Five reasons why BigDataCloud API is better than Google Maps Free Reverse Geocoding API
Most modern mobile and web apps have location-based features enabled for content personalisation and customer targeting. These features aretransforming the way we shop online, stream digital content, and read news. Almost all online commerce and social networks are driven by these hyper-local targeting features.
At the heart of these features, lies an algorithm that converts a user’s geo-coordinates into readable location properties, called reverse geocoding. Based on this data, businesses are optimising and targeting their campaigns for maximum conversion.
There are many reverse geocoding service providers with various features and pricing models. Among them, Google has the most popular reverse geocoding API and is known to lead the industry. Upon in-depth research, you will find that these APIs have a lot of restrictions that impact the scalability and speed of your apps.
In this blog post, we have highlighted the major advantages of BigDataCloud’s reverse geocoding API, over Google’s API, and a few other well-known service providers’ APIs.
#1 More Accurate Reverse Geocoding Technology
The fundamental difference between BigDataCloud’s reverse geocoding API and others is the method used to convert geo-coordinates into a readable address. BigDataCloud is the first to deliver administrative/non-administrative boundary-based results, making it the perfect choice for identifying a user’s practical area such as county, city, state and country.
All the other service providers resolve coordinates to the nearest street address, as a result, they aren’t always accurate and fail to provide rich locality information.
Example: Illustrating the difference in result due to the underlying algorithm.
Geo-coordinates(Latitude and Longitude): 51.486782, -0.088560
The point on the map:
Conclusion
Google’s API was the only one to return multiple street names, whereas, Here and LocationIQ resolved to Villa street which was the closest street address, accompanied by an accuracy score. The example clearly demonstrates how resolving to the nearest street address doesn’t always provide accurate results. This can complicate the implementation of an API and increase the response time of your app. Whereas, resolving to the smallest locality area, as with BigDataCloud, gives you accurate information in near real-time.
#2 Better Freemium Policy
All the reverse geocoding service providers have a freemium plan with multiple features and rate limits. However, BigDataCloud is the only one to provide completely free reverse geocoding API for client-side implementation, without any rate limit or throttling.
If you want to implement reverse geocoding on the client-side for identifying a user’s real-time location on the web or mobile, BigDataCloud has the best plan. Even for a server-side implementation, BigDataCloud provides an affordable rate with 50K free queries per month. All the other providers have strict rate limits and restrictions.
#3 Less Restrictive Terms and Conditions
Among all the service providers, Google has the most stringent terms and conditions. This means less flexibility and more hurdles during the development stage.
Some of Google’s key limitations are (not verbatim):
- You cannot use their API data on a map that is not a Google map.
- Your app needs to attribute Google by displaying their logo.
- If you build an API on top of Google’s API, then all Google’s terms and conditions are transferred to your project.
- If you are building a mobile app, then you need to link to the TOS/Privacy Policy page on your app download page. For a web app you need to link to them in the footer.
- You must not prefetch, index, store, or cache any content except under the limited conditions stated in the terms and conditions.
Compared to this, BigDataCloud’s reverse geocoding implementation is easier and doesn’t have as many limitations. If you are using BigDataCloud’s client-side geocoding you don’t even need to attribute it. However, if you use LocationIQ’s free API for commercial projects you have to attribute and link back to the LocationIQ’s website. Here’s API has comparatively fewer restrictions as well.
#4 More Flexible Pricing Model
How does the pricing change with the growth of your business? This is important to understand so that you don’t end up paying too much in the future or realising that you cannot afford the service anymore.
Most service providers have different pro-level packages which either restrict features or usage.
BigDataCloud provides the most affordable and scalable pricing. If we assume that we need 1 Million requests per month, then you will notice that BigDataCloud’s pricing is far more reasonable compared to all other providers.
Furthermore, BigDataCloud’s pricing is not based on features; hence, all packages have access to all of the features. However, the pricing for Google API, LocationIQ, and Here increases significantly for higher API requests.
#5 Richer Location Dataset at Higher Speeds.
Regarding the quality and response rate of the APIs. Besides BigDataCloud, all the other APIs have inherent API hit limits per second which increases the overall data latency.
Using external API explorers, like Insomnia and Postman, we tested each of these APIs for the same input query. We executed the APIs multiple times and noted the variations in the response time. The table below provides an approximate of those response times.
The response time of BigDataCloud’s API is incredibly faster compared to other APIs.
Comparison of the output results among various service providers.
Sample JSON Output
Input: 36.672886, -109.730101 (Latitude, Longitude)
BigDataCloud Reverse Geocoding API Output
Google Reverse Geocoding API Output
LocationIQ Reverse Geocoding API
Here Reverse Geocoding API
More examples and comparisons of the output.
Example #1: Somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Conclusion:
When you provide a point that cannot be resolved to the closest street address, Here and LocationIQ fail to resolve to any address at all.
Example #2: Somewhere in the Sahara Desert.
Conclusion:
BigDataCloud’s API is able to provide more locality information about the region compared to other service providers.
Example #3: Somewhere near Hudson Bay.
Conclusion
BigDataCloud’s API was the only one to identify the actual name of the bay, James Bay, and associate it as being part of Hudson Bay. Here and LocationIQ’s API wasn’t able to provide an accurate result.
Example #4: Somewhere in London
Conclusion
This is yet another example of how resolving to the nearest street can give a false result. All the other APIs have identified the point being near Punchbowl Ln, St. Google, as usual, has provided multiple options.
Example #5: Somewhere in Los Angeles
Conclusion
Google has provided two street addresses — 4th Ave and 3rd Ave street. Here and LocationIQ have simply provided 4th Ave as the location. As the point is almost in equidistance from the streets the location is ambiguous and cannot be accurately resolved. The best option, in this case, is to use the smallest resolved area rather than a precise street address.
Originally published at https://www.bigdatacloud.com.
