The short answer
Choose Apify if
- You want runs on a schedule, or started from your own code through an API.
- You need review text, images or people's job titles from the same run.
- You want the work done on servers, with no browser left open.
Choose Maps Scraper Pro if
- You want the list free, with no events to price before you start.
- You want emails from each business's website included in every run.
- You'd rather type the businesses and the city than fill in an input form.
On this page
At a glance
| Compared | Maps Scraper Pro | Apify |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with no plans or charges per row | $4 per 1,000 businesses on the free plan, down to $1.50 on the Business plan |
| Emails | From each business's website, in the same run, free | Company contacts add-on: $2 per 1,000 businesses on the free plan |
| Free allowance | Everything | $5 of use a month on the free plan, no card |
| Paid plans | None | $19, $199 or $999 a month, each including that much use |
| Where it runs | In your Chrome browser | On Apify's servers |
| Schedules and API | None | Schedules, an API, webhooks, and n8n, Make and Zapier |
| Downloads | Excel, CSV, JSON or Sheets | JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML and RSS |
| Review text | No: rating and review count only | Add-on: $0.50 per 1,000 reviews on the free plan |
Which of Apify's Maps scrapers this page compares
This page compares the Maps scraper published on Apify's store by its developer Compass, the most used of the Maps scrapers there. Most people who search for Apify's Maps scraper mean this one.
Apify's store is a marketplace: a search for Maps scrapers lists many from independent developers, each setting its own price. Some charge less per business than this one, so if price is all that matters, compare a few before you start.
How Apify prices a Maps run
Apify charges this scraper per event: a fee for each business collected, plus a fee for each add-on applied to it. The price of every event depends on your Apify plan, and the business fee falls from $4 to $1.50 per 1,000 as plans go up.
Every plan includes a monthly amount to spend. On the free plan that's $5, and its pricing page says use past it is blocked until the next month; on paid plans the excess goes on the next invoice.
| Event, per 1,000 | Free plan | Starter, $19 a month | Scale, $199 a month | Business, $999 a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business collected | $4.00 | $3.00 | $2.00 | $1.50 |
| Company contacts, such as emails, from its website | $2.00 | $2.00 | $1.50 | $1.05 |
| Each filter you apply | $1.00 | $1.00 | $0.75 | $0.525 |
| Extra place details | $2.00 | $2.00 | $1.50 | $1.05 |
| Reviews or images | $0.50 | $0.50 | $0.37 | $0.26 |
A filter is charged on every business it's applied to, once per filter, so three filters on 1,000 businesses add $3.00 on the free plan. Each run also has a start fee of $0.00005.
Apify's docs say most pay-per-event scrapers include platform usage in their prices, and some charge it separately. Check the scraper's own pricing section before a large run.
What 1,000 businesses with emails cost
On Apify's free plan, 1,000 businesses with company contacts come to $6.00, which is more than the $5 the plan includes. In Maps Scraper Pro the same list is free.
Each line below is 1,000 businesses at that plan's price plus 1,000 company-contact lookups, with no filters, reviews or other add-ons.
| Plan | Businesses | Company contacts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 × $0.004 = $4.00 | 1,000 × $0.002 = $2.00 | $6.00, past the $5 included |
| Starter | 1,000 × $0.003 = $3.00 | 1,000 × $0.002 = $2.00 | $5.00, inside the $19 a month |
| Scale | 1,000 × $0.002 = $2.00 | 1,000 × $0.0015 = $1.50 | $3.50, inside the $199 a month |
| Business | 1,000 × $0.0015 = $1.50 | 1,000 × $0.00105 = $1.05 | $2.55, inside the $999 a month |
| Maps Scraper Pro | $0 | $0 | $0 |
So the free plan covers about 833 businesses with contacts a month: $5 ÷ $0.006. For 1,000 or more, the lowest real cost is the Starter plan's $19 for the month, which includes the $5.00 this list uses.
In Maps Scraper Pro, 1,000 is the most one chat request collects: when a single Maps search lists fewer, chat searches the area around the place for the rest.
Running Apify's Maps scraper, step by step
Running the scraper takes an Apify account and a few minutes with its input form. The free plan needs no card, so you can try it before paying.
Step 1: Create an Apify account
Sign up for the free plan. It includes $5 of use a month.
Step 2: Open the Maps scraper by Compass
Find it in Apify's store and open its input form. Its readme lists the searches it takes: keywords and categories, places by link or ID, and areas drawn as shapes or a point with a radius.
Step 3: Enter the search and the place
Type the kind of business and the location, and set the most businesses to collect per search. Each one is a charged event, so the maximum is also your spending limit.
Step 4: Tick the add-ons you need
For emails, turn on company contacts. Leave reviews, images and filters off unless you need them: each adds its own fee per business.
Step 5: Start the run and export the results
The run happens on Apify's servers. When it finishes, download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML or RSS, or send them on through an integration.
Where Apify is the better choice
Apify suits work that has to run without you: on a timetable, from code, or as one step in a larger workflow. Maps Scraper Pro does none of these.
- Schedules: Apify's docs show runs set with cron expressions, so a list can refresh every week.
- An API and webhooks, plus connections to n8n, Make and Zapier, so results can go straight into a CRM or a database.
- Add-ons Maps Scraper Pro doesn't have: review text, images, popular times, menus, and people's names and job titles at the business.
- Runs on Apify's servers, so long jobs don't need your browser or your computer.
- A choice of other Maps scrapers on the same store, if one suits a niche better.
Where Maps Scraper Pro fits better
Maps Scraper Pro fits when you want a list now and don't want to price it first. There are no events, plans or monthly amounts, and contact details are read for every business with a website, in the same run.
You ask for the list in plain words. Chat runs the Maps search, asks how many you want and offers the next steps, such as a nearby town or the same search for more businesses.
Each business's emails, phones and social links come from its own website, and the finished list waits in History, in your browser, until you delete it.
Making the same list in Maps Scraper Pro
Here is how each part of Apify's input form maps onto Maps Scraper Pro, for the same list of businesses.
Step 1: Say the search and the place in one line
Type a request such as "find dentists in Dallas, TX" in chat. It takes the place of the search term and location fields.
Step 2: Answer the count card
Pick 20, 50, 100 or 200 on the card, or type a number up to 1,000. That's the counterpart of Apify's maximum per search, with nothing charged per business.
Step 3: Keep contact details on
Emails and social links are read by default, so there's no add-on to switch on. Type "no emails" in the request if you only want the Maps details.
Step 4: Tidy and download the list
On the results page, keep the rows you want and export them as Excel, CSV or JSON. For many places at once, paste their Maps search links into Bulk.
Questions people ask
Is Apify's Maps scraper free?
Only up to a point. Apify's free plan includes $5 of use a month, enough for about 833 businesses with company contacts at free-plan prices. After that, use is blocked until the next month unless you move to a paid plan.
How much does Apify's Maps scraper cost?
It charges per business and per add-on, at prices set by your plan. On the free plan, 1,000 businesses with company contacts cost $6.00; on the Business plan, $2.55, plus the plan's $999 a month.
Does Apify's Maps scraper get emails?
Yes, with its company contacts add-on, which reads each business's website and is charged per business. Maps Scraper Pro reads each website in the same run at no charge.
Is Apify a legitimate tool?
Yes. Apify is an established platform that publishes its plans, per-event prices and documentation. Its free plan needs no card, so you can test a run before paying.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Apify's Maps scraper?
Maps Scraper Pro is free, with no allowance to run out of. On Apify's own store, other developers' Maps scrapers set their own prices, and Outscraper bills per record with 500 free a month.
Sources
- Apify pricing(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify's store record for its Maps scraper, with prices by plan(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify store search for Maps scrapers(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify docs: Actors in Apify Store(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify docs: schedules(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify docs: integrations(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Apify docs: datasets(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026
- Outscraper pricing(opens in a new tab), read on 28 October 2026