Originally published on proxymint.
How to scrape Google Maps: how the Places API is billed now, what Google's terms allow, and a scraping method for public business data with city-level proxies.
TL;DR
- Try the Places API before scraping. Since March 1, 2025 the Google Maps API free tier is a monthly cap per SKU, so a job of a few hundred places with phone and website often fits inside it.
- Google's terms say no to scraping on both routes. Section 3.2.3(a) of the Maps Platform terms names bulk downloads of places information, and the end user terms ban mass downloads and bulk feeds of Maps content.
- The API does not give you a database either. Only place IDs may be stored indefinitely and coordinates for up to 30 days, so the API cannot back a permanent lead list.
- Proxies only matter on the browser route. Residential exits with city targeting fit it, because the exit can sit in the map area; datacenter IPv4 is located by country only, and mobile is built for carrier-origin targets rather than a catalog-style job.
Key takeaways
- Write the field mask first. List the fields the job needs before choosing a route: phone, website and rating put a Text Search request on the Enterprise SKU, billed per 1,000 requests after 1,000 free a month.
- Measure places per request. Log how many new places each request returns on the first 100 calls; that ratio sets how many billable requests the job needs before deciding between the API and a browser.
- Leave reviews and personal contact data alone. Reviewer names and a sole trader's mobile number are personal data, and Google's terms name user reviews explicitly.
- Treat a challenge page as a stop. Slow down, narrow the job or move it to the API; never push through with a captcha solver or a fresh exit.
Read the full guide on proxymint, with the commands, tables and sources.
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