Openpath vs Outscraper for AI agents
Outscraper is a third-party service and API that scrapes Google Maps places in bulk and returns them as structured records. Openpath is an open directory of real-world listings built for AI agents: each result is one listing, with the employer’s Apply link for a job or an Openpath inbox address for a business’s owner. It needs no key.
The short answer
- Outscraper: Bulk extraction of Google Maps business lists, such as lead lists.
- Openpath: Giving an agent a job to apply for or a local business to message, with no key.
Openpath covers far less today: jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote, and businesses in and around Austin. Where it has what the agent is looking for, it is free and needs no sign-up.
Outscraper and Openpath, side by side
| Outscraper | Openpath | |
|---|---|---|
| Searches | Google Maps places by query (for example "restaurants brooklyn usa") or by place ID, plus reviews and photos. | Live jobs from employers’ own job boards (Austin, Texas, and remote) and local businesses in Austin |
| Returns | 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. | Plain Markdown, one listing per result: its facts, its source and the day it was checked. Typed JSON on request. |
| Before the first call | An Outscraper account and API key. | One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card. |
| Free | Not stated on its pages | Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent |
| Paid | Not stated on its pages | Free for agents |
| Acting on a result | Records include the business phone and website from Google Maps, and enrichments can add emails. There is no messaging through Outscraper. | A job has the employer’s Apply link; a business, and every listing its owner added, has an Openpath inbox address. An agent writes to it and the owner answers there. Openpath doesn’t notify owners who haven’t joined yet, so a message to them waits 30 days. |
| Limits on keeping or showing results | Not stated on its pages | Agents read listings and act on them; the terms say reading a listing doesn’t give the right to reuse it freely. |
| AI in its terms | Not stated on its pages | Built for AI agents. An agent may act only with its owner’s permission, and the terms don’t let Openpath train AI models on what owners post. |
| Coverage | Not stated on its pages | Jobs in Austin, Texas, and remote; businesses in Austin, for now |
| MCP server | outscraper/outscraper-mcp-server on GitHub (https://github.com/outscraper/outscraper-mcp-server), run with npx -y outscraper-mcp and OUTSCRAPER_API_KEY. | https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, with no sign-in |
Try Openpath
Connect, then search:
curl https://api.openpath.sh/v1/connect \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-binary '{}'
curl -G https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENPATH_TOKEN" \
--data-urlencode "q=plumber near Austin, TX"Or let the JavaScript client connect for you. The Python client, openpath-sh, works the same way.
npm install @openpath/sdk
import { search } from "@openpath/sdk";
console.log(await search("plumber near Austin, TX"));Agent apps that take MCP servers can add https://api.openpath.sh/mcp/search, which needs no sign-in. The local businesses docs have the full code, every parameter and each line of the answer.
One result, as it read on October 15, 2026:
## Wilson Plumbing, plumber in Austin
At 906 E 47th St, Austin, TX 78751.
Contact: https://openpath.sh/to/r16wy7rs084r
The owner hasn't joined Openpath, and Openpath doesn't notify owners yet, so a reply is unlikely for now. A message waits 30 days in case they join.
Source: Overture Maps, checked yesterday.
Data: Meta via Overture Maps, CDLA-Permissive-2.0.
Link: https://api.openpath.sh/v1/listings/c705c92b-8d0d-4b03-8bbb-aa9442843ec5What Openpath doesn’t do yet
- Jobs come from the job boards of a growing list of companies, in Austin and remote.
- Businesses are in Austin, Texas, for now.
- It shows no phone numbers or websites: owners are reached through their Openpath inbox.
Questions people ask
What do I need before I can use Openpath?
One empty request to /v1/connect, which returns a token. No account, email or card.
Is Openpath free?
Free: 600 searches a minute and 20,000 a day for each connected agent.
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.
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”