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me_me_mu_mu · 2022-03-04 12:21:30

I was using google places API for a bit, but realized it is WAAAAYYY TOO EXPENSIVE to start with, so I looked for alternatives.

I really like TomTom's search API and docs. The results are not the most accurate, but fine for my purposes at the moment. However, I like how easy they make it to try out the API from the docs. I don't have to open up insomnia/postman and import a collection, I can just do everything from their site. I thought that was really neat.

You might need to login or register, but check out https://developer.tomtom.com/search-api/api-explorer

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lilcorey10 | karma 8 | avg karma 0.44 · | 2018-10-02 16:41:36+00:00

Any recommendation on an alternative for a well documented API similar to Google Places?

fouc | karma 6301 | avg karma 2.33 · | 2019-08-25 01:18:47

1. Google Places API.

travisweber | karma 3 | avg karma 1.0 · | 2024-04-26 15:34:57

Alright, good point. I need to find a good places API. The current ones are hardcoded.

nagarjun | karma 274 | avg karma 3.81 · | 2016-06-20 20:55:19+00:00

This looks awesome! Is there also a places autocomplete API?

userium | karma 507 | avg karma 1.81 · | 2017-12-20 19:04:01

True. Also, Google has a great Places Search API. You can build so many more things with the Google maps libraries, unlike with other maps. For example just built https://stayintech.com/ with Google Maps API, after considering all the available options.

pyyding | karma 2 | avg karma 0.5 · | 2018-08-07 14:22:45

The Startup I'm working for hasn't moved from Google Maps & Places APIs yet. This is why I'm currently in the middle of a thorough research and I figure that the end result might be beneficial to others as well.

Feel free to edit, comment, request, fill and such.

Be nice. Cheers

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jrabone | karma 1103 | avg karma 2.52 · | 2012-09-17 13:11:40+00:00

TomTom have a geocoding API [disclosure: I work for them]

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/licensing/press-room/press-relea...

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mr_cyborg | karma 212 | avg karma 2.94 · | 2021-05-07 20:47:05+00:00

This is awesome. What did you use to handle the location search?

vsergeev | karma 153 | avg karma 5.28 · | 2023-02-28 15:27:59

Thanks, I'll add it to my list. At some point I was thinking of adding a location search too, just depends on a free & reliable geocoding API.

hiddenstage | karma 155 | avg karma 1.53 · | 2012-10-16 03:39:14+00:00

You can search for a location on MapQuest.com.

Are you suggesting Google should be forced to display competitor APIs in their search results?

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lpolovets | karma 5580 | avg karma 6.57 · | 2011-10-31 15:06:24

Disclosure: I work at Factual.

Factual provides an API for businesses in the US and around the world. In fact, SimpleGeo partnered with us for some of their data. Other alternatives you can consider are FourSquare, Google Places, etc. Each alternative has it's own pricing structure and terms and conditions.

You can browse some of our POI data by going to http://www.factual.com/topic/places

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laurabw | karma 152 | avg karma 2.11 · | 2013-11-07 08:54:39

Hi cpursley, we use Google maps/places API and library. Feel free to ping me if you want to know more details about the tech.

hwork | karma 552 | avg karma 5.52 · | 2008-03-05 20:46:34

checked out the API, seemed pretty solid. Not that I know much about APIs, but in that I could get a hello world (aka, find my location) within 20 minutes.

solardev | karma 11265 | avg karma 2.03 · | 2023-12-03 09:52:04

Don't they have official APIs for this? I think "Nearby Search" and "Place Details" have the same info?

florind | karma 14 | avg karma 1.4 · | 2011-03-23 21:35:36+00:00

A side-by-side comparison of the main features provided by the major Places API providers.

lancefisher | karma 1139 | avg karma 3.42 · | 2012-09-17 14:57:28+00:00

Check out Yahoo's PlaceFinder API. You get 50,000 requests per day for free. This has worked well for me in the past. http://developer.yahoo.com/geo/placefinder/

BenjaminN | karma 110 | avg karma 1.8 · | 2013-11-02 04:14:36

Google Places API

Nars088 | karma 53 | avg karma 0.95 · | 2023-06-21 03:36:25

I've seen some sites use Google maps API to suggest your exact address, pretty cool

NetToolKit | karma 51 | avg karma 0.88 · | 2019-07-30 21:55:19+00:00

It sounds like you're looking for a crude substitute for a places API ([location + type] yields list of matching results). We don't currently support that, but we would be happy to build that if someone would use the feature (I have been thinking that that would be a natural extension of our offerings). I'll follow up with you via the e-mail address in your profile.