How do I match street addresses to UK postcodes?
U.K. sites that require addresses often ask the user to provide a postcode. The site then offers the user a choice between the different addresses that match that postcode.
How can I match a postcode to a street address?
Answer
Quick comparison:
- Ideal Postcodes - https://ideal-postcodes.co.uk has an package on npm and reasonably priced. Gives address as individual parts as well as a single string, which can be useful for filling out a form as individual bits (and allowing people to customise).
- getAddress - http://getaddress.io - also reasonably priced. Gives results as a single string only, rather than the broken down components - whether this is better or worse really depends on the situation.
- PostCode Anywhere - http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/ - used by lots of large household names but much more expensive than other solutions. You can get up to 50 JSON API calls a day directly though - see How do I look up a UK address based on house number and postcode?
- Get the PAF file yourself http://poweredbypaf.com - this is incredibly expensive.