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PlacesData API
vs Google Places APIvs Outscrapervs SerpApivs Apify Google Maps Scrapervs Bright Datavs PhantomBustervs Scrap.iovs Geocodio (geocode.io)

PlacesData API vs Official Google Places API · SerpApi · Outscraper

$0.20 vs $32.00
per 1,000 places (up to 98% savings).

Official Google Places API charges $32.00 per 1,000 Text Search Pro requests (plus $3/1K Contact Data and $5/1K Atmosphere Data SKU add-ons), hard-caps results at 60 places per query and 5 reviews per business, and forbids caching data for CRM or lead generation. PlacesData API delivers full business profiles, phone numbers, websites, opening hours, unlimited customer reviews, and website B2B email enrichment starting at $0.20–$0.50 per 1,000 places.

Start Free ($1.20 · 12,000 Free Credits — No Card) →Compare All Plans

Instant API key in 5s · No credit card required (+20,000 Sandbox Streak Credits) · Pay via Stripe (Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay) or 0%-fee Crypto (+5% bonus)

Cost per 1,000 Google Maps Business Records (with Phone, Website & Hours)

PlacesData API (Business $0.20 · Base $0.50)$0.20 – $0.50
Official Google Places API (Text Search Pro + Contact SKU)$32.00

$1.00 = 10,000 Credits (5 Credits / place). Empty search results (0 matches) cost 0 Credits. Crypto top-ups automatically include +5% Bonus Credits.

Side-by-side comparison.

PlacesData API compared with Google Places API, SerpApi, and Outscraper
CapabilityPlacesData APIdevelopers.google.com/mapsSerpApiOutscraper
Effective cost per 1,000 places$0.20 – $0.50 / 1,000 places$32.00 – $40.00 / 1,000 calls$7.50 – $15.00 / 1,000 searches$1.00 – $3.00 / 1,000 places
Phone, website & hours included in searchIncluded free in /v1/places/searchExtra SKU charge (+$3.00 / 1K Contact Data)IncludedIncluded
Customer reviews per businessUnlimited cursor pagination ($0.08–$0.20/1K)Hard-capped at 5 reviews max20 reviews / call ($15/1K calls)$2.00 – $3.00 / 1,000 reviews
Website email & social link enrichmentBuilt-in (/v1/leads/enrich · 0 Credits if empty)Not availableNot availableExtra paid add-on ($3–$5 / 1K domains)
Pay-As-You-Go (never-expiring credits)Yes ($10 / $50 / $100 / $500 packs)Monthly postpaid bill shockNo (expiring monthly quota)Yes
Drop-in /maps/api/place/*/json compatibilityYes (1-line base URL swap)NativeNo (custom engine=google_maps param)No (async task polling)

Competitor pricing verified from public pricing pages as of November 2026. Actual costs may vary based on plan tier, concurrency add-ons, and overage rates. All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners. PlacesData API rates: $0.20 / 1K places (Business), $0.25 / 1K places (Pro), $0.50 / 1K places (Base PAYG).

PlacesData API transparent per-endpoint rate card ($1 = 10,000 Credits).

PlacesData API per-endpoint credit and USD rate card
CapabilityEndpointCredit RateEffective USD / 1K
Google Maps Text Search (Places, Ratings, Phone, Website, Hours, Coordinates)GET /v1/places/search5 Credits / place returned (min 10 Credits; 0 if empty)$0.20 – $0.50 / 1,000 places
Bounding-Box & Radius Viewport Search (Polygon / Grid Scanning)GET /v1/places/nearby5 Credits / place returned (min 10 Credits; 0 if empty)$0.20 – $0.50 / 1,000 places
Full Business Profile & Enriched Contacts (Place ID / CID / Google ID)GET /v1/places/details, GET /v1/places/{place_id}20 Credits / business profile$0.80 – $2.00 / 1,000 profiles
Verified Customer Reviews, Owner Replies & Reviewer MetadataGET /v1/places/reviews, GET /v1/places/{place_id}/reviews2 Credits / review returned (min 10 Credits; 0 if empty)$0.08 – $0.20 / 1,000 reviews
High-Res Business & StreetPhotos MetadataGET /v1/places/photos, GET /v1/places/{place_id}/photos2 Credits / photo returned (min 6 Credits; 0 if empty)$0.08 – $0.20 / 1,000 photos
Website Email, Phone & Social Media Lead Enrichment (8 Social Platforms)GET /v1/leads/enrich, GET /v1/domains/{domain}/contacts20 Credits / enriched domain (0 Credits if no emails/socials found)$0.80 – $2.00 / 1,000 enriched domains
Typeahead Place Autocomplete & Reverse Geocoding (Lat/Lng to Address)GET /v1/places/autocomplete, GET /v1/geocode/reverse5 Credits / request$0.20 – $0.50 / 1,000 calls

Why engineering teams switch from Google Places API.

Eliminate SKU Fragmentation & $32/1K Bill Shock

Google Cloud splits Place Search into Basic, Contact ($3/1K), and Atmosphere ($5/1K) SKUs. Requesting a phone number, website URL, or rating automatically bumps your bill to $32–$40 per 1,000 calls. On PlacesData API, every /v1/places/search record includes phone, website, hours, rating, and coordinates for 5 Credits ($0.0005 base, $0.0002 on Business).

Break Past the 5-Review & 60-Place Hard Caps

Official Google Places Details only returns the 5 most 'helpful' reviews and blocks sorting by newest or lowest rating. Our /v1/places/reviews endpoint extracts hundreds of verified reviews per place sorted by newest, highest_rating, or lowest_rating with full owner responses.

Built-In Website Email & Social Media Enrichment

Turn raw map pins into actionable B2B leads. Pass any business domain to GET /v1/leads/enrich to extract verified emails and LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X profiles—with 0 Credits charged when no contacts are found.

Migrate from Google Places API in 30 Seconds

Use our native /v1/places/search endpoint or keep your existing /maps/api/place/textsearch/json path by changing only the base URL:

Before (Official Google Places API — $32.00 / 1,000 calls)
import requests

# Costs $32/1K with Contact + Atmosphere FieldMask; capped at 20 results
res = requests.get(
    "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/textsearch/json",
    params={
        "query": "coffee shops in SoHo, New York",
        "key": "AIzaSyYourGoogleCloudKey",
    },
)
print(res.json()["results"])
After (PlacesData API — $0.20–$0.50 / 1,000 places + Full Contact Data)
import requests

# 5 Credits ($0.0002-$0.0005) per place; includes phone, website, hours & CID
res = requests.get(
    "https://api.placesdataapi.com/v1/places/search",
    headers={"x-api-key": "pd_live_your_api_key"},
    params={"q": "coffee shops in SoHo, New York", "limit": 20},
)
print(res.json()["data"])

1-Click Remote MCP Connector · Claude Web & ChatGPT

Connect live Google Maps & B2B email tools via OAuth 2.1.

Paste https://mcp.placesdataapi.com/v1/mcp into Claude.ai Settings → Connectors or ChatGPT Developer Mode for 1-click PKCE S256 login (or use https://api.placesdataapi.com/mcp with x-api-key in Cursor, Windsurf, and n8n).

Core Endpoints & Enrichment Docs

Interactive Engineering Workbench · Benchmark vs Google Places API

Verify real-time latency, credit math & JSON schema

5,000 places/day
5,000 reviews/day
500 domains/day
HTTP Calls / Day
600
Up to 100 items/call
Credit Unit
$1 = 10,000
Unified across 8 routes
Empty Result Fee
0 Credits
$0.00 for 0 matches
Estimated Monthly Pipeline Cost (30 Days)
$54.00/ mo on Business ($76.95 on Pro)
Monthly consumption: 1,350,000 Credits (45,000 Credits/day)
PlacesData API (Business $0.20/1K):$54.00 / mo
Official Google Places API ($32/1K):$5175.00 / mo
Empty search / unfound email fee:$0.00 (0 Credits)
Start Free (12,000 Credits) →Full Rate Card

Frequently asked questions

Does PlacesData API support the legacy /maps/api/place/textsearch/json path?
Yes. Our gateway exposes drop-in aliases for /maps/api/place/textsearch/json, /maps/api/place/nearbysearch/json, /maps/api/place/details/json, and /maps/api/place/autocomplete/json so you can test migration by changing only the hostname to api.placesdataapi.com.
Why is PlacesData API up to 98% cheaper than Google Cloud?
We combine a high-hit-rate PostgreSQL 16 + GiST spatial cache (200M+ business profiles) with direct wholesale SERP routing, eliminating per-field SKU markups and passing the savings directly to developers.

Test it against Google Places API for free.

Every new account receives 12,000 free Credits immediately — no card required.

Claim 12,000 Free CreditsView Full Pricing