default/`. Google can occasionally return a limited
view with no reviews. The Actor retries automatically. If it happens repeatedly, enable a working
residential proxy; that requires access to the proxy group and incurs proxy usage charges.

Development checks:

```bash
ruff check .
pytest
```

### Deploy privately to Apify

```bash
apify login
apify push
```

Deploying does not publish the Actor. It remains private in **Development → My Actors** until
you explicitly use **Publish to Store** in Apify Console.

### Limitations

- Google Maps is dynamic and can change its interface without notice.
- Google can rate-limit or block automated browsers. The Actor retries automatically; a working
  residential proxy can help when direct runs repeatedly receive Google's limited-view page.
- `reviewDate` is an approximate ISO date for English relative labels such as “2 weeks ago.”
  The original value is preserved in `reviewDateRaw`.
- Some optional fields, especially shareable review URLs, are not displayed for every review.
- A place with fewer available reviews can return less than `maxReviews`.

Use the Actor responsibly and ensure your collection and processing of reviewer information
complies with applicable laws and platform terms.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrl` (type: `string`):

Open the business in Google Maps and paste the URL from your browser's address bar.

## `maxReviews` (type: `integer`):

The Actor stops after collecting this many unique reviews, or earlier if no more are available.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Choose which reviews should appear first.

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

Direct access is the tested default. Turn on a residential proxy if Google repeatedly shows a limited-view page.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7094829,-74.0126113,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2592f4977ef97:0xf78d57398ac93494!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a177d4bf5db:0x84e51f23e8c0a75c!8m2!3d40.7094789!4d-74.0100364!16s%2Fg%2F1thtf190?hl=en",
  "maxReviews": 5,
  "sort": "relevant",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `reviews` (type: `string`):

Review records stored in the run's default dataset.

# 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 = {
    "startUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7094829,-74.0126113,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2592f4977ef97:0xf78d57398ac93494!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a177d4bf5db:0x84e51f23e8c0a75c!8m2!3d40.7094789!4d-74.0100364!16s%2Fg%2F1thtf190?hl=en",
    "maxReviews": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python").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 = {
    "startUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7094829,-74.0126113,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2592f4977ef97:0xf78d57398ac93494!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a177d4bf5db:0x84e51f23e8c0a75c!8m2!3d40.7094789!4d-74.0100364!16s%2Fg%2F1thtf190?hl=en",
    "maxReviews": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python").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 '{
  "startUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald%27s/@40.7094829,-74.0126113,17z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x89c2592f4977ef97:0xf78d57398ac93494!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a177d4bf5db:0x84e51f23e8c0a75c!8m2!3d40.7094789!4d-74.0100364!16s%2Fg%2F1thtf190?hl=en",
  "maxReviews": 5
}' |
apify call zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,zapticx/google-maps-reviews-python"
        }
    }
}

```

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/R3uALxgXZzAuYixRx/builds/1UlFuzM5aGQxFG2CN/openapi.json