Open Places API Good fit
Lead-gen area lists, listing enrichment, marketplaces, CRMs, AI tools, travel features, and internal systems that already have a coordinate and need nearby places.
Google Places API alternative
Google Places spend scales with usage. Cap yours instead.
If you need the full Google Maps Platform, use Google. If your backend asks "what places are near this point?" or "list this category in this area," Open Places API gives you one Overture-backed endpoint, cacheable results, flat quotas, and a hard stop before overage.
Start with the scope, not the brand name.
| Need | Open Places API | Google Places |
|---|---|---|
| Backend place search | Yes. One authenticated /v1/places endpoint for server-side JSON results. | Yes. Google Places supports place search through Google Maps Platform APIs. |
| Autocomplete, geocoding, maps, routing | No. Pair Open Places API with another provider if you need those pieces. | Yes. This is where the broader platform wins. |
| Rich place details | Names, coordinates, categories, addresses, distances, confidence, and available phone, website, and operating status. | Richer proprietary place details, including fields Open Places API does not provide. |
| Category area listing | Yes. Use category, limit, and offset for paged area lists. | Google search result limits and SKU behavior depend on the exact Places API flow. Verify current docs for your use case. |
| Long-lived result storage | Yes. Results are based on permissive open Overture Places source licenses. | Review current Google Maps Platform terms and Places policies before storing Places content. |
| Open base data | Yes. Results come from an Overture-backed base layer. | No. The Google place index is proprietary. |
| Custom account-owned layers | Yes. Layers can add, patch, suppress, or mark places above the base result set. | Not as the same first-class API concept. |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly quotas with hard caps and no overages. | Per-SKU pricing with usage thresholds; see current Google Maps Platform pricing. |
The price argument is really a cap argument.
Google pricing is SKU-based and changes with selected fields, request type, and volume. The practical question is whether you want place search spend to keep scaling with traffic. Open Places API turns that line item into three caps, and the returned open-data results can be kept. To model your exact volume against current Google rates, use the Google Places API cost calculator.
| Monthly searches | Open Places API | Google Places |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $0 Free plan, then a hard cap | Model against current Google free usage thresholds and SKUs. |
| 30,000 | $19 Indie, then a hard cap | Per-SKU billing at this volume typically runs to hundreds of dollars a month; model your fields and SKUs. |
| 100,000 | $49 Startup, then a hard cap | Usually the point where per-SKU pricing becomes a procurement conversation. |
| 1,000,000 | $249 Business, then a hard cap | Usage, selected fields, and volume discounts all matter. Verify the current calculator. |
We are not selling the same product for less money. Google sells a broad maps platform with a proprietary index. We sell proximity search over open data with your own layers on top. That narrower scope is why the bill can be flat.
One backend call is the whole product.
Keep the API key on your server, send search text plus a coordinate, and return nearby place results to your app or workflow. No browser key, SDK, or map widget required.
curl -G "https://api.openplacesapi.com/v1/places" \
--data-urlencode "q=coffee" \
--data-urlencode "lat=40.7128" \
--data-urlencode "lon=-74.0060" \
--data-urlencode "radius_mi=25" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $OPEN_PLACES_API_KEY"Switch only if the fit is clean.
Bad fit
Address autocomplete, street-address geocoding, maps, routing, photos, reviews, rich business profiles, or a mobile maps SDK.
Migration path
Move your server-side search call first. Bring curated corrections or private locations into account-owned layers so they appear in every search.
Google Places alternative FAQ.
Is Open Places API a Google Places API replacement?
Only for products that need backend place search and JSON results. It is not a replacement for Google Maps Platform features such as autocomplete, geocoding, map tiles, routing, photos, reviews, popular times, or mobile SDKs.
When is Open Places API cheaper than Google Places?
When your workload is pure server-side place search and you value hard monthly caps. Open Places API is $0 for 10,000 searches, $19 for 30,000, $49 for 100,000, and $249 for 1 million. Google Maps Platform pricing depends on SKUs, selected fields, free usage thresholds, and volume tiers, so verify current Google pricing for your exact flow.
What do we lose if we move this workload off Google Places?
You lose Google's proprietary place index and rich platform surface: photos, reviews, ratings, business hours depth, autocomplete, geocoding, maps, routing, and SDKs. Open Places API returns nearby place search results from Overture-backed data with names, coordinates, categories, addresses, distances, confidence, and available phone and website fields.
What do we gain?
A smaller server-side API surface, cacheable open-data results, category area listing, confidence filtering, flat no-overage quotas, and account-owned layers for corrections, suppressions, private records, and per-key presets.
More comparisons.
Foursquare · Mapbox · HERE · Geoapify · LocationIQ
For product-level scope, see the Places API overview and the Overture Places API page.