Use cases · Places & POI APIs

Best APIs for Place Reviews & Ratings Data

Places APIs that return consumer reviews and ratings for local businesses and points of interest.

Required capability: Reviews / ratings.

Our pick: Google Places API

Google Places API is a REST service that returns location data, imagery, and details for establishments, geographic locations, and points of interest, serving use cases such as nearby search, autocomplete, store locators, and AI-powered review summaries. Pricing is usage-based starting at $5.00 per 1,000 requests, with a free tier of 10,000 requests per month per SKU on the Essentials tier and unlimited free access for ID-only searches and Autocomplete sessions. The API supports self-serve signup, offers SDKs for Android, iOS, JavaScript, Python, Go, Node.js, and Java, and holds SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications with GDPR compliance.

Best for: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call; Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; AI agents and automation - an agent-ready surface (MCP / llms.txt).

The catch: The richest POI and reviews coverage, but place content cannot be pre-fetched or cached, so every render is a billable call.

Google Places API profile →

Best for…

Best overall
Google Places API - our default pick: strongest across pricing, trust and breadth
Best free pick
Google Places API - free tier: Free monthly usage thresholds per SKU (replaced $200/mo credit as of March 2025): Essenti…
Best for enterprise
Google Places API - for regulated or large teams: SOC 2 Type II, published SLA, enterprise plan
Cheapest to start
Google Places API - from $5 1,000 requests to start; compare on your real usage, not the entry price
Best for agents
Google Places API - easiest to wire up programmatically: MCP server
Broadest surface
Yelp Fusion API - 21 documented actions; breadth isn't quality, but it's the most to build on

Ranked (4)

  • #1 Google Places API

    74 / 100
    • Best overall
    • Best free pick
    • Best for enterprise
    • Cheapest to start
    • Best for agents

    Google Places API is a REST service that returns location data, imagery, and details for establishments, geographic locations, and points of interest, serving use cases such as nearby search, autocomplete, store locators, and AI-powered review summaries. Pricing is usage-based starting at $5.00 per 1,000 requests, with a free tier of 10,000 requests per month per SKU on the Essentials tier and unlimited free access for ID-only searches and Autocomplete sessions. The API supports self-serve signup, offers SDKs for Android, iOS, JavaScript, Python, Go, Node.js, and Java, and holds SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications with GDPR compliance.

    PricingUsage · from $5 1,000 requests · free tier
    TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPR · ISO 27001
    Does
    • POI search
    • Nearby / radius
    • Autocomplete
    • Place details
    • Reviews / ratings
    • Photos
    Used byDozens, ZEISS Vision Care, Via
    The catchThe richest POI and reviews coverage, but place content cannot be pre-fetched or cached, so every render is a billable call.

    Google Places API profile →

  • #2 Foursquare Places API

    73 / 100

    Foursquare Places API provides access to a global database of 100 million-plus points of interest across 200-plus countries, supporting place search, autocomplete, geotagging, place matching, and venue metadata enrichment for location-aware apps. Pricing is usage-based at $15 per 1,000 requests with a free tier of 500 Pro calls per month and self-serve signup, plus an enterprise plan with a published SLA and 100 QPS rate limit. SDKs are available for JavaScript and Python, and an MCP server is offered for AI agent integrations. Customers include Uber, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Tinder, and use requires "Powered by Foursquare" attribution wherever Places data appears.

    PricingUsage · from $15 1,000 requests · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • POI search
    • Nearby / radius
    • Autocomplete
    • Place details
    • Reviews / ratings
    • Photos
    Used byX (Twitter), Samsung, Telegram, Atmosfy
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Foursquare Places API profile →

  • #3 Yelp Fusion API

    50 / 100
    • Broadest surface

    Yelp Fusion is a REST API giving developers access to Yelp's local business data across 30+ countries, covering search, place details, user reviews, autocomplete, events, and business insights including risk signals and food-and-drinks analytics. Paid plans start at $229 per month with 30,000 calls included, a 5,000-call daily cap, and overage billing per 1,000 calls; a 30-day trial provides 5,000 free calls for evaluation. Notable integrations include Apple Maps, SoundHound, and SoftBank's Pepper robot. Use requires prominently displaying the Yelp logo and official star ratings, linking back to Yelp business pages, and not caching data beyond 24 hours.

    PricingHybrid · from $229 month · free tier
    Does
    • POI search
    • Nearby / radius
    • Autocomplete
    • Place details
    • Reviews / ratings
    Used bySoundHound (Hound/Houndify), Logitech (ZeroTouch), SoftBank (Pepper robot), INRIX (OpenCar)
    The catchRich consumer-review and local-business data, but you cannot store Yelp data beyond 24 hours and the API plan starts at $229/month.

    Yelp Fusion API profile →

  • #4 Tripadvisor Content API

    50 / 100

    The Tripadvisor Content API provides access to reviews, photos, location details, and search across more than 8 million hotels, restaurants, and attractions worldwide, targeting consumer-facing travel apps and destination marketing products. Pricing is usage-based at $0.015 per 1,000 billable entities, with a free tier of 1,000 lifetime billable entities on the current Terra platform, and an enterprise plan available. The API uses REST with API key auth, supports self-serve signup, and offers an MCP server. Notable restrictions apply: content caching and storage are prohibited, Tripadvisor attribution is required, and use is limited to B2C products, excluding reputation management tools and academic research.

    PricingUsage · from $0.01 1,000 billable entities · free tier
    Does
    • POI search
    • Nearby / radius
    • Place details
    • Reviews / ratings
    • Photos
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    Tripadvisor Content API profile →

Scope: only APIs with the required capability, picked from published, cited data. The score is one input, not the verdict, and we lead with each one’s trade-off. No reviews yet, no paid placement. See the full Places & POI APIs directory.