Everything You Need to Know About Google Maps API and Its Features

Everything you need to know about the Google Maps API and its features is to understand an ecosystem much larger than just an online map. Google Maps exposes around twenty distinct APIs, each with its own quotas, pricing, and use cases. Whether you are a developer, product manager, or salesperson looking to extract data from local businesses, this article provides you with a comprehensive and practical overview.

What is an API and why is Google Maps API special?

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a contract between two systems. You send a structured request, and the remote server returns data. You don’t need to understand how Google stores its data — you simply use the documented endpoints.

The Google Maps API is special for two reasons. First, it relies on the most comprehensive mapping database in the world: billions of points of interest, photos, reviews, hours, and routes. Second, it is modular — you only activate what you need, and you pay for what you use.

The main families of Google Maps API

Google groups its Maps APIs into several categories in the Google Cloud Console. Here’s a complete overview.

1. Displaying and manipulating maps

This is the historical core of the offering. These APIs allow you to integrate a map into any interface.

Maps JavaScript API The most used. It allows you to display an interactive map in a browser via JavaScript. You control the zoom, markers, information layers, and visual styles. Data is exchanged in JSON. → Google Cloud Console

Maps Embed API Simpler: a single HTTP request is enough to integrate a map into a web page. No JavaScript required. Ideal for static pages or CMS without code access. → Google Cloud Console

Maps Static API Generates a PNG image of a map from URL parameters. No interactivity, but zero JavaScript dependency. Useful for emails, PDFs, automated reports. → Google Cloud Console

Maps SDK for Android / iOS The mobile equivalents of the Maps JavaScript API. The Android SDK integrates into Java/Kotlin projects, while the iOS SDK integrates into Swift/Objective-C projects. Both offer the same customization capabilities as the web version. → Android | iOS

2. Geolocation and geographic data

These APIs work with coordinates, addresses, and altitudes.

Geocoding API Converts a text address ("12 rue de la Paix, Paris") into GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude), and vice versa (reverse geocoding). Essential for normalizing address databases. → Google Cloud Console

Geolocation API Geolocates a device without GPS, using nearby cell towers or Wi-Fi access points. Accuracy varies depending on the environment but works indoors where GPS fails. → Google Cloud Console

Maps Elevation API Returns the altitude of a geographic point (or a series of points). Useful for outdoor applications, elevation calculations, or environmental studies. → Google Cloud Console

Time Zone API Returns the time zone corresponding to GPS coordinates. Simple, but critical for applications managing appointments or deliveries internationally. → Google Cloud Console

Directions API Calculates a route between two points (or more). Supports all modes of transport: car, public transport, bike, walking. Returns detailed steps, durations, distances, and points of interest along the way. → Google Cloud Console

Distance Matrix API Calculates distances and travel times between multiple origins and destinations simultaneously. Widely used for logistics applications, dispatch tools, or delivery comparators. → Google Cloud Console

Roads API Takes a series of raw GPS coordinates (from a GPS track) and "snaps" them to real roads. Useful for reconstructing an accurate route from imperfect geolocation data. → Google Cloud Console

4. Places Search: the Places API

This is the most relevant API for business prospecting and data extraction.

Places API Provides access to Google’s places database: name, address, phone, website, hours, rating, number of reviews, photos, categories. You can search by type of establishment, geographic area, or minimum rating.

However, the Places API has a major constraint: it limits results to 60 places per search (20 per page, 3 pages max). For an entire city or a complete sector, this limit quickly becomes blocking.

→ Google Cloud Console

5. Street View

Street View Publish API Allows publishing 360° photos on Google Maps from a third-party application. Used by professional 360° cameras and virtual tour services. → Google Cloud Console

Street View Static API Generates a static image of a Street View from coordinates or an address. No navigation possible, but easy integration into any page. → Google Cloud Console

How to get started with Google Maps API?

Step 1: Create a Google Cloud project

Go to console.cloud.google.com. Create a new project. Enable billing — Google offers $200 of monthly credit, but a credit card is required.

Step 2: Enable the APIs you need

In the API library, search for each service and click on "Enable". Only enable what you actually use — each active API is a potential exposure surface.

Step 3: Generate an API key

In "Credentials", create an API key. Immediately restrict it: by domain (for web APIs), by IP address (for server APIs), or by application (for mobile SDKs). An unrestricted key poses a security and billing risk.

Step 4: Monitor your quotas

Each API has its own quotas and pricing. The Maps JavaScript API costs $7 for 1,000 map loads beyond the free credit. The Places API costs between $17 and $32 for 1,000 requests depending on the type. Set budget alerts in Google Cloud to avoid unpleasant surprises.

The limitations of Google Maps API for business prospecting

The Google Maps API is designed for developers building applications. It is not optimized for extracting business lists in bulk.

The limit of 60 results. The Places API returns a maximum of 60 places per search. To cover the entire city of Paris in the "plumber" category, you need to break the city into dozens of zones, multiply requests, and deduplicate results. This is technically feasible but time-consuming and costly.

The cost at scale. Extracting 10,000 business listings via the Places API requires about 167 "Nearby Search" requests (at $32 / 1,000) plus as many "Place Details" requests (at $17 / 1,000) to retrieve emails and phones. The total easily exceeds €50 for 10,000 contacts — not counting development time.

The technical complexity. Managing pagination, quota errors, deduplication, storage, and data updates requires non-trivial infrastructure.

The terms of use. Google Maps' terms of service explicitly prohibit scraping and building databases from their data. Using the Places API to build a permanent prospecting database is in a legal gray area.

A direct alternative: IBLead

For sales and marketing teams wanting local business data without development, IBLead is a pre-indexed database of 50M+ establishments in 37 countries. Everything is already extracted and structured — you search, filter, and export to CSV in minutes.

Unlike a Places API call that returns 60 results, IBLead covers an entire country in a single search. The data includes 50+ fields per listing: name, address, phone, email, website, Google rating, number of reviews, website technologies (160+ detected technologies), and for France, the SIRET and the name of the manager.

The database is updated weekly. The export is instant — no waiting, no real-time scraping.

The cost: €44 for 10,000 leads, or €0.004 per contact. Try it with 200 credits.

free credits — 200 credits included

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions about Google Maps API

Is Google Maps API free?

Google offers $200 of monthly credit, which covers about 28,000 map loads or 6,000 Places Details requests. Beyond that, billing applies. For high-volume projects, costs can become significant quickly.

What is the difference between Maps JavaScript API and Places API?

The Maps JavaScript API displays and manipulates interactive maps in a browser. The Places API searches and returns information about specific places (businesses, landmarks, etc.). Both are often used together, but they are billed separately.

Can Google Maps API be used for business prospecting?

Technically yes, but with significant constraints: limit of 60 results per search, cost at scale, and restrictive terms of use regarding database building. For volume prospecting, a pre-indexed database like IBLead is more suitable.

What is the limit of 120 results on Google Maps?

When you search directly on Google Maps (not via the API), the interface displays a maximum of 120 results per search. This limit also applies to some scraping tools. The Places API, however, is limited to 60 results. To exceed these limits, geographic searches must be segmented or a pre-indexed database must be used.

How do I get a Google Maps API key?

Create an account on Google Cloud Console, enable billing, create a project, enable the desired APIs, and then generate a key in the "Credentials" section. Always restrict the key by domain or IP address to prevent unauthorized use.

What programming languages are compatible with Google Maps API?

The Maps JavaScript API works with any JavaScript framework (React, Vue, Angular, vanilla JS). The mobile SDKs support Java/Kotlin for Android and Swift/Objective-C for iOS. The REST APIs (Geocoding, Places, Directions, etc.) are accessible from any language capable of making HTTP requests: Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, Java, etc.

In summary

The Google Maps API is an ecosystem of twenty distinct APIs, each optimized for a specific use case: map display, geolocation, route calculation, place search. For developers building applications, it is an essential infrastructure.

For sales teams looking to extract lists of local prospects, the limitations of the Places API (60 results, cost at scale, technical complexity) make the approach impractical. Specialized tools like IBLead meet this specific need more directly, without a line of code.