Geocode API Review: Scalable and Reliable Geocoding & Geoparsing

Website ToolsEditorial • October 09, 2019 • 5 minutes READ

Geocoding refers to the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates. On the other hand, reverse geocoding refers to converting geographic coordinates into human-readable addresses.

For a layman, the whole process would not make sense, however, geocoding hold a lot of significance since they allow us to identify address on a map. Businesses use geocoding to make it easy to identify delivery addresses and ensure products get delivered at the right time at the right location.

There are many companies offering geoparsing and coordinate conversion services. One such company is Geocode API owned by SaaS industries.

In this Geocode API review, we’ll have a critical look at the company and gauge if it’s worth a try.

SaaS Industries is an Austria based corporation that provides solutions to develop SaaS applications. It mainly deals with software platforms and the toolchain process. Apart from focusing on solving daily business problems with cloud computing solutions, the company owns three APIs and a few satellite pages as well.

The firm is quite reliable and known to offer exceptional customer services.

What Does This API Do?

Geocoding API is a solution developed to help individuals and companies find geographic coordinates of human-readable addresses and vice versa. The conversion is important since street addresses are not readable by computers. We need addresses in a machine-readable format for computers to perform analysis.

The API is usually used in combination with GIS related software and databases. The Geocode API by SaaS industries features scalable, fast, and reliable geocoding and geoparsing abilities.

The API is accessed via an HTTP interface. Users use an API key to gain access to the API and can even register for a new API key at the Geocode API’s developer portal.

Main Features

Apart from owning a huge database with worldwide data that is constantly being upgraded, Geocode API comes with a number of other features that make it stand. These include:

Scalability

Geocode API’s system is optimized to handle a growing amount of workload. Since users usually pair the API with their applications, it is not for one-time use.

It can handle a large volume of requests making it a good option for businesses that are constantly growing.

Results in Real-time

As mentioned earlier, the Geocode API has a huge database that is constantly updated. These changes are called CRUD actions and they are being done based on interactions between users and systems.

However, as a user, you will not have to worry about old data since the system is able to provide updated, real-time data to users. This makes it easier to identify and solve problems. But, we must mention that real-time result in geocoding and geoparsing is not very critical.

Easy to Use

Every API has a certain file format in which it sends back the results. This Geocode API uses JSON which is an open-source format and is extremely easy to use, especially when it comes to integration.

Most such tools use XML which can be quite complicated, especially if this is your first time using a geocoding tool. On the other hand, JSON is easy to send to mobile applications.

Thanks to the structuring and formatting of the data, processing only takes a few minutes. Plus, the JSON data sharing program makes it easy to use it with languages like PHP and JavaScript.

Auto-completion

Since the API is designed to improve the overall user experience, it also comes with an auto-completion feature. Programmers who use the API can enhance the overall user experience by adding the auto-completion feature to the location input field.

This will make it easier for users to input data as they will not have to feed the details manually every time. The system will be able to pick up information on its own including the country, state, city, town, and even the street in some cases.

Data Enrichment

The data from the API can be used for the enrichment of your data. This is usually done to improve the already available data in order to make more informed and well-thought decisions.

CRM data is very important to satisfy customers and provide them a high quality of service. With this tool, you will be able to enrich this data, making your customer data more valuable and useful. However, the tool at this point only offers a bulk endpoint.

This means you will only be able to read the data gathered through the tool. The system will not give you the option to change the data.

Visualization of the Data

This is one of the most important features of this API. It normalizes and cleans data so that it can be easily visualized on web maps.

Addresses in words cannot be directly viewed on maps unless manually highlighted. This API makes visualization possible by converting data into a computer-readable format.

Pricing Options

The company caters to all types of clients including small and big corporations. Here’s the pricing plan:

• Free: This package comes with limited features including 350,000 monthly requests, 2 queries per second. It can be good for users who do not know much about geocoding but want to give it a try. You can move to a paid service if you like what you see. However, implementing this one can be tricky thanks to the option being ‘self-service’.
• Small: This package starts as low as $85 per month and comes with 3.5 million monthly requests and up to 25 queries per second. You will enjoy better customer support and concierge onboarding, making it easy to implement the system.
• Medium: This package starts as low as $135 per month and comes with 8 million monthly requests and up to 35 queries per second. You will enjoy better customer support and concierge onboarding, making it easy to implement the system.
• Large: This package starts as low as $300 per month and comes with 2 million monthly requests and up to 40 queries per second. You will enjoy better customer support and concierge onboarding, making it easy to implement the system.
• Custom: If none of the above packages meet your requirements then consider options for a custom package designed specifically for your business.

All the rates are monthly, however, it may be a good idea to opt for a yearly subscription if you’re sure of the service. The company offers discounted rates when you subscribe for a year. Get in touch to know more.

Pros

• Due to the JSON data format, it is easy to use and incorporate.
• The free package makes it quite exciting.
• High scalability ensures that the services will never deteriorate.
• Excellent customer service.
• It offers an uptime of 99.9 percent.

Cons

• Apart from the JSON format, users don’t have any data options. All they can do is use third party applications for conversions.
• Little to no information on the website.

Customer Service

You can get in touch with the company by going here. It can take up to 48 hours to get a response. However, paying customers enjoy excellent customer support. But, we wish they had the option to speak over the phone.

Conclusion

Geocode API is a pretty amazing tool especially for people who want to add a spatial feature to their research or analysis. Many applications use these tools for proper visualization and querying of data.

The Geocode API is developed to improve the overall user experience and to facilitate developers. It is easy to use and quite reliable as well.