Run a Text Search on Google Places API (New) with a field mask tuned to the cheapest billing tier
domain: developers.google.com · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
POST to places.googleapis.com/v1/places:searchText with a textQuery body and an API key
Set the X-Goog-FieldMask header (or fields/$fields param) to only the fields actually needed — omitting it returns an error
Know the tiers: Essentials (IDs Only), Pro (basic fields like location/displayName), Enterprise (advanced fields like reviews, opening hours)
Remember that mixing fields from multiple tiers bills the entire request at the highest tier touched
Track free monthly call allotments, which are tracked separately per SKU tier (Essentials/Pro/Enterprise)
Known gotchas
there is no default field set — a missing field mask fails the request rather than returning everything
adding a single Enterprise-tier field to an otherwise-Essentials request bills the whole call at Enterprise rate
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