Apify Pricing for Google Maps: $200+ vs $49 All-In

Most Google Maps scrapers give you business names and addresses. Great—but where are the emails?

If you're comparing Apify and SphereScout, here's the real difference: Apify is a scraping platform. SphereScout is a lead database. One requires setup; the other just works.

What Apify Does Well

Apify runs customizable "actors"; prebuilt scrapers you can tweak with code. The Google Maps actor pulls business details by keyword and location.

Strengths:

• Full control over scraping logic
• Runs in the cloud, handles large batches
• Deep integrations with other automation tools

Where it falls short for lead gen:

• Emails aren't included (you'll need to enrich separately with another actor)
• You pay per run, regardless of data quality
• Requires technical setup and proxy credits

Apify is built for developers who want infrastructure. If you just need a clean contact list, it's overkill.

Understanding Apify Actors: The Google Maps Scraper Actor Explained

Apify uses "actors"—serverless cloud functions that perform specific web scraping tasks. The Google Maps Scraper Actor is Apify's most popular tool for extracting business data from Google Maps.

How the actor works:

1. You provide input parameters (keywords, locations, filters)

2. The actor runs in Apify's cloud infrastructure

3. It handles browser automation, anti-bot detection, and data extraction

4. Results are returned as JSON, CSV, or Excel files

What data it extracts:

- Business name, address, phone number

- Categories, ratings, review counts

- Opening hours, price range

- Website URL (when available—~30% of listings)

- Geographic coordinates

What it doesn't extract:

- Email addresses (requires separate Email Extractor Actor)

- Direct contact forms

- Social media handles (requires additional actors)

Technical requirements:

- Understanding of JSON configuration

- Basic knowledge of API requests or Apify Console

- Ability to debug failed runs and adjust parameters

- Optional: JavaScript for custom data processing

How SphereScout Works

SphereScout skips the scraping. The data's already filtered and enriched—you just export what you need.

• Filter by business category and location
• See how many contacts match before you pay
• Emails included, no enrichment needed
• Export to CSV or Excel in seconds

Limitations to know:

• Data refreshed every 3 months (not real-time)
• Our core coverage currently includes France and the US, with new countries being added regularly
• Less flexible than custom scraping (no radius targeting or advanced filters)

It's not for developers building pipelines. It's for anyone who needs leads today.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Pricing Breakdown: SphereScout

No surprise charges. No proxy fees. You know exactly what you're getting.

Apify vs Outscraper: Which Google Maps Scraper Should You Choose?

Both Apify and Outscraper extract Google Maps business data, but they serve different needs:

Choose Apify if:

- You need deep integrations with automation tools (Zapier, Make, n8n)

- You're building complex, multi-step workflows

- You want to scrape multiple platforms beyond Google Maps

- You're comfortable with code and actor configuration

Choose Outscraper if:

- You only need Google Maps data

- You want a simpler, more direct interface

- You prefer pay-per-result pricing over compute units

- You don't need extensive automation integrations

Choose SphereScout if:

- You need emails, not just raw business data

- You want zero technical setup

- Predictable flat-rate pricing matters

- You're targeting France or the US markets

Cost comparison for 15,000 emails:

- Apify: ~$300 (must scrape 50K businesses since only 30% have emails)

- Outscraper: ~$200 (scraping 50K businesses + enrichment)

- SphereScout: $49/month flat

For a detailed Outscraper comparison, see our Outscraper vs SphereScout guide]

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Apify if:

• You're technical and want full scraping control
• You need global coverage or real-time data
• You're building a custom data pipeline

Choose SphereScout if:

• You need emails, not just business names
• You're targeting Europe or the US
• You want predictable pricing and zero setup

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Apify pricing cost for Google Maps scraping?

Apify charges per place scraped and per enrichment feature. On the Free/Starter tier, it costs $4 per 1,000 places scraped and $2 per 1,000 places for company contact enrichment. Since only 30% of Google Maps listings have websites where emails can be found, getting 15,000 businesses with emails requires scraping 50,000 places. Total cost: $200 for scraping + $100 for enrichment = $300. SphereScout provides 15,000 verified emails for $49 flat with no per-result fees or technical setup.

Does Apify Google Maps Scraper include email addresses?

No, Apify's Google Maps Scraper Actor does not extract email addresses directly. It collects publicly visible data like business names, addresses, phone numbers, and websites. To get emails, you need to either: (1) use Apify's Email Extractor actor on the scraped websites, (2) export data and use a third-party enrichment tool, or (3) write custom code to handle enrichment. SphereScout includes verified emails in every contact without additional steps.

What is the Apify Google Maps Scraper Actor?

The Apify Google Maps Scraper Actor is a pre-built automation tool in Apify's actor store that extracts business listings from Google Maps. You configure it with search keywords, locations, and filters, then it runs in Apify's cloud infrastructure to collect business names, addresses, phone numbers, ratings, categories, and websites. It's called an "actor" because it's a serverless function that performs a specific scraping task. The actor handles anti-bot detection and scaling automatically, but requires technical knowledge to configure properly and doesn't include email addresses in the scraped data.

What technical skills do I need to use Apify for lead generation?

Using Apify for lead generation requires moderate technical knowledge. You need to understand how to configure actor inputs (search terms, locations, filters), manage proxy settings, handle API responses or exports, and potentially write JavaScript for custom workflows. You'll also need to set up email enrichment separately, which may require additional coding or integration work. If you're not comfortable with these technical tasks, SphereScout provides a no-code alternative with a simple filter interface.

What are the best alternatives to Apify for getting Google Maps leads?

The best Apify alternative depends on your use case. For developers wanting similar actor-based scraping with more focus on Google Maps specifically, consider Outscraper or lobstr.io. For those needing ready-to-use leads without technical setup, SphereScout provides pre-enriched contact databases for Europe and the US at $49 for 15,000 emails. For global real-time scraping with less technical complexity, Phantombuster offers a middle-ground solution.

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