Google Takeout presents two options that sound as though they should contain the same thing: Maps (your places) and Saved. Download both and the confusion gets worse. One archive contains a file called Saved Places.json; the other contains several CSV files named after your lists.
They are not two formats for the same export. They come from different parts of Google Maps, and choosing the wrong one can leave you wondering where half your lists went or why none of your rows have coordinates.
Here is the practical difference.
| Takeout product | Typical output | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maps (your places) | Saved Places.json | Starred places with coordinates | Custom lists may not be included |
| Saved | One CSV per list | Custom, default, shared, and followed lists | CSV rows generally have no latitude or longitude |
Google's own Maps export instructions now point people to the Saved product when they want their lists. The older-sounding Maps (your places) export is still useful, but for a different job.
What is inside Saved Places.json?
Select Maps (your places) in Takeout and the archive may include Saved Places.json. Despite the ordinary .json extension, the file is structured as GeoJSON: it has a FeatureCollection, a feature for each exported place, and geographic coordinates.
In practice, this is the useful Takeout route for a large Starred places collection. It is especially handy when desktop Google Maps stops showing the full list after roughly 200 entries. The file can still contain the complete collection even when the Maps sidebar does not.
What it is not is a dependable export of every named list in your account. A list called “Lisbon bakeries” or “Client visits” can be perfectly visible in Maps and absent from Saved Places.json. If custom lists are the reason you opened Takeout, use the Saved product instead—or export the live list directly with the extension.
The ExportMyMap Takeout Import accepts this Saved Places.json file. It reads the GeoJSON coordinates in your browser and lets you turn the places into a cleaner export. It does not accept the CSV bundle described below.
What is inside the Saved CSV export?
Select Saved in Takeout and Google creates separate CSV files for your saved lists. A custom list usually gets its own file. Default lists and lists that somebody shared with you may appear too, depending on what is currently attached to the account.
This structure is much nicer when your first question is “Which list did this place belong to?” Open the archive and the filenames answer it before you have imported anything.
The catch is that these are not GIS-ready coordinate files. The CSV rows commonly contain the place title, a Google Maps URL, and whatever list metadata Google provides, but not dedicated latitude and longitude columns. This is normal and does not mean Takeout failed.
You can open a Saved CSV in Excel or Google Sheets to audit a list, clean up names, or keep the Google Maps links. If you need coordinates, phone numbers, ratings, websites, opening hours, or a ready-made KML/GPX file, scan the list in Google Maps with the ExportMyMap Chrome extension instead.
Which export should you choose?
You need every Starred place, including more than 200
Start with Maps (your places) → Saved Places.json. This is the one case where the slightly awkward Takeout file is often more reliable than the list visible in desktop Maps. Follow the separate guide for exporting more than 200 Starred places if that is your problem.
You need one or more custom lists
Choose Saved if a basic CSV with Google Maps links is enough. It preserves the list boundaries and is useful for an archive.
Choose the Chrome extension if the destination needs actual coordinates or richer fields. The extension opens the list through your existing Google Maps session, reads the places, and can export them to CSV, Excel, KML, GPX, GeoJSON, or JSON.
You need a followed or shared list
The Saved archive is the Takeout option most likely to reflect lists attached to your account. If you need to move the places somewhere else rather than merely store their links, use the workflow for exporting a Google Maps list someone shared with you.
You need a GIS file
Saved Places.json already has GeoJSON-style geometry, which is a reasonable starting point for QGIS or another mapping tool. A Saved CSV is not. A URL can help identify a place, but GIS software cannot draw a point from a URL alone.
For a predictable GIS export, you can also create a fresh GeoJSON file from the live list or use KML if the destination is Google Earth or My Maps.
How to download the right archive
- Go to Google Takeout while signed into the correct Google account.
- Click Deselect all. There is no reason to download your entire Google account for this job.
- Select Maps (your places) for Saved Places.json, Saved for list-by-list CSV files, or both if you want to compare them.
- Continue to the next step, choose a one-time export, and create the archive.
- Download the ZIP from Google's email or the Takeout page, then extract it before inspecting the files.
Takeout exports are snapshots. If you save more places next month, the old archive does not update; create a new one.
Common mistakes
“My custom list is missing from Saved Places.json.” You probably downloaded the coordinate-oriented Takeout product rather than the list archive; the missing row is not evidence that Google deleted the list. Look in the Saved CSV export or open the list in Google Maps and scan it directly.
“My Saved CSV has no coordinates.” Also expected. Do not invent coordinates by splitting numbers out of an arbitrary Maps URL; Google uses several URL shapes and not every one contains the place's canonical position. Use the live-list export or a deliberate geocoding step.
“The JSON file will not open in Excel.” It was not designed as a spreadsheet. Use the Takeout Import page, a GeoJSON-aware tool, or export a fresh CSV after parsing it.
“I renamed the JSON file to .geojson and nothing changed.” Renaming can help an application recognize the format, but it cannot repair missing names, empty geometry, or placeholder coordinates. If the points look wrong, use the missing-coordinate troubleshooting guide before importing the file elsewhere.
The simplest rule is this: Saved Places.json is about coordinates; Saved CSV is about lists. Once you know which half matters, the near-identical names stop being a problem.