Google Maps Photos API
Turn any Google Maps photo reference into a real, fetchable image URL. Pass a reference from Maps Search or Place Details, choose a max size up to 4800px, and get a direct googleusercontent.com link — official Google Places photos at $0.01/call.
A Google Maps Photos API that resolves the photo references returned by place searches into actual images. Every result from the Maps Search and Place Details APIs carries up to ten photos[].reference values — this endpoint turns one into a directly fetchable image URL, sized to the max width or height you ask for (up to 4800px, aspect ratio preserved, never upscaled). Powered by the official Google Place Photos endpoint, so you get the same photos Google Maps shows — storefronts, interiors, dishes, menus — without a Google Cloud project, without an SDK, and without handling 302 redirects yourself. Fetch the image promptly and store it if you need it long-term: Google serves the resolved URLs for a limited time.
Try it live
Fill in the fields and hit Run to see a real response.
{
"ok": true,
"data": {
"reference": "places/ChIJBR3G8LJqkFQRWD2Wzn0qG3c/photos/AU_ZVEFd3Y9YtVSYWUZf4lYRda5p51TB2iSOLWJqqkES-oYINkvB8DNk",
"photoUri": "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMEXAMPLEsCkD9yJ2NRxfeVQ=s1600-w1200"
}
}Features
POST the photos[].reference from any Maps Search or Place Details result and get back a direct googleusercontent.com image URL — one call, no redirect handling, no Google Cloud key.
Ask for max_width and/or max_height from 1 to 4800 pixels. Google scales the photo down to fit while preserving aspect ratio, and never upscales past the original.
Storefronts, interiors, food, menus — the same user- and owner-uploaded photos Google Maps displays, via the official Place Photos endpoint rather than a scrape.
Accepts the exact reference we return (places/{place_id}/photos/{token}), the same without the places/ prefix, and tolerates a pasted /media suffix — malformed references are rejected before they cost you anything.
Search a place, pick any of its photo references, and resolve just the ones you render. Up to ten references per place come free with every search and details call.
$0.01 per resolved photo, no Google Cloud billing account, no monthly minimums — and $5 free credit to start.
Use cases
Store Locators & Directory Sites
Show each location's storefront photo next to its name, rating, and hours — resolve one reference per place at render time or at ingest.
Travel & Discovery Apps
Fill place cards, venue pages, and carousels with real photos of restaurants, hotels, and attractions instead of stock imagery.
Lead Enrichment
Attach a real photo of each business to scraped lead lists so sales teams can qualify storefronts, offices, and signage at a glance.
Restaurant & Menu Apps
Pull dish and interior photos for food discovery feeds — Google's place photos include user-uploaded meal shots for most restaurants.
Report & Audit Tooling
Embed location photos in local-SEO audits, franchise compliance reports, and site-selection decks generated from Maps data.
AI Agents & Vision Pipelines
Feed resolved photo URLs into vision models to classify storefronts, verify branding, or detect closures from recent imagery.
Quick start
Copy this snippet and start making calls.
const res = await fetch('https://api.yepapi.com/v1/maps/photo', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"reference": "places/ChIJBR3G8LJqkFQRWD2Wzn0qG3c/photos/AWCwydikrysQQgEAoMbpaY5k8hvsHlvyr1a68vpf-c0ED8HjS-oLqX7iEUtg1sCmD2AbQq338y5MnjtBQO4ScVWLJJVrxh72K-NQznJXQ0wgUj1y6LoCCufbIFMOex6QSOFQ7z4DXfv8q9HLHDszdoN7Kjr_TPv1h0relv8krPZxVnDwRxE3xJxamW5VxYFNw_Mv7d9cWVblVwAg5U5jFNOFOK0DlswRkLVMDrIpkvaDeLyjCU93FuD_MLKboIzVvJfGuWlogE317WG9Oki35mcCGVzxzDFHWtsb8QeKAAbjLskG9fvTNnAAqDzyJ-Y-9MeJiPwcEGaa-3E5nT5U_p63aOvfMfAYulgSLEEGnP0liKMMbx9q-DV7N5j67HAd1iEnGKVZ3TX3rpy-BtkWMqkHItD08zZXfcQ61IuUPOcMBJkmd3k",
"max_width": 1200
}),
});
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);Google Maps Photos API — resolve photo references into real image URLs
YepAPI's Google Maps Photos API turns the photo references that come back from place searches into actual, fetchable images. Every Maps Search and Place Details result includes up to ten photos[].reference values; POST one here with an optional max width or height (up to 4800px) and get a direct googleusercontent.com image URL — the same storefront, interior, and food photos Google Maps shows, served by the official Place Photos endpoint.
It's the missing piece for store locators, travel apps, and lead enrichment pipelines that need real photos next to real place data — without a Google Cloud project or redirect handling. Flat $0.01 per resolved photo, $5 free credit, no minimums.
Start making API calls in 30 seconds
$5 free credit on signup. No credit card required. Pay per call.
Looking for a simpler Google place photos API?
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What developers say
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“One API key for AI models, SERP data, and web scraping. Saved us from managing 4 separate providers.”
“The $5 free credit let us prototype our entire rank tracking feature before committing. No other API does that.”
Frequently asked questions
A Google Maps Photos API that resolves the photo references returned by place searches into actual images. Every result from the Maps Search and Place Details APIs carries up to ten photos[].reference values — this endpoint turns one into a directly fetchable image URL, sized to the max width or height you ask for (up to 4800px, aspect ratio preserved, never upscaled). Powered by the official Google Place Photos endpoint, so you get the same photos Google Maps shows — storefronts, interiors, dishes, menus — without a Google Cloud project, without an SDK, and without handling 302 redirects yourself. Fetch the image promptly and store it if you need it long-term: Google serves the resolved URLs for a limited time.
Each API call costs $0.01. No monthly minimums or subscriptions — you only pay for what you use.
Sign up for a free API key, then send a POST request to /v1/maps/photo. Check the code example above for a ready-to-use snippet in JavaScript, cURL, or Python.
YepAPI bundles SEO, AI, and web scraping APIs under one key with no monthly minimums. You get lower per-call pricing, a unified dashboard, and one billing account instead of managing multiple providers.
From the Maps Search or Place Details APIs — every place result includes a photos array with up to ten entries, each carrying a reference like places/{place_id}/photos/{token} plus the photo's original width, height, and attribution. Pass any of those references to this endpoint to resolve it into an image URL.
Google serves the resolved googleusercontent.com URLs for a limited time — they are meant to be fetched, not hot-linked forever. Fetch the image promptly after resolving, and store a copy yourself if you need the photo long-term. Resolutions are cached on our side for up to an hour; re-resolving after that window returns a fresh URL.
Set max_width and/or max_height anywhere from 1 to 4800 pixels. Google scales the photo down to fit within your bounds while preserving its aspect ratio and never upscales beyond the original upload. If you set neither, we default to a 1200px max width.
Same photos, less plumbing. Google's own endpoint needs a Google Cloud project with billing enabled, per-key restrictions, and code that follows a 302 redirect to the image. Here you POST a reference with your existing YepAPI key and get a JSON response with the final image URL — same key, same bill as every other YepAPI endpoint, $0.01 per call.
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Get your API key and start making calls in 30 seconds. $5 free credit on signup — no credit card required.
More google maps api endpoints
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$0.07Search Google Maps for places, businesses, and points of interest. Get names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, ratings, hours, and coordinates as clean JSON — official Google Places data from $0.07/call.
Place Details
$0.05Get full details for any Google Maps place by its ID — address, phone, website, hours, amenities, photos, ratings, coordinates, and a top review as clean JSON from $0.05/call.
Maps Reviews
$0.01Fetch up to 150 Google Maps reviews for any place by its ID — sorted by newest, most relevant, or rating — with full text, star ratings, author profiles, photos, and owner responses as clean JSON.