---
title: "Google Places API Cost for Lead Lists: What 10,000 Businesses Really Cost"
slug: "google-places-api-cost-lead-lists-alternatives"
type: "blog-post"
url: "https://automationbyexperts.com/blog/google-places-api-cost-lead-lists-alternatives"
date: "2026-11-01"
category: "Lead Generation"
tags: ["google places api", "lead generation", "local business leads", "google maps data", "business directories"]
read_time: 7
author: "Youssef Farhan"
---

# Google Places API Cost for Lead Lists: What 10,000 Businesses Really Cost

> What the Google Places API costs once you request phone and website fields, what its terms say about lead lists, and cheaper public sources.

**Building a lead list from the Google Places API costs about $17 to $35 per 1,000 businesses once you ask for phone numbers and websites, and Google's terms do not appear to allow turning the results into a prospect database.** Third-party breakdowns put the free allowance at 1,000 to 10,000 calls a month depending on the tier. For lists of local businesses, public registers and directories are usually the cheaper and cleaner source.

## How much does the Google Places API cost for a lead list?

Since March 2025 Google no longer gives one pooled monthly credit. Instead each pricing tier has its own free cap, according to the [Woosmap guide to the free tier](https://www.woosmap.com/blog/is-google-maps-api-free) and Google's own pricing-categories page. The figures below come from third-party write-ups, and the sources do not agree on every number, so check Google's official price table before budgeting.

| Tier | Free calls per month (reported) | Typical price per 1,000 (reported) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Essentials (for example Place Details Essentials) | 10,000 | about $5 |
| Pro (for example Place Details Pro) | 5,000 | about $17 |
| Enterprise (phone and website fields) | 1,000 | about $20 to $35 |

The Woosmap pricing analysis reports Place Details Pro at $17 per 1,000 and Enterprise at $20, with Text Search Pro at $32 and Enterprise at $35. It also notes that you are billed at the highest tier among the fields you request. That matters for lead generation: a phone number and a website are the two fields a lead list needs, and they sit in the expensive tier.

## What does a 10,000-business list cost?

This is arithmetic on the reported prices above, not a measurement. If searching and fetching details both land in an Enterprise-style tier at roughly $35 per 1,000, and the first 1,000 calls are free, a list of 10,000 businesses with phone and website would come to roughly 9,000 billable calls, or about $315 for one pass. Run it monthly for freshness and the cost repeats. A search that returns 20 results per call also means several calls are spent just discovering the businesses before you fetch details.

## Can you legally store Google Maps data as a lead list?

This is the bigger problem than price. A July 2026 explainer from [Thunderbit](https://thunderbit.com/blog/is-scraping-google-maps-legal) that reviewed Google's policy documents concludes that Google's terms bar building prospect lists from Maps data. Google's Maps Platform terms also restrict caching and bulk export of content, with place IDs as the usual exception that may be stored. A separate terms-tracking page says Google introduced a new definition of restricted purposes and asks developers to recheck their use cases.

Views on enforcement differ. Some vendors say action against small-scale directory collection is rare, while legal commentators point out that a terms violation is still a breach of contract. This is not legal advice. If a list is going into a CRM that a sales team will use for months, read Google's current terms or ask a lawyer before you rely on it.

## What do local businesses publish elsewhere?

Many businesses appear in sources that were built to be public:

- **Government license registers.** City registers list new businesses with trade type and address. The [New Business License Feed](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/business-license-feed) reads the registers of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and New Orleans and returns only openings you have not seen before.

- **National directories.** [Canada411](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/canada411-ca) covers Canadian businesses and [11888.gr](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/11888-gr-scraper) covers Greek business phones, emails and websites.

- **Intent signals.** Instead of listing every plumber in a city, find the people asking for one, as covered in our post on [replacing Reddit lead alerts](https://automationbyexperts.com/blog/reddit-rss-api-shutdown-replace-reddit-lead-alerts).

We do not offer a Google Maps business scraper, so we are not recommending one here. The point is that the Places API is one option among several, and for many lists it is the most expensive one.

## Places API versus public registers: a quick comparison

| Question | Places API | Public registers and directories |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cost for contact fields | Billed per call, higher tier for phone and website | Per-result pricing, see each actor page |
| Free allowance | Capped per tier each month | $5 free Apify credit to start |
| Storing results as a prospect list | Restricted by Google's terms, per reviewers | Depends on the source's terms, check each |
| Coverage | Worldwide, any category | Only cities and countries the source covers |
| Freshness | Live data | New openings appear as registers update |

## When is the Places API still the right choice?

The API is built for products that show Google's data to users inside Google's own map or search experience: store locators, address autocomplete, "find a pharmacy near me" features. In that use the pricing is predictable, because you pay per user action and the free caps cover small apps. The cost problem described above appears when the same API is used as a bulk export tool, because you pay for every record, at the highest tier among the fields requested, and you cannot freely store what you bought.

If you only need to look up a handful of known businesses, for example to confirm a phone number before a call, the free caps will likely cover you. A guide cited in our research makes the same distinction: Maps data works better for enrichment of specific businesses than for discovery of every business in a category.

## How do you estimate your own cost before you start?

Use this short method rather than a rule of thumb:

- Write down the fields you need. For a call list that is name, address, phone and website.

- Look up which tier each field belongs to on Google's pricing-categories page. The tier of the most expensive field sets the price.

- Multiply the number of businesses by the price per 1,000, then subtract the free calls for that tier.

- Add the discovery calls. Searching returns a limited number of results per request, so a large city needs many searches.

- Multiply by how often you refresh. A monthly refresh costs twelve times a one-off list.

Run the same sums for any alternative. For actors on Apify, the price is on the actor page, usually per result, and the first $5 of credit is free for new accounts. That makes the comparison easy: both sides are priced per record.

## What should you do with the list once you have it?

A list is only worth the cost if someone acts on it. Keep these habits regardless of the source. Remove businesses you have already contacted so you do not pay twice for the same lead. Record where each contact came from and when, which helps if someone asks you to delete their details. Contact new businesses early, because a company that opened last week has not yet signed with a supplier. And measure replies per 100 contacts, not list size, so you can compare sources on what they earn rather than what they cost.

## A practical checklist before you build a local lead list

- Decide whether you need every business in a category or only new or active ones. New openings convert better because they have not chosen suppliers yet.

- Price the Places API on the fields you actually need, using the highest tier among them.

- Read the terms of every source, including directories and registers.

- Check which markets your outreach touches: GDPR, CAN-SPAM and local rules apply to contacting people whatever the source.

- Schedule runs so you only pay for what changed. See our guide on [finding newly opened businesses](https://automationbyexperts.com/blog/find-newly-opened-businesses-business-license-leads).

For more lead sources, browse the [lead generation actors](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/category/lead-generation).

## FAQ

**Is the Google Places API free?**Only up to a cap. Reports based on Google's pricing say each tier has its own free monthly allowance, reported as 10,000 calls for Essentials, 5,000 for Pro and 1,000 for Enterprise. Beyond that you pay per 1,000 calls.

**Why is a phone number more expensive than a name?**The Places API bills at the highest tier among the fields you request. Phone and website fields are in the Enterprise tier according to the sources cited above, so asking for them raises the price of the whole call.

**Can I store Google Maps results in my CRM?**Google's terms restrict caching and bulk export of Maps content, and a July 2026 review concluded they bar building prospect lists. Place IDs are the usual exception. Check the current terms or ask a lawyer.

**What is a cheaper source for local business leads?**Public license registers and national directories. The New Business License Feed, Canada411 and 11888.gr actors return business contact data from those sources, with per-result pricing shown on each actor page.

## Try it

Start with the [New Business License Feed](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/business-license-feed) and see what your city's register turns up. New Apify accounts get free credit through [this link](https://apify.com/fayoussef?fpr=youssef&fp_sid=blog).

Sources: Woosmap (Places API pricing and free tier guides), Thunderbit (Google Maps legality, July 2026). Prices were not checked against Google's own page, which was unreachable when this was written.

Last updated: November 2026

## Actors used in this guide

- [New Business License Feed - Fresh Openings by City](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/business-license-feed): It returns every business, food, liquor and trade license newly issued in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and…
- [11888.gr Scraper - Greek Business Phones, Emails & Websites](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/11888-gr-scraper): It scrapes Greek businesses from the 11888.gr Yellow Pages by category and place, across all 52 prefectures. Type wha…
- [Canada411.ca Business Contact Scraper](https://automationbyexperts.com/apify/canada411-ca): It crawls Canada411.ca and extracts business and people contact information from every listing - names, phone numbers…