Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PlaceKit VS Carto

Compare PlaceKit VS Carto and see what are their differences

PlaceKit logo PlaceKit

Worldwide geocoding API and address autocomplete, store locator, and two-way geocoding for your apps.

Carto logo Carto

The future of GIS? It’s Spatial Data Science. CARTO is the world’s leading Location Intelligence platform for Data Scientists, Developers and Analysts in Enterprise.
  • PlaceKit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-13

Our mission at PlaceKit is to become the go-to geocoding solution for developers. Existing solutions feel opaque as they're split across many indiscernible APIs, confusing pricing, and locking developers into their ecosystem. We put the focus on the developer experience, and the main PlaceKit benefits are:

✨ A single REST API with a worldwide addresses catalog and transparent per-request pricing with a free plan.

📦 Integrate easily anywhere with any maps provider or JS framework thanks to our SDKs and OpenAPI reference.

⚡️ Blazing fast, typo-tolerant and high-relevance search powered by Algolia engine.

Example use-cases:

📈 Increase conversions with address autocomplete and form filling.

🚚 Reduce miss-shipments with address validation.

✅ Data normalisation.

🗺️ Search for places on a map.

🌍 Country-restricted content with reverse geocoding.

Top features:

🛠️ Live Patching: with the amount of data, no provider can pretend to have it 100% right, so we'll let you fix addresses and make them instantly available to your users. Addressing one of the most missing features from other solutions.

📍 Store Locator: define your points of interest with free-form metadata and let your users find the nearest ones to their location.

  • Carto Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-07

PlaceKit

$ Details
freemium
Platforms
REST API Browser JavaScript Node JS ReactJS
Release Date
2023 May

Carto

Website
carto.com
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

PlaceKit features and specs

  • Address Autocomplete: Yes
  • Places Autocomplete: Yes
  • Reverse Geocoding: Yes
  • Geocoding API: Yes
  • OpenStreetMap Data: Yes
  • Geonames Data: Yes
  • Store Locator: Yes
  • Live Patching Data: Yes

Carto features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

PlaceKit videos

No PlaceKit videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

+ Add video

Carto videos

CartoDB, así es la empresa de referencia en visualización de datos en mapas

More videos:

  • Review - Using Map layer wizard in CArtodb to create Heat and Intensity maps

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PlaceKit and Carto)
Geocoding
100 100%
0% 0
Maps
14 14%
86% 86
Mapping And GIS
0 0%
100% 100
Geolocation
32 32%
68% 68

Questions and Answers

As answered by people managing PlaceKit and Carto.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

PlaceKit's answer

  • Algolia
  • OpenStreetMap
  • Geonames
  • BAN

What's the story behind your product?

PlaceKit's answer

Algolia Places was an address autocomplete solution powered by the famous Algolia search engine and loved by developers. It eventually got sunset on May 2022, forcing its customers to compromise with other solutions.

We, two former employees working on Algolia Places, took on a mission to revive Algolia Places, and bring it further, making it a full geocoding service: meet PlaceKit!

What makes your product unique?

PlaceKit's answer

  1. Unique API - One unified API providing all the data and covering all use-cases
  2. Transparent and simple pricing - Pay only for what you consume with our per-request pricing
  3. Blazing fast using Algolia engine
  4. Great developer experience

What makes us really unique?

PlaceKit is the only geocoding solution providing the Live Patching feature aka fixing address / POIs on the fly and make it instantly available to your users.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PlaceKit and Carto

PlaceKit Reviews

  1. Great Product!

    I've been looking for an alternative to Algolia Places but the existing solutions are either too expensive or lack worldwide support. Placekit was the right solution for me: simple, efficient, affordable and loved the dashboard design.

    🏁 Competitors: Mapbox
    👍 Pros:    Affordable price|Well designed|Simple but powerful
    👎 Cons:    Minimal documentation
  2. 🎨🚀 Unleash Your Creativity with Placekit's Locations Search API! 🌍✨

    As a designer who occasionally dives into development, I've discovered a hidden gem in Placekit's Locations Search API. It's a one-stop solution that seamlessly caters to all my location-related needs, providing an unparalleled user experience.

    🔍 With a few simple keystrokes, users can effortlessly fill their complete address, thanks to the lightning-fast autocomplete feature. This not only boosts conversion rates but also saves valuable time for both developers and end-users.

    ⚡️ Powered by Algolia's cutting-edge search engine, the API delivers blazing fast responses. Typos? Not a problem! Its typo-tolerant nature ensures accurate results even when users fumble their input.

    🌐 The worldwide places search capability is a game-changer for global applications. Whether it's finding the nearest coffee shop or a hidden gem in a remote town, Placekit has us covered. The API's high-relevance search guarantees that users discover precisely what they're looking for, no matter where they are.

    📍 Integrating store location functionalities into my app has never been easier. The two-way geocoding feature not only enables me to pinpoint specific addresses but also converts coordinates into human-readable locations effortlessly.

    🛠️ One of the most exciting features on the horizon is live patching. Soon, I'll have the power to patch errors instantly, making updates immediately available to my users. This level of control and agility is a game-changer for ensuring accurate and up-to-date information.

    💰 On top of everything, Placekit's transparent and simple pricing structure gives me peace of mind. I can focus on designing exceptional user experiences without worrying about complex pricing models.

    🌟 In a nutshell, Placekit's Locations Search API is a designer's dream. It combines functionality, speed, and ease of use to provide an unparalleled location search experience. Whether you're a designer, developer, or both, this API is a must-have tool in your arsenal. Take your app to new heights with Placekit! ✨🚀

    🏁 Competitors: Algolia Places
    👍 Pros:    Comprehensive functionality|Simplified address input|Fast and accurate search|Global coverage|Transparent pricing
    👎 Cons:    Dependency on external service|Learning curve|Limited customization|Potential cost considerations

Carto Reviews

5 Best Web Mapping Platforms – The Battle of Web GIS
Carto specializes in putting analysis into production. It’s meant for those types of projects where you dig deep into the data. No development is needed to build spatial models driven by machine learning. Out-of-the-box solutions like site selection, territory planning, and vehicle routing tackle everyday challenges. But it can be a bit of a steep learning curve if you don’t...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Carto should be more popular than PlaceKit. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PlaceKit mentions (2)

  • Google Maps is always right… right?
    We recently integrated a new country-state boundary functionality into our PlaceKit API. To estimate performance, we tested our system against the Google Maps API and encountered unexpected anomalies. A manual review of each discrepancy led to an interesting discovery: we traced all anomalies back to Google Maps, offering a glimpse into its occasionally flawed calculations. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Making React-Leaflet work with NextJS
    I've run into some issues implementing React Leaflet with NextJS for our admin panel at PlaceKit. So let's gather my findings into a single article, hoping it'll save you some time. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago

Carto mentions (7)

  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Carto.com — Create maps and geospatial APIs from your and public data. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • OC: A guide to easily accessing OSM data with Google BigQuery
    I've written a guide to how to do this over at carto.com - this also includes a general guide to OSM including benefits and limitations, use cases and schema. Source: over 1 year ago
  • IP Visualizer - Redis Hackathon submission
    Location data is provided by MaxMind The Map used is provided by Carto. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Site to display thematic maps?
    I have also used carto.com and ArcGIS Online to create interactive maps but most of my projects include static maps and I can not necessarily remake those on these sites as there are more complicated/don't need to be interactive. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Tips and guides for setting up a cloud-based GIS database with a web map component for someone with very limited IT background
    I think CARTO would be perfect for this. It's basically just PostGIS in the cloud with a great interface. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PlaceKit and Carto, you can also consider the following products

OpenCage Geocoder - Easy, Open, Worldwide, Affordable Geocoding.

ArcGIS - ArcGIS software is a data analysis, cloud-based mapping platform that allows users to customize maps and see real-time data ranging from logistics support to overall mapping analysis.

Google Maps - Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

QGIS - QGIS is a desktop geographic information system, or GIS.

Mapbox - An open source mapping platform for custom designed maps. Our APIs and SDKs are the building blocks to integrate location into any mobile or web app.

Geocode Earth - Build smarter location experiences with our fast, accurate & affordable geocoding solutions.