01Places · Google Maps scraper
Google Maps scraper — three real ways to get the data, and what each costs
"Google Maps scraper" covers three different things people actually mean: Google's own Places API, a hosted scraper that does the querying for you, and a script you run yourself. They are not interchangeable — the billing unit, the setup, and what you learn about the data before you pay all differ. This page is the map of the three, and links to the specifics.
The three paths, side by side
| Google Places API | Hosted scraper (RankFabrik) | DIY script | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per SKU call (search, then details) | Per place returned — one call, full record | Your own compute + proxy bill |
| Setup | Google Cloud project, billing account, API key | An Apify account, or a RankFabrik key | A scraper, proxies, and upkeep when the markup changes |
| Fill rate before you pay | No | Yes — completeness on every response | Unknown until you inspect the output yourself |
| Empty results | Still billed | Never billed | Wastes your own compute time |
| Ongoing maintenance | None — Google maintains it | None — RankFabrik maintains it | Yours, every time the page layout changes |
The honest short version: the API is the safest legal footing but the most expensive per complete record; a hosted scraper trades a small dependency for one flat price and a quality signal up front; a DIY script is free until you count your own time.
Option 1 — Google's own Places API
The official route. Text Search or Nearby Search finds businesses; Place Details fills in phone, website and hours for one place at a time — two SKUs, billed separately, so a complete record costs more than the headline search price suggests.
What the Places API returns, and how to get a key → The real per-1,000 cost →
Option 2 — a hosted scraper
RankFabrik runs the collection for you: /rechercher for up to 20 places
around a point or a search term, /balayer to sweep a whole area in cells,
deduplicated on the place identifier before anything is billed, and /villes
— free, no units — for the 16 preloaded cities ready to go. One event per place returned,
nothing charged for an empty run.
place — map record
place-contact — record + email read from the site
Pay per place returned — you are charged only for events the actor actually returns, never for an empty run. Metered and billed by Apify; no separate RankFabrik account to open.
Run it on Apify — pay per place returned → Endpoints and a real request/response →
Option 3 — a DIY script
Technically free, and legally the murkiest of the three — see the compliance question below. It also means keeping the scraper working every time the page markup changes, and running your own proxies to avoid getting blocked. For a one-off pull of a few dozen listings it can make sense; for anything recurring, the maintenance cost usually exceeds a flat per-record price.
Questions
Does Google Maps allow scraping?
No — Google's Maps Platform terms prohibit systematically extracting or storing map content outside the official API. That restriction is about scraping Google's own interface. RankFabrik is a separate service: it collects and republishes public business listings under its own terms, and the footer of every page on this site says it plainly — independent, not affiliated with or endorsed by Google or any platform whose public data is collected.
Is web scraping illegal?
Not inherently, and there is no single yes/no answer. Collecting data that is publicly visible without logging in is generally treated differently from bypassing a login or a paywall, and how a given jurisdiction and a given target's Terms of Service apply can change the answer. This is general information, not legal advice — read the terms of whatever source you plan to collect from, and check with a lawyer for your specific case.
Is there a tool that can scrape addresses from Google Maps?
Yes. RankFabrik's `/rechercher` endpoint returns up to 20 places around a point or a search term, address included every time — it's the one field with 100% fill rate on a real sweep. `/balayer` does the same over a whole area, split into cells and deduplicated on the place identifier before anything is billed.
What is the best free Google Maps scraper?
Honestly: there isn't a permanently free one worth trusting for volume, on RankFabrik or elsewhere — free tools cap out fast or go stale. What RankFabrik does offer for free is `/villes`, the list of 16 preloaded cities ready to sweep, which uses no billing units. Past that, pay-per-event pricing with no monthly minimum means a real test batch costs a few cents, not a subscription.