Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PlaceKit VS Smarty

Compare PlaceKit VS Smarty and see what are their differences

PlaceKit logo PlaceKit

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

Smarty logo Smarty

Smarty provides address validation, autocomplete, geocoding and reverse geocoding services covering addresses in over 240+ countries.
  • 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.

πŸ“¦ 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:

πŸ“ˆ Increase conversions with address autocomplete and form filling.

🚚 Reduce miss-shipments with address validation.

βœ… Data normalisation.

πŸ—ΊοΈ Search for places on a map.

🌍 Country-restricted content with reverse geocoding.

Top features:

πŸ› οΈ 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.

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

  • Smarty Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21

Smarty is simply the best solution for USPS, US and International Address Validation. From our APIs, to our list-processing tools, we have an address validation solution for you.

PlaceKit

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

Smarty

Website
smarty.com
$ Details
freemium
Platforms
REST API ASP.NET API Generic HTTP API Web JavaScript PHP Java Python Ruby Go iOS Android Cloud
Release Date
2011 August

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

Smarty features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PlaceKit and Smarty)
Geocoding
100 100%
0% 0
Delivery Management System
Maps
100 100%
0% 0
Address Verification API
0 0%
100% 100

Questions and Answers

As answered by people managing PlaceKit and Smarty.

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 Smarty

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
    πŸ‘ Pros:    Affordable price|Well designed|Simple but powerful
    πŸ‘Ž Cons:    Minimal documentation
  2. πŸŽ¨πŸš€ 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.

    πŸ” 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.

    πŸ“ 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.

    πŸ› οΈ 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.

    πŸ’° 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! βœ¨πŸš€

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

Smarty Reviews

We have no reviews of Smarty yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Smarty should be more popular than PlaceKit. It has been mentiond 5 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 / 7 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 / 12 months ago

Smarty mentions (5)

  • International addy formatting
    There are online formatters like smartystreets.com which can validate and format your international address. Is this what you are looking for? Source: over 2 years ago
  • I've figured out an elegant solution to those sneaker botters
    What I've noticed after watching those sneaker botting videos is that they can make as many emails, proxies and debit cars numbers as they want but.... Not addresses. According to this video they mix up the way their address are written which somehow fools their system into thinking there aren't repeats even though the shoes some how end up at the same address. What these sites really need is a third party service... Source: about 3 years ago
  • AT&T is literally out of their mind.
    At one point they used SmartyStreets to validate your address and if it thinks your duplex and your neighbor is the same house, they'll be treated as one so you cannot get fiber now. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Free/ trial geocoding service for ~500k points?
    You can give smartystreets.com a try however for that many records it might cost you just a bit. Source: over 3 years ago
  • GIS Sources by State
    A good source that is free in small quantities for all states and in the world: smartystreets.com. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

UltraShipTMS - UltraShipTMS is a feature-rich comprehensive web-based transportation logistics automation software designed to serve high volume shippers.

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

GetSwift - Simple software streamlining your whole delivery business

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.

FreightPOP - FreightPOP is a mobile and web application created to fill an underserved market of SMB shippers.