When you're looking for an address autocomplete solution, there are two obvious choices:
Smarty US Address Autocomplete and Google Place Autocomplete.
But how are they different? And, which one should you choose?
Simple Pricing
Pricing for Smarty US Autocomplete Pro API is simple and easy-to-understand. Pricing for Google Place Autocomplete? Not so much. In fact, it's darn near impossible to project exactly what you'll be required to pay to Google if you choose to use them. And, they cap your processing speed as well.
Smarty offers plans that include unlimited lookups and unlimited processing speeds. All at a fixed cost.
Data Accuracy
When you're collecting data from customers, you want to make sure that data is completely accurate. Smarty provides the highest-level of accuracy available for address data. Specifically, Smarty verifies that the address being entered by the customer is a real, validated address.
Google does not validate addresses. Instead, Google suggests possible addresses that may or MAY NOT be real places. As long as it's a plausible address, they'll suggest it to your user. That means if you rely on Google for address data, your customer may enter faulty data into your system. This can lead to big data cleanup costs later on. And, if you're relying on that address to send something to your customer, it may not ever get to them.
Smarty makes sure the address is a real, valid place. Every time.
Another difference between Google Place Autocomplete and Smarty US Address Autocomplete is the handling of unit numbers, such as apartments or suites. Google does not tell you if an address also has a unit number associated with it. Smarty US Autocomplete Pro API DOES tell you if an address also requires an apartment number. That way, if your customer is entering an address into your data form, they'll be prompted to also select their unit number as well.
When you use Smarty, clean data goes into your system the first time, and every time.