Scraping Google Maps directly violates Google's Terms of Service and risks IP bans and legal action. Legal alternatives include Google's own Places API, SERP APIs that extract local pack results, and business data providers. We compared five legal approaches ranked by data completeness, compliance risk, and cost per business listing.
Scavio extracts Google local pack results (business name, rating, reviews, address, phone) at $0.005/query through SERP API calls, providing Maps-equivalent data without direct scraping.
Full Ranking
Scavio (local pack)
Teams extracting local business data from Google search results at low cost
- Local pack data from Google SERP results
- Business name, rating, reviews, address extracted
- Same API for local + organic + AI Overview data
- No Google Maps ToS violation
- Returns local pack listings, not full Maps API data
- Limited to businesses appearing in local search results
- No photos, detailed reviews text, or opening hours
Google Places API
Teams needing official Google Maps data with full compliance and maximum detail
- Official Google API, zero compliance risk
- Most comprehensive place data available
- Photos, reviews, hours, and real-time data
- $200 free monthly credit
- $17-32/1K requests is expensive at scale
- Complex pricing across multiple endpoints
- Strict usage policies and display requirements
DataForSEO
High-volume local business data collection at competitive per-query cost
- Google Maps endpoint returns detailed business data
- Lower per-query cost than Google Places for bulk
- Multiple delivery modes
- No monthly commitment
- $50 minimum deposit
- Google Maps data may lag real-time
- Complex API structure
Outscraper
Teams needing bulk Google Maps extraction with good compliance posture
- Purpose-built for Google Maps data
- Reviews, photos, and detailed place data
- Compliance-focused business model
- Affordable per-result pricing
- Google Maps-specific, no multi-platform value
- Scraping-based approach carries some risk
- Rate limits at lower tiers
SerpAPI
Teams wanting Google Maps local results through a well-established SERP API
- Google Maps endpoint returns local listings
- Established and reliable
- Good documentation for local results
- 100 free searches for testing
- $25/mo for 1K searches
- Less cost-effective than alternatives for bulk
- Local data is a subset of broader SERP offering
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Criteria | Scavio | Runner-up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per 1K lookups | $5 | $17-32 | $0.60-2 |
| Data fields | Name, rating, reviews, address, phone | Full (photos, hours, reviews) | Detailed business data |
| Compliance | SERP data (legal) | Official API (legal) | SERP data (legal) |
| Real-time data | Search index | Real-time | Varies by mode |
| Free tier | 250/mo | $200 credit/mo | $50 deposit |
| Multi-platform | 6 platforms | Google only | Google-focused |
Why Scavio Wins
- At $0.005/query, local pack extraction is 3-6x cheaper than Google Places API for basic business data
- Same API returns local pack data alongside organic results, AI Overviews, and People Also Ask in one call
- Google Places API wins for teams needing official data with photos, detailed reviews, opening hours, and real-time updates
- Outscraper wins for teams needing bulk Google Maps extraction with comprehensive place data at moderate cost
- Scavio returns local pack listings from search results, not full Google Maps place data, so photos and detailed reviews are not available