Mapbox Search Box API vs Outscraper for AI agents
Mapbox Search Box API is Mapbox's search API for addresses, places and POIs, with interactive (/suggest + /retrieve), text (/forward), category and reverse endpoints. Outscraper is a third-party service and API that scrapes Google Maps places in bulk and returns them as structured records.
The short answer
- Mapbox Search Box API: Cheap autocomplete-style place and address search inside map apps, with a first-party hosted MCP server.
- Outscraper: Bulk extraction of Google Maps business lists, such as lead lists.
Side by side
| Mapbox Search Box API | Outscraper | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Addresses, places and points of interest, including category search such as "coffee shops around me". | Google Maps places by query (for example "restaurants brooklyn usa") or by place ID, plus reviews and photos. |
| Returns | JSON features with name, address, coordinates, POI categories, mapbox_id and optional metadata such as phone, website, open hours, rating and photos. Each response includes an attribution string. | JSON (exports also in CSV, Excel and Parquet) with fields such as name, site, phone, address, rating, hours and, with enrichments, emails and social links. |
| Before the first call | A Mapbox account and access token. You can sign up without a credit card, but you get trial usage limits until you add a payment method. | An Outscraper account and API key. |
| Free | Introductory preview pricing: 500 interactive sessions a month and 50,000 /category or /reverse requests a month. The page also shows a "Standard pricing" table (2,500 and 25,000 free), and which table applies when was not stated in the text read. | Not stated on its pages |
| Paid | Sessions: $3.00 per 1,000 under the introductory preview pricing, or $11.50 per 1,000 under the standard pricing. /category and /reverse: $1.00 per 1,000 (intro) or $1.70 (standard). | Not stated on its pages |
| Acting on a result | Retrieved POIs can include phone and website in metadata. There is no way to message a business through the API. | Records include the business phone and website from Google Maps, and enrichments can add emails. There is no messaging through Outscraper. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | All Search Box results are for temporary use only. Storing position data requires contacting Mapbox sales. | Not stated on its pages |
| Coverage | Global. The docs have a supported-geographies section that was not reviewed in detail. | Not stated on its pages |
| MCP server | Mapbox MCP Server, hosted at https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp (OAuth) and open source at https://github.com/mapbox/mcp-server. The search tools use the Search Box API. | outscraper/outscraper-mcp-server on GitHub (https://github.com/outscraper/outscraper-mcp-server), run with npx -y outscraper-mcp and OUTSCRAPER_API_KEY. |
Where Openpath fits
If the agent needs a local business to message in Austin, Texas, Openpath returns the listings themselves, free and with no key. See Openpath vs Mapbox Search Box API and Openpath vs Outscraper.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Mapbox Search Box API?
A Mapbox account and access token. You can sign up without a credit card, but you get trial usage limits until you add a payment method.
Is Mapbox Search Box API free?
Introductory preview pricing: 500 interactive sessions a month and 50,000 /category or /reverse requests a month. The page also shows a "Standard pricing" table (2,500 and 25,000 free), and which table applies when was not stated in the text read.
What do I need before I can use Outscraper?
An Outscraper account and API key.
Is Outscraper free?
Its pages listed no free use when we read them on October 15, 2026.
Sources
Every line about another company comes from its own pages. Prices and terms change, so check the source before you rely on one.
Mapbox Search Box API, read on October 15, 2026:
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Introductory preview pricing* Monthly sessions Up to 500 501 - 100,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $3.00”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Standard pricing Monthly requests Up to 2,500 2,501 - 100,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $11.50”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Request to /category and /reverse endpoints are billed on a per-request basis.”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “Monthly requests Up to 50,000 50,001 - 500,000 ... Cost per 1,000 Free $1.00”
- mapbox.com/pricing: “A session includes 50 /suggest calls, and 1 /retrieve call, and it will automatically expire after 2 minutes of inactivity.”
- docs.mapbox.com/accounts/guides/signup: “Quick sign-up without a credit card gives you access to Mapbox services with trial usage limits.”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/search/search-box: “all data returned by the Search Box API endpoints is only available for temporary use”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/search/search-box: “"metadata" : { "phone" : "PHONE_NUMBER" , "website" : "WEBSITE_URL" , "open_hours"”
- docs.mapbox.com/api/guides/mcp-server: “This endpoint is available at https://mcp.mapbox.com/mcp”
Outscraper, read on October 15, 2026:
- github.com/outscraper/outscraper-python: “client = OutscraperClient(api_key='SECRET_API_KEY')”
- github.com/outscraper/outscraper-python: “"site": "http://www.colonienyc.com/", "phone": "+1 718-855-7500"”
- github.com/outscraper/outscraper-mcp-server: “Official Outscraper MCP server for AI agents: Google Maps scraping, business data enrichment, lead generation”