Updated Oct 2026

Google Reviews API

Two official ways to get Google reviews by API, and which one fits your use case.

There is no product called “Google Reviews API”. Google reviews come through two official APIs: Places API returns at most 5 public reviews for any place and bills per request, while the Google Business Profile API returns every review and lets you reply, but only for locations you own or manage, and it’s free after an approval process. Prisma gives you the second option with one API key, the same day, in a JSON format shared with Trustpilot, App Store and Google Play.

Get API key

2 locations free. Read and reply to every Google review of your own locations.

How the official Google Reviews API options work

Option 1: Places API (public reviews of any place)

Part of Google Maps Platform. You send a place ID and ask for the reviews field. You authenticate with an API key, so any developer can start in minutes.

• What you get: “A maximum of 5 reviews”, sorted by relevance, per Google’s own Place reference.
• Who can use it: anyone, for any public place.
• Reply: no. It’s read-only.
• Price: the reviews field triggers the Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere SKU, listed at $25 per 1,000 requests in the first tier, with 1,000 free requests per month.
• Storage rules: you must not cache or store Places content beyond the allowed exceptions (place IDs can be stored indefinitely), and you must credit the review author when you display it.

Deeper dive, with field masks and request examples, on our Google Maps Reviews API page.

Option 2: Google Business Profile API (all reviews of your own locations)

The API behind the merchant dashboard, formerly the Google My Business API.

• What you get: every review, 50 per page, plus average rating and total count.
• Who can use it: Google accounts that are owner or manager of the location, through OAuth 2.0.
• Reply: yes, updateReply and deleteReply, up to 4,096 bytes per reply.
• Price: free (“available to registered users at no charge”).
• Catch: you must apply for access. Your project gets 0 queries per minute until approved and 300 QPM after. Eligibility requires a Business Profile verified and active for 60+ days, with a website.

Full access process and quotas on the Google Business Profile API page.

Side by side

What the Google Reviews API documentation doesn’t tell you

“5 reviews” is not “the latest 5”. Places sorts by relevance. A one-star review from this morning may never appear. You can’t build alerts, response workflows or a full export on top of it.

The cheap-looking option gets expensive. Polling 100 places every hour through Place Details with reviews is 100 × 24 × 30 = 72,000 requests per month. At the $25 list price, that’s about $1,775 after the free 1,000, for data that rarely changes and that you’re not allowed to keep.

The free option has a waiting room. The Business Profile API costs nothing, but a new project starts at 0 QPM. No timeline is published for approval.

A Google Reviews API key doesn’t exist for owners. People searching for a “google reviews api key” usually end up with a Places key, which can’t reply and can’t see all reviews. The owner route uses OAuth tokens per Google account.

Scraping is a third path, not an API. If you need reviews of businesses you don’t manage at volume, you’ll look at scrapers. Different legal and technical risk: we compare them honestly in Google Reviews API vs scraper.

Read and reply to Google reviews with Prisma

Prisma uses the Business Profile route (all reviews, replies included) through our own Google Cloud project. You connect each of your locations once by OAuth, as owner or manager, and call one REST API.

curl

# All Google reviews for one location since October 1
curl "https://api.prismareviews.com/v1/reviews?location_id=loc_8f2a&platform=google&since=2026-10-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PRISMA_API_KEY"

# Reply to one
curl -X POST "https://api.prismareviews.com/v1/reviews/rev_01HF3K/reply" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PRISMA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "Thanks, Pablo. See you next week!"}'

Node.js

const res = await fetch(
  "https://api.prismareviews.com/v1/reviews?platform=google&since=2026-10-01",
  { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.PRISMA_API_KEY}` } }
);
const { data } = await res.json();
const avg = data.reduce((s, r) => s + r.rating, 0) / data.length;
console.log(`${data.length} new Google reviews, average ${avg.toFixed(2)}`);

Python

import os, requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.prismareviews.com/v1/reviews",
    params={"platform": "google", "since": "2026-10-01"},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['PRISMA_API_KEY']}"},
)
for review in r.json()["data"]:
    print(review["rating"], review["author"], review["text"][:80])

Each review comes back with the same fields: id, platform, location_id, rating, text, author, created_at, reply, url. Add platform=trustpilot, app_store or google_play and the shape doesn’t change. Use it to embed Google reviews on your website, feed a support queue, or export Google reviews. All endpoints in the API reference.

Official Google Reviews API vs Prisma

Choose Places API if you need a few public reviews of places you don’t own, such as a directory or a travel app, and can live with 5 per place.

Choose the Business Profile API directly if you run your own locations, have time to get approved and only need Google.

Choose Prisma if you need all reviews and replies for your own locations, or your customers’, without the wait, or if Google is just one of several review sources. See pricing.

FAQ

Does Google have a reviews API?

Not one with that name. Google reviews are available through Places API (up to 5 public reviews for any place) and the Google Business Profile API (all reviews plus replies, for locations you own or manage).

Is the Google Reviews API free?

The Business Profile API is free. Places API bills the reviews field under the Place Details Enterprise + Atmosphere SKU: $25 per 1,000 requests at list price, with 1,000 free requests per month.

How do I get a Google Reviews API key?

For Places API, create an API key in a Google Cloud project with billing enabled. The Business Profile API doesn’t use API keys: it uses OAuth 2.0 and requires access approval. Prisma issues one API key on sign-up.

How do I get all Google reviews, not just 5?

Use the Business Profile API on a location you own or manage: it paginates through every review, 50 per page. Places API will never return more than 5.

Can I get Google reviews of a competitor by API?

Only the 5 that Places API returns. Neither the Business Profile API nor Prisma gives access to locations you don’t manage. Read Google Reviews API vs scraper before choosing a scraper.

Can I reply to Google reviews through an API?

Yes, but only through the Business Profile API (or Prisma on top of it), with owner or manager access. Places API is read-only.