Google Maps Leads for Free: 4 Data Sources Compared

Search for “google maps scraper free” and you’ll find browser extensions and GitHub scripts that drive a browser through Maps. They work until they don’t: Maps changes its markup, your IP gets throttled, and automated scraping of Google Maps is against Google’s terms of service.

The good news is that you rarely need one. There are sanctioned, stable sources for the same data, and for lead finding you only need a handful of fields: name, address, phone, website, rating and review count.

Costs as of October 2026. Check each provider’s pricing page for current rates, since they change.

The Places API (New) Text Search takes a query like “plumbers in Ottawa” and returns businesses with the fields you ask for, in pages. Google Maps Platform includes a monthly free usage allowance per API. A personal lead-finding habit usually fits inside it, but check the current pricing for your volume.

Two tips if you use it directly:

• Use a tight field mask. You’re billed by the most expensive field you request, so only ask for what you need.
• Restrict your key to the Places API, and set a budget alert in Google Cloud.

In PresenceZero you paste the key on the Settings page (it’s stored in your own local database) or set GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY.

Apify’s Google Maps actor runs the collection on Apify’s infrastructure and returns structured results. You only need one API token, with no Cloud project or billing setup. At about $0.004 per place, Apify’s monthly $5 free credit covers roughly 1,250 places. When the credit runs out, runs simply stop. Review Apify’s terms for your use case.

The thing to watch is cost control. Many actor options are billed extras, and leaving the result cap empty means “scrape everything”. PresenceZero sends only a fixed, minimal set of options and always sets a cap (100 places by default), so a scan can’t quietly run up a bill.

OpenStreetMap data is open (ODbL licensed) and queryable with the free Overpass API. To geocode the city, use Nominatim. No account or key is needed, which makes it the best starting point.

The trade-offs:

• Coverage depends on local mappers. Before you trust a scan, check your area on openstreetmap.org and see whether the businesses you know are there.
• No ratings or reviews, so scores lean more on web presence and domain availability.
• Categories are tags. You search craft=plumber, not free text. PresenceZero maps 23 everyday categories (restaurants, cafes, dentists, salons, plumbers, electricians, gyms and more) and understands plurals and synonyms like “salon” or “coffee shop”.
• Shared, volunteer-run servers. Keep queries modest and expect the occasional busy response. Wait and retry.

For a ready-made query that finds businesses with no website tag, see method 2 of our main guide.

Have a chamber-of-commerce export, a licence registry download, or a list from another tool? Import it. PresenceZero expects a header row:

name,address,phone,category,rating,review_count,website

Only name is required. Every row then goes through the same website check, domain check and scoring as a scan, which turns a raw list into a ranked one.

• Just trying it out? OpenStreetMap: zero setup, zero cost.
• Want Google-quality data with the least setup? Apify, on its free monthly credit.
• Running scans regularly at volume? The Places API with your own key and a budget alert.
• Already have a list? CSV.