# Google Maps MCP server

> Check who ranks on Google Maps for a search, build filtered lists of local businesses and read full Business Profiles from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. Hosted, with no Google Cloud project or API key of your own.

## Connect

One server URL for every client: `https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp`, streamable HTTP, with OAuth or an API key as a bearer token. Every workspace gets 250 free credits a month.

- [Claude](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/claude): Go to Settings, then Connectors, and add a custom connector. Paste the URL and sign in.
- [Claude Code](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/claude-code): Run this, then /mcp to sign in. `claude mcp add --transport http manifold https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp`
- [ChatGPT](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/chatgpt): At chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add at the top right, then Create custom MCP server, and paste the URL. Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu, on the web.
- [Codex](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/codex): Run this, then codex mcp login manifold to sign in. `codex mcp add manifold --url https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp`
- [Cursor](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/cursor): One click, or paste the URL in the MCP section of Cursor Settings.
- [Gemini CLI](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/gemini): Run this, then /mcp auth manifold to sign in. `gemini mcp add --transport http manifold https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp`
- [Grok](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/grok): Go to Settings, then Connectors, and add a connector. Paste the URL and sign in.
- [Grok Bot](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/grok-bot): Paste this to the bot. It adds Manifold and asks you to sign in. `Add the Manifold MCP server as a plugin: https://mcp.manifoldmcp.com/mcp.`
- [OpenCode](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/opencode): Run opencode mcp add, choose Remote and paste the URL.
- [Any other client](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients/other): Add it as a remote MCP server in any other client.

## What your agent can do on Google Maps

- [`maps_search_places`](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/maps#maps_search_places): Search Google Maps. The places Google Maps shows for a search in an area, in Maps' order. From 1 credit.
- [`maps_search_businesses`](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/maps#maps_search_businesses): Search businesses in an area. Businesses on Google Maps within a radius of a point, filtered by category, rating, review count or claimed profile. From 4 credits.
- [`maps_get_place`](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/maps#maps_get_place): Get a business profile. One business's full Google Business Profile: hours, attributes, services, rating breakdown, the topics its reviews mention and the competitors Google lists beside it. From 2 credits.

Every parameter and return field: [Google Maps tools in the docs](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/maps.md).

## Business data, not directions

Google runs an official Maps MCP server, Maps Grounding Lite, built for places, routes and weather inside an app. Scraper platforms sell Maps data by the record. Manifold is for marketing work on local businesses: rankings, ratings, review counts and prospect lists.

| | Google’s Maps server | Scraper platforms | Manifold |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ratings and review counts per place | Summary text only | Yes | Yes |
| Filter by area, rating or unclaimed profile | No | Some | Yes |
| Routes and weather | Yes | No | No |
| SEO, leads and social beside it | No | Separate tools | Yes |
| Setup | Cloud project and billing | Their account and token | Paste one URL |

## Things to ask

- Who shows up on Google Maps for emergency plumber in Austin?
- Where does our clinic rank on Maps for dentist near me, around three different postcodes?
- Find dentists within 10 km of Manchester with fewer than 20 reviews.
- List the unclaimed restaurants in Leeds that have no website.
- Audit this Google Business Profile against the top three on Maps: [business name and town]
- What do reviews of our three nearest competitors keep mentioning?

## Pay per call

- Search Google Maps: From 1 credit
- Search businesses in an area: From 4 credits
- Get a business profile: From 2 credits
- The same answer again, from the cache: 25% or less

Details: [pricing](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/pricing.md) and [how credits work](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/credits.md).

## Pairs well with Google Maps

- [SEO MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/seo.md): Keywords, rankings, backlinks and audits.
- [Google Search Console MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/search-console.md): Your sites' clicks, rankings and sitemaps.
- [Apollo MCP alternative](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/apollo.md): Companies, people and verified work emails.
- [Google Analytics MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/google-analytics.md): Your sites' sessions, conversions and revenue.
- [AI visibility MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/ai-visibility.md): What ChatGPT, Gemini and others say and cite.
- [Facebook MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/facebook.md): Pages, posts, groups and comments.
- [Instagram MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/instagram.md): Accounts, posts, reels and hashtags.
- [Reddit MCP](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp/reddit.md): Threads, comments and subreddits.
- [All MCP servers](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/mcp.md)

## Questions about the Google Maps MCP

### Does Google have an MCP server for Maps?

Yes. Maps Grounding Lite is Google’s own MCP server: it searches places, computes routes and looks up weather, and it needs a Google Cloud project with billing or an API key. It is built to ground an app’s answers in Maps. Manifold is for business research: who ranks, ratings and review counts, claimed profiles and filtered lists of businesses in an area.

### Is the Google Maps API still free?

Google gives a free monthly allowance per API, then bills per request, and the place data with ratings sits in its dearer tiers. Manifold needs no Google account at all: a Maps search costs 1 credit credit and every workspace gets 250 free credits a month.

### What can my agent look up on Google Maps?

The places Maps ranks for a search in a city or around a point, businesses in a radius filtered by category, rating, review count or claimed profile, and one business’s full profile: hours, attributes, services, the topics its reviews mention and the competitors Google lists beside it. [What each Maps tool returns](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/maps.md).

### Can it track local rankings across a city?

Yes, one search at a time. Rankings on Maps change from street to street, so your agent searches from several points and compares where a business ranks at each. The server keeps no history, so schedule the check in your client if you want it weekly.

### Does it return review text?

Not yet. A profile includes the rating, the count of reviews at each star level and the topics reviews mention most, but not the reviews themselves.

### Which clients does it work with?

Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok, OpenCode and any other client that connects to a remote MCP server. Sign in with OAuth, or use an API key from the dashboard for scripts. [Setup guides for every client](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/clients.md).