Yelp vs Google Maps for lead generation: coverage, contact data and terms

For most local lead lists, Google Maps is the better source than Yelp. It covers more kinds of businesses (trades, offices, medical, B2B services, not just consumer favorites), nearly every listing has a phone and category, and many link a website. Yelp is worth adding for restaurants, bars and consumer services, where its reviews say something Maps doesn't. Neither one shows email addresses, and both restrict scraping in their terms: Yelp's Terms of Service ban automated access outright, and its paid API forbids using the data for direct marketing.

Below: how the two compare field by field, what each one's terms actually say, and when Yelp adds value.

How do Yelp and Google Maps compare for leads?#

Here's the side-by-side. Prices and terms are as of November 2026, from each company's own pages.

The point that matters most for cold outreach is the email row. Neither platform gives you one. Both send you to the business's own website, which is where a published address like info@ lives. Our guide on whether Google Maps shows emails explains where the email actually comes from.

Which has better coverage of local businesses?#

Google Maps, for most trades. A business appears on Google Maps once it has a Google Business Profile or Google has listed it, and most businesses that serve customers in person or in an area have one, because that's how they show up in Google search. Yelp listings are common for restaurants and consumer services, and thinner for trades, offices and B2B.

Test it in your own market rather than trusting anyone's totals, including ours. Pick one trade and one city, then:

1. Search the trade on Google Maps and note 20 businesses.
2. Search the same trade and city on Yelp and note 20.
3. Check how many of Yelp's 20 appear on Maps, and the reverse.
4. For each, note whether there's a phone and a website.

The source that finds more of the other's businesses, with more websites, is the better primary source for that trade. For plumbers in most US cities you'll likely see Maps ahead; for cocktail bars the gap is smaller.

What do the terms say about scraping Yelp?#

Yelp's Terms of Service, effective January 1, 2026, list prohibited uses in section 7.2. Among them, users may not [4]:

Use any robot, spider, Service search/retrieval application, or other automated device, process or means to access, retrieve, copy, scrape, or index any portion of the Service or any Service Content, except as expressly permitted by Yelp (for example, as described at www.yelp.com/robots.txt)

The same list also bars accessing or indexing the Service "for purposes of constructing or populating a searchable database of business reviews", and using the Service for commercial purposes except through a Yelp business account.

Yelp's paid API doesn't open the door for lead lists either. The Yelp API Terms (updated September 22, 2026) say you may not store any portion of Yelp Content "for a period longer than twenty-four (24) hours", may not use it to "update or create your own database of business listing information", and may not use it in connection with "direct marketing and/or telemarketing activities" [5]. That rules out the obvious lead-gen uses.

That's why the "Yelp scraper" tools that sell email lists are working against Yelp's terms, and why any email they return came from somewhere other than Yelp.

What do Google's terms say?#

Google restricts it too. The Google Maps Platform Terms of Service (section 3.2.3) say the customer "will not export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the Services", and give as examples bulk downloading places information and copying and saving business names, addresses or user reviews [3]. Google's consumer Maps terms also bar creating bulk feeds or using Maps to build a business listings database.

So both platforms restrict list-building in their terms. The honest summary for both:

• Business listing data is mostly public business information (a company name, a business phone, a shop address).
• Terms of service are contracts. Breaking them is a contract and access question, separate from privacy law.
• Named people are personal data. An owner's name or personal email is regulated differently from info@, especially in the UK, EU and Canada.

Our article on whether scraping Google Maps is legal goes through the distinctions. None of this is legal advice; if you're building lists at scale, talk to a lawyer.

When does Yelp add value to a lead list?#

Yelp earns its place in a few specific cases:

• Restaurants, bars and cafes. Yelp's review base is deep here, and review text often says what a business is missing (slow online ordering, no reservations, a dated menu) better than a star rating does.
• Checking a business is active. A recent Yelp review is one more sign the business is still open.
• Ad-buyer signal. Yelp reports 510,000 paying advertising locations [6]. A business with a Yelp ad presence is spending on marketing, which matters if you sell marketing.
• Personalizing outreach. Reading the Yelp page by hand before you write is fair use of the platform as a consumer, and it gives you a line nobody else has.

Use Yelp by hand for research on a short list, not as the list itself.

What's the best way to combine them?#

Build the list from Google Maps and each business's website, then use Yelp for research on the businesses you'll actually contact.

1. List every business in the area from Google Maps, searched in pieces so you get past the ~120-result cap (see why Maps stops at about 120 results).
2. Get emails from each business's own website, and verify them before sending.
3. Shortlist by category, rating, reviews and whether there's a website.
4. Open the Yelp page by hand for your shortlist when reviews matter to your pitch.

Leadraft is built for steps 1 and 2: every business of a trade inside the area you choose, with emails from each business's own site checked against the live mail server, charged once per business. For 10,000 businesses with up to 5,000 checked emails, the Growth plan is $49 a month (100,000 businesses and 5,000 checked emails). See pricing.

For more sources beyond these two (Yellow Pages, BBB, state filings, data vendors, Apple Maps and Bing), see the best data sources for local business leads.

FAQ#

Is Yelp or Google Maps better for finding business leads?#

For most local lead lists, Google Maps is the better starting point: it covers more kinds of businesses, nearly every listing has a phone number and category, and many have a website. Yelp is useful as a second source for restaurants, nightlife and consumer services, where its reviews add context. Neither shows email addresses.

Can you scrape Yelp?#

Yelp's Terms of Service prohibit it. Section 7.2 bars using any robot, spider or other automated means to access, retrieve, copy, scrape or index any portion of the Service, except as Yelp expressly permits. Yelp's paid Places API is the permitted route, and its own terms forbid storing content beyond 24 hours, building a business listing database or using it for direct marketing.

Does Yelp show business email addresses?#

Generally no. Yelp business pages show a phone number, address, hours and website link, and Yelp's Places API business data has no email field. To get an email you go to the business's own website, the same as with Google Maps.

How much does the Yelp API cost?#

As of November 2026, Yelp's Places API has three monthly plans: Base at $229 a month plus $5.91 per extra 1,000 calls, Enhanced at $299 plus $6.57, and Premium at $643 plus $14.13. Each includes a 30-day trial with 5,000 free calls. A business email is required to sign up.

Is it legal to build a lead list from Google Maps?#

Google's terms restrict it. The Google Maps Platform terms prohibit scraping or exporting Google Maps Content for use outside the services, including copying business names and addresses. Business listing data is mostly public business information, but terms of service are contracts, and personal data laws apply to named people. Get legal advice for your situation.

Sources#

1. Yelp, Places API pricing.
2. Yelp Developers, Business Search (up to 240 businesses; limit 0 to 50).
3. Google, Google Maps Platform Terms of Service, section 3.2.3; Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service.
4. Yelp, Terms of Service (effective January 1, 2026), section 7.2.
5. Yelp, API Terms of Use (updated September 22, 2026), section 5.
6. Yelp, Fast Facts (metrics as of June 30, 2026).
7. Google for Developers, Text Search (New) (up to 60 results).