AddressBrain vs postcodes.io
postcodes.io alternative when you need full UK addresses, not just postcodes
postcodes.io is a free, open-source API for UK postcode data, built on ONS and Ordnance Survey open datasets. It tells you about a postcode, but it does not list the individual addresses at it. AddressBrain returns every deliverable address from Royal Mail PAF, officially licensed, as structured fields.
Free trial: 30 lookups a day for 30 days. No card required.
Powered by
Sub-50ms response times
Free trial, no card required
The honest comparison
Postcode data, or real addresses
postcodes.io is excellent at what it does: confirming a postcode exists and returning open data about it, such as its region and administrative areas. It is free, MIT licensed, and you can host it yourself.
What it does not include is Royal Mail's Postcode Address File, so it cannot list the houses, flats and businesses at a postcode or validate a full address. An address form needs PAF, and PAF needs a licence. AddressBrain is a licensed PAF solution provider.
.svg){kind=small}
When postcodes.io makes sense
If you only need to check a postcode is real, or enrich records with open postcode data for analysis and reporting, postcodes.io is free and does the job well. We would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
When AddressBrain makes sense
If customers need to pick their address, or you need to know an address is deliverable, you need PAF data. AddressBrain gives you postcode lookup, autocomplete and validation on licensed PAF, with a known monthly bill.
%201.svg){kind=small}
Included on every AddressBrain plan
Postcode lookup, autocomplete, validation, new-build coverage and 1.4m UK business names, in the free trial and on every paid plan. Nothing is a bolt-on.
Pricing side by side
Nine plans, one page, no credit maths.
postcodes.io is free. AddressBrain plans run from £49 a month for 1,000 lookups (4.9p) to £999 for 33,000 (3.0p), with volume pricing above that, and the PAF licensing sits with us rather than with you. Plenty of teams use both: open postcode data for analytics, and AddressBrain wherever an address is captured.
Monthly plans, change or cancel any month.
%201.svg){kind=small}
Overage charged per lookup, or we recommend a better plan.
Free trial: 30 lookups a day for 30 days, no card required.
Volume pricing and annual terms when you need an SLA.
.png)
Data and response
Royal Mail PAF, structured, in under 50ms.
Every AddressBrain result is a full PAF-formatted address returned as separate fields, with sub-building and building name handled properly, and typical UK response times under 50ms.
Search on a postcode, a partial address or a business name.
Sub-building, building name, thoroughfare, post town and postcode as separate fields.
New-build addresses and 1.4m UK business names included.
Batch and single-lookup validation on the same key.
.png)
Getting started
Create an account, copy the key, make the first call.
AddressBrain's trial is 30 lookups a day for 30 days, no card required, with a test environment, full docs and support, and your developer can have it live in an afternoon.
Authenticate with a single API bearer token, no OAuth handshake.
Free trial includes 30 lookups a day for 30 days. No card required.
Live usage dashboard, so you can watch spend as it happens.
Distributed, auto-scaling architecture, so peak trading traffic does not queue behind one database.
On every plan, including free
What you get out of the box
Sub-50ms UK response times.
Full PAF-formatted address data, including new-build coverage.
Batch and single-lookup validation on the same key.
Start building in minutes
Create a free account and start returning validated UK addresses in minutes.Start with 30 free lookups a day for 30 days. Test environment, full API docs, and support included.
No credit card required. Officially licensed by Royal Mail.
No credit card required. Officially licensed by Royal Mail.