This Google Maps URL to Place ID converter takes a Maps link and returns the Place ID of the place it points at, with the address and a pin so you can confirm the match. Free, no API key required.
Paste the full link, not a short one
Open the place in Google Maps and copy the URL out of your browser’s address bar. That long link carries everything needed.
Shortened share links, the maps.app.goo.gl ones produced by the Share button, will not work here. Following a shortened link means reading a redirect from another domain, which browsers block for security reasons. Open the short link in a new tab first, then copy the full URL that lands in the address bar.
How the Google Maps URL to Place ID conversion works
Google’s Maps URLs documentation describes how these links are put together. A Maps link does not contain the Place ID. It contains the place’s name and the coordinates of its pin, so the ID has to be recovered from those.
The obvious approach gives the wrong answer. Converting the pin’s coordinates directly returns the street address standing at that point rather than the place itself: run the Eiffel Tower’s own Maps link through that method and you get “1 Av. Gustave Eiffel”, not the monument. This converter takes the name out of the link and matches it against the pin’s neighbourhood, which returns the listing you actually clicked.
Steps
- Open the place in Google Maps.
- Copy the whole URL from the address bar.
- Paste it above and press Get Place ID.
Worked example: a Google Maps URL to Place ID conversion
Paste the Maps URL for the Eiffel Tower, the one beginning https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eiffel+Tower/@48.85.... It returns ChIJLU7jZClu5kcR4PcOOO6p3I0, named Eiffel Tower at Av. Gustave Eiffel, 75007 Paris.
If the link turns out to be a dropped pin rather than a listing, search the place by name in the Place ID Finder instead, or convert its coordinates with the coordinates converter.
Check the name on the card before you use the ID. Where several branches of a chain sit close together, the pin decides which one matches, and that is the step worth confirming.
Google Maps URL to Place ID: links this cannot convert
- Shortened links such as
maps.app.goo.gl/.... Expand them first. - Dropped pins, which are bare coordinates with no listing behind them. There is no Place ID because there is no place.
- Links carrying only a numeric CID. Open the link, click the place, and copy the URL that appears.
- Search result links showing many places at once. Click into the one you want first.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Google Maps URL to Place ID converter free?
Yes. It is free, needs no API key, and has no limit on conversions.
Why will it not accept my share link?
Share links are shortened, and a browser cannot follow a redirect to another domain from inside a page. Open it in a new tab and copy the full URL that results.
Does the Place ID come from the link itself?
Usually not. Most Maps URLs carry a name and coordinates rather than an ID, so the place is matched from those. Occasionally a link does carry an ID, and it is used directly when present.
What if the wrong branch comes back?
Open the specific branch in Maps first so its own URL is in the address bar, then convert that. A link showing search results can match any of them.
Can I get a Place ID from a Street View link?
No. Street View links describe a camera position, not a listing. Switch to the map, click the place, and use that URL.
What about links from other countries?
Any Google Maps domain works, so google.co.uk/maps and google.fr/maps convert the same as google.com/maps.