One of the most widely used and popular APIs on the market is Google Places API. It provides developers easy access to an extensive database of location-based information, including businesses, points of interest, and geocoding functionality. However, with the recent changes to Google’s pricing model, many developers are now searching for alternatives. In this blog post, we will explore the top 5 Google Places API alternatives, highlighting their features and benefits, and evaluating their pricing models.
Top 5 Google Places API Alternatives
So whether you are building a mobile app, a web-based platform, or a geolocation service, the following Google Places API alternatives will help you to make an informed decision about which API to choose.
1. OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap is built by a community of mappers that contribute and maintain data about roads, trails, cafés, railway stations, and much more worldwide. It is an open-source mapping platform that offers a free API with a similar feature set to Google Places API.
Price: Free
2. Mapbox
Mapbox is another mapping platform that provides a range of services including geocoding, directions, and search. Their API is easy to use and offers pricing plans that cater to different needs. Mapbox provides powerful routing engines, accurate, traffic-powered travel times, and intuitive turn-by-turn directions to help you build engaging navigation experiences.
Price: Free
3. Here Maps
Here Maps is an American–Dutch multinational group dealing with mapping, location data, and related automotive services to individuals and companies. It is majority-owned by a consortium of German automotive companies and American semiconductor company Intel whilst other companies also own minority stakes.
Price: Free
4. TomTom
TomTom is a mapping and navigation company that offers a range of services, including geocoding and routing. Their API is widely used in the automotive and logistics industries and offers comprehensive features.
Whether it’s transporting drivers and goods safely and efficiently, gaining visibility over a fleet, routing electric vehicles, improving estimated times of arrival, or supporting something that’s never been done before, fresh, accurate maps and location data are key to solving problems core to their partners’ businesses.
Price: Free
5. Algolia Places
Algolia Places is a fast and reliable autocomplete API for address search. It offers a rich set of features and is easy to use.
Their goal is to build tools with sensible design defaults. The Algolia Places JavaScript library displays a modern and clean dropdown menu from the moment you install it. A few lines of CSS are all you need to customize it to the exact look and feel of your site. All of the typo-tolerance & highlighting capabilities of the Algolia search API are already built in.
Price: Free
Wrapping Up
To sum up, while Google Places API is a highly popular and reliable service, there are several alternatives worth considering. Each of the top five alternatives discussed in this post offers unique features and benefits, depending on your business needs. From location-based analytics to predictive intelligence, these alternatives provide a range of functionalities that can enhance your application or website. By exploring these alternatives, you can find the best fit for your business and deliver a seamless location-based experience to your users.
