Apontador Busca Local
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersSão Paulo, Brazil
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Apontador Busca Local does
Apontador Busca Local LTDA is a Brazil-based, privately held local business directory and geolocation platform founded in 2008 and headquartered in São Paulo. The company operates apontador.com.br, a web-based platform that enables Brazilian consumers to discover local businesses, services, restaurants, and points of interest by category, city, and neighborhood, supported by user-generated reviews, ratings, and contact information. Coverage spans 14+ major Brazilian cities including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Fortaleza, and Manaus, with city-level listing density in the tens of thousands (e.g., 150,300+ in Curitiba, 46,988+ in Ribeirão Preto).
The platform is built on a freemium model with a self-serve go-to-market motion: businesses register listings for free and upsell into paid modules including Apontador+ (premium listings), SVA (value-added services / Serviço de Valor Adicionado), Presença Digital (digital presence management), and digital advertising placements. Revenue therefore depends on a long tail of SMB customers and a smaller set of enterprise/chain accounts (e.g., Hilton, Ibis, McDonald's, Habibs, Petz) rather than large enterprise contracts. Customer segments are organized horizontally across food and beverage, hospitality, retail, automotive, pet services, and professional services, with both SMBs and consumer users as primary audiences.
The company has received $15M in disclosed funding from Movile (2014) and acquired Acessozero in 2012. Leadership is anchored by co-founder and CTO Rafael Siqueira. The platform is LGPD-compliant and distributes organically through SEO-optimized category and neighborhood pages, supplemented by social channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). No AI/ML capabilities, patents, awards, or disclosed partnerships are documented in the source data.
Apontador Busca Local firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Apontador Busca Local
- Legal name
- Apontador Busca Local LTDA
- Website
- https://apontador.com.br
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Apontador Busca Local industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Local Business Directory
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (56152)
- akta.pro primary industry
- POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms (BPAMANAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Local SEO (Maps, Citations, Reviews) (BPAFAJAD), Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Apontador Busca Local is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- São Paulo
- HQ country
- Brazil
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Apontador Busca Local business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Premium Business Listings (Apontador+): Paid premium features for businesses to enhance their digital presence and visibility on the platform
- SVA (Value-Added Services): Additional paid services for enhanced business listings and promotional features
- Digital Advertising: Promotional placements and advertising opportunities for businesses on the platform
- Freemium Business Registration: Free basic business listing registration with premium upsell opportunities
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free basic listing registration |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Apontador Busca Local product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Apontador Busca Local operates a web-based local business directory platform that enables Brazilian consumers to search and discover local businesses, services, restaurants, and points of interest by category, city, and neighborhood using geolocation, reviews, and contact information. The platform monetizes by offering businesses free basic listing registration alongside paid premium services (Apontador+, SVA, Presença Digital) that enhance their digital visibility and promotional features across the directory.
Product overview
Apontador Busca Local operates as a local business directory platform with a unified structure comprising the core Apontador search platform and three supplementary modules: Apontador +, SVA, and Presença Digital. The core platform enables users to discover local businesses, services, restaurants, and points of interest across Brazilian cities through geolocation-based search and category navigation. The supplementary solutions extend the platform's value by offering enhanced business listing features, value-added services, and digital presence management for businesses.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Apontador +: Premium solution/service offering from Apontador
- SVA
Products and services
- Apontador Plataforma Principal (Core Directory Platform) Core web-based directory platform that allows Brazilian consumers to find local businesses, services, restaurants, and points of interest by category, city, and neighborhood, with geolocation search, user reviews/ratings, and contact information. Businesses can register their listings for free.
- Apontador + Premium paid service that enhances a business's digital presence and visibility on the Apontador platform, offering upgraded listing features for businesses seeking greater exposure in local search results.
- SVA (Serviço de Valor Adicionado) Value-added service providing additional paid promotional features and enhanced visibility for business listings on the Apontador directory platform.
- Presença Digital Digital presence solution that helps businesses establish and manage their online visibility on the Apontador platform, addressing the need for consistent and accurate business information across local search.
Companies that use Apontador Busca Local
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Apontador Busca Local technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Apontador Busca Local partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Apontador Busca Local competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Google Maps: Google's mapping and local business discovery platform dominates local search globally and in Brazil. It is the primary substitute for Apontador's core use case (finding local businesses by category and location) and competes for the same SMB advertising and listing budgets.
- Yelp: Global local business review and directory platform operating a freemium SMB advertising model similar to Apontador+. While geographically focused on the US, Yelp is the international benchmark for Apontador's directory + reviews + paid placement business model.
- HERE Maps: Global mapping and location platform offering POI data, geocoding, and location services to enterprises. HERE competes with Apontador in the broader local discovery and location data space, particularly for enterprise and developer use cases.
Emerging players
- Tripadvisor: Global travel and restaurant review platform that overlaps with Apontador's restaurant, hotel, and attraction categories. It competes for the same consumer attention and tourism-related SMB advertising spend in Brazil, particularly for hospitality and food service listings.
Direct peers
- Foursquare: Location-based discovery and POI platform with consumer apps and SMB location tools. Foursquare's POI data and Places API directly parallel Apontador's local business directory and geolocation capabilities, making it the closest international functional comparable.
- GuiaMais: Brazilian local business directory and search platform offering similar category-based business discovery and contact information. GuiaMais is a direct Brazilian competitor to Apontador, serving the same SMB and consumer segments with comparable directory functionality.
- Telelistas: Brazilian telephone and business directory service providing business listings, contact information, and category search. Telelistas overlaps with Apontador's directory and contact information use cases and serves the same Brazilian SMB and consumer market.
Others
- Maplink: Brazilian location technology company providing maps, geocoding, and route optimization APIs for enterprises. Maplink is an adjacent technology provider rather than a direct competitor, but operates in the same Brazilian geolocation ecosystem as Apontador.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Apontador Busca Local social profiles
Digital presenceApontador Busca Local compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Apontador Busca Local financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Apontador Busca Local leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Apontador Busca Local funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Apontador Busca Local M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Apontador Busca Local
What does Apontador Busca Local do?
Apontador Busca Local operates a web-based local business directory platform that enables Brazilian consumers to search and discover local businesses, services, restaurants, and points of interest by category, city, and neighborhood using geolocation, reviews, and contact information. The platform monetizes by offering businesses free basic listing registration alongside paid premium services (Apontador+, SVA, Presença Digital) that enhance their digital visibility and promotional features across the directory.
Is Apontador Busca Local a public or private company?
Apontador Busca Local is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Apontador Busca Local founded?
Apontador Busca Local was founded in 2008. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Apontador Busca Local based?
Apontador Busca Local is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, in the Latin America region.
How does Apontador Busca Local make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Premium Business Listings (Apontador+) is the primary driver. The others are SVA (Value-Added Services), digital Advertising and freemium Business Registration.
Who are Apontador Busca Local's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Google Maps, Yelp and HERE Maps. Tripadvisor is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Foursquare, GuiaMais and Telelistas. Maplink is listed as an others.
Does Apontador Busca Local have an API?
No public API is recorded for Apontador Busca Local.
What industry is Apontador Busca Local in?
Apontador Busca Local's product category is Local Business Directory. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAD, POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAFAJAD, Local SEO (Maps, Citations, Reviews). Its NAICS code is 56152.