**European Economic Area (EEA) developers**

> [!NOTE]
> If your billing address is in the European Economic Area, effective on 8 July 2025, the [Google Maps Platform EEA Terms of Service](https://cloud.google.com/terms/maps-platform/eea) will apply to your use of the Services. Functionality varies by region. [Learn more](https://developers.google.com/maps/comms/eea/faq.md.txt).

> [!NOTE]
> This product is in [Legacy status](https://developers.google.com/maps/legacy.md.txt). As of October 2026, Places API (Legacy) can no longer be enabled for new Google Cloud projects. Existing projects remain fully supported. For new features and improved performance, [migrate
> to Places API (New)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/migrate-overview).

**Note: Server-side
and client-side libraries**

The Places API is also available with the
[Java Client,
Python Client, Go Client and Node.js Client for Google Maps Services](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/client-library).
The Places API and the client libraries are for
use in server applications.

If you're building a client-side
application, take a look at the
[Places SDK for Android (New)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/android-sdk), the
[Places SDK for iOS (New)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/ios-sdk), and the
[Places Library, Maps JavaScript API](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/places).

Places API (Legacy) lets you search for place information
using a variety of categories, including establishments, prominent points of
interest, and geographic locations. You can search for places either by
proximity or a text string. A Place Search (Legacy) returns a list of places
along with summary information about each place; additional information is
available using a
[Place Details (Legacy)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/details)
query.

## Compare search types

There are three search endpoints available with different characteristics. The following table
highlights some of these differences.

| Type | [Field selection](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search.md.txt#field-selection) | Text Search (Legacy) | [Ambiguous text](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search.md.txt#ambiguous-text) | Location filter | [Additional filters](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search.md.txt#additional-filters) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Find Place (Legacy)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search-find-place.md.txt) | Yes | Yes `input` | Yes | Yes | No |
| [Nearby Search (Legacy)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search-nearby.md.txt) | No | Yes `keyword` | No | Yes | Yes |
| [Text Search (Legacy)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/legacy/search-text.md.txt) | No | Yes `query` | Yes | Yes | Yes |

### Field selection

There is no way to constrain Nearby Search (Legacy) or Text Search (Legacy) to only return specific fields. To
keep from requesting (and paying for) data that you don't need, use a Find Place (Legacy) request instead.

### Ambiguous text

Find Place (Legacy) and Text Search (Legacy) are optimized for matching ambiguous text across a number of fields
while Nearby Search (Legacy) is constrained to strict matches on a subset of fields.

### Additional filters

Nearby Search (Legacy) and Text Search (Legacy) allow additional parameters to filter results,
(e.g. `minprice`, `maxprice`, `opennow`, and `type`).