react-geosuggest vs react-google-places-autocomplete vs react-places-autocomplete
React Autocomplete Libraries for Location Services
react-geosuggestreact-google-places-autocompletereact-places-autocomplete

React Autocomplete Libraries for Location Services

These libraries facilitate the integration of location-based search functionalities in React applications, allowing users to easily find and select places using autocomplete suggestions. They leverage external APIs to provide real-time suggestions based on user input, enhancing the user experience by making location selection intuitive and efficient. Each library offers unique features and customization options, catering to different project requirements and developer preferences.

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react-geosuggest01,043-195 years agoMIT
react-google-places-autocomplete03831.49 MB282 years agoMIT
react-places-autocomplete01,380-1276 years agoMIT

Feature Comparison: react-geosuggest vs react-google-places-autocomplete vs react-places-autocomplete

Integration with Google Places API

  • react-geosuggest:

    react-geosuggest does not directly integrate with Google Places API but can be configured to use any geocoding service, making it versatile for various geographical data sources.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    This library is specifically designed to work with Google Places API, providing seamless access to place details, types, and autocomplete suggestions directly from Google's database, ensuring high accuracy and reliability.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    react-places-autocomplete also integrates with Google Places API, allowing developers to utilize Google's extensive place data while offering a customizable interface for user input.

Customization Options

  • react-geosuggest:

    react-geosuggest offers a high degree of customization, allowing developers to style the suggestions and input fields easily, making it suitable for projects that require a unique look and feel.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    While react-google-places-autocomplete provides some customization options, its focus on Google Places API means that the styling may be somewhat limited compared to other libraries, but it still allows for basic adjustments to fit the app's design.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    react-places-autocomplete strikes a balance, offering decent customization options for styling and behavior, making it adaptable for various design requirements while still leveraging Google Places data.

Ease of Use

  • react-geosuggest:

    This library is known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it a great choice for developers looking to implement basic autocomplete functionality without a steep learning curve.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    This library may require a bit more setup due to its reliance on the Google Places API, but it offers a rich set of features that can justify the initial complexity for more advanced applications.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    react-places-autocomplete is user-friendly and straightforward, providing a good balance between ease of use and functionality, making it accessible for developers of all skill levels.

Performance

  • react-geosuggest:

    Performance is generally good, as it is lightweight and does not rely heavily on external APIs unless configured to do so, making it suitable for applications with basic location needs.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    Performance can be excellent due to direct integration with Google Places API, but it may be affected by API call limits and network latency, especially with high-frequency user input.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    Performance is typically solid, benefiting from Google Places API while allowing for optimizations in how suggestions are fetched and displayed, ensuring a responsive user experience.

Community and Support

  • react-geosuggest:

    This library has a smaller community compared to others, which may result in less frequent updates and community support, but it is still maintained and functional for basic use cases.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    With a larger user base and more extensive documentation, this library benefits from a vibrant community that can provide support and resources for troubleshooting and enhancements.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    This library enjoys a moderate level of community support, with enough resources and documentation available to assist developers in implementing and customizing the library effectively.

How to Choose: react-geosuggest vs react-google-places-autocomplete vs react-places-autocomplete

  • react-geosuggest:

    Choose react-geosuggest if you need a lightweight solution focused on geographical suggestions, with a simple API and customizable styles, suitable for applications that require basic location input without extensive features.

  • react-google-places-autocomplete:

    Opt for react-google-places-autocomplete if you want a comprehensive solution that integrates directly with Google Places API, offering rich place details, types, and a robust autocomplete experience, ideal for applications needing detailed location data.

  • react-places-autocomplete:

    Select react-places-autocomplete for a balanced approach, providing a straightforward API and flexibility in customization while integrating with the Google Places API, making it suitable for applications that require both simplicity and detailed location suggestions.

README for react-geosuggest

React Geosuggest Build Status

A React autosuggest for the Google Maps Places API. You can also define your own suggests as defaults. Works with Preact, too.

Demo

Live demo: ubilabs.github.io/react-geosuggest

Installation

As this component uses the Google Maps Places API to get suggests, you must include the Google Maps Places API in the <head> of your HTML:

<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html>
  <head>
    …
    <script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE&libraries=places"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    …
  </body>
</html>

Visit the Google Developer Console to generate your API key. The API's that you have to enable in your Google API Manager Dashboard are Google Maps Geocoding API, Google Places API Web Service and Google Maps Javascript API.

The easiest way to use geosuggest is to install it from NPM and include it in your own React build process (using Webpack, Parcel, etc).

You can also use the standalone build by including dist/react-geosuggest.js in your page. If you use this, make sure you have already included React, and it is available as a global variable.

npm install react-geosuggest --save

Usage

The Geosuggest works out of the box by just including it. However, you can customize the behaviour with the properties noted below.

ES6:

import Geosuggest from 'react-geosuggest';

<Geosuggest />

ES5:

var Geosuggest = require('react-geosuggest').default;

<Geosuggest />

Properties

placeholder

Type: String Default: Search places

The input field will get this placeholder text.

initialValue

Type: String Default: ''

An initial value for the input, when you want to prefill the suggest.

id

Type: String Default: ''

Define an ID for the geosuggest. Needed when there are multiple instances on a page.

className

Type: String Default: ''

Add an additional class to the geosuggest container.

style

Type: Object Default: { 'input': {}, 'suggests': {}, 'suggestItem': {} }

Add an additional style to Geosuggest. This would support overriding/adding styles to the input suggestList and suggestItem.

inputClassName

Type: String Default: ''

Add an additional class to the input.

disabled

Type: Boolean Default: false

Defines whether the input is disabled.

location

Type: google.maps.LatLng Default: null

To get localized suggestions, define a location to bias the suggests.

radius

Type: Number Default: 0

The radius in meters defines the area around the location to use for biasing the suggests. It must be accompanied by a location parameter.

bounds

Type: LatLngBounds Default: null

The bounds to use for biasing the suggests. If this is set, location and radius are ignored.

country

Type: String or Array Default: null

Restricts predictions to the specified country (ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 country code, case insensitive). E.g., us, br, au. You can provide a single one, or an array of up to 5 country code strings.

types

Type: Array Default: null

The types of predictions to be returned. Four types are supported: establishment for businesses, geocode for addresses, (regions) for administrative regions and (cities) for localities. If nothing is specified, all types are returned. Consult the Google Docs for up to date types.

fixtures

Type: Array Default: []

An array with fixtures (defaults). Each fixture has to be an object with a label key in it. Optionally provide a location, but the Geosuggest will geocode the label if no location is provided.

You can also add a className key to a fixture. This class will be applied to the fixture item.

maxFixtures

Type: Number Default: 10

Maximum number of fixtures to render.

placeDetailFields

Type: Array Default: null

By default Google returns all fields when getting place details which can impact billing. You can optionally pass an array of fields to include in place results to limit what is returned and potentially reduce billing impact. geometry will always be added as we depend on the location for the suggest selection.

googleMaps

Type: Object Default: google.maps

In case you want to provide your own Google Maps object, pass it in as googleMaps. The default is the global google maps object.

ignoreTab

Type: Boolean Default: false

When the tab key is pressed, the onSelect handler is invoked. Set to true to not invoke onSelect on tab press.

ignoreEnter

Type: Boolean Default: false

When the enter key is pressed, the onSelect handler is invoked. Set to true to not invoke onSelect on enter press.

queryDelay

Type: Number Default: 250

Sets the delay in milliseconds after typing before a request will be sent to find suggestions. Specify 0 if you wish to fetch suggestions after every keystroke.

minLength

Type: Number Default: 1

Sets a minimum length of characters before a request will be sent to find suggestions.

highlightMatch

Type: Boolean Default: true

Highlights matched text.

onFocus

Type: Function Default: function() {}

Gets triggered when the input field receives focus.

onBlur

Type: Function Default: function(value) {}

Gets triggered when input field loses focus.

onChange

Type: Function Default: function(value) {}

Gets triggered when input field changes the value.

onKeyDown

Type: Function Default: function(event) {}

Gets triggered when input field has a key pressed down. This event is triggered before onKeyPress.

onKeyPress

Type: Function Default: function(event) {}

Gets triggered when input field gets key press.

onSuggestSelect

Type: Function Default: function(suggest) {}

Gets triggered when a suggest got selected. Only parameter is an object with data of the selected suggest. This data is available:

  • label – Type String – The label name
  • placeId – Type String – If it is a preset, equals the label. Else it is the Google Maps placeID
  • location – Type Object – The location containing lat and lng
  • gmaps – Type Object – Optional! The complete response when there was a Google Maps geocode necessary (e.g. no location provided for presets). Check the Google Maps Reference for more information on it’s structure.

onUpdateSuggests

Type: Function Default: function(suggests, activeSuggest) {}

Gets triggered when the suggest list changes. Arguments include the suggest list and the current activeSuggest. Useful if you want to render the list of suggests outside of react-geosuggest.

onActivateSuggest

Type: Function Default: function(suggest) {}

Gets triggered when a suggest is activated in the list. Only parameter is an object with data of the selected suggest. This data is available:

  • label – Type String – The label name
  • placeId – Type String – If it is a preset, equals the label. Else it is the Google Maps placeID

onSuggestNoResults

Type: Function Default: function(userInput) {}

Gets triggered when there are no suggest results found

getSuggestLabel

Type: Function Default: function(suggest) { return suggest.description; }

Used to generate a custom label for a suggest. Only parameter is a suggest (google.maps.places.AutocompletePrediction). Check the Google Maps Reference for more information on it’s structure.

renderSuggestItem

Type: Function Default: null

Used to customize the inner html of SuggestItem and allows for controlling what properties of the suggest object you want to render. Also a convenient way to add additional styling to different rendered elements within SuggestItem. The function is passed both the suggestion and the user input.

skipSuggest

Type: Function Default: function(suggest) {}

If the function returns true then the suggest will not be included in the displayed results. Only parameter is an object with data of the selected suggest. (See above)

autoActivateFirstSuggest

Type: Boolean Default: false

Automatically activate the first suggestion as you type. If false, the exact term(s) in the input will be used when searching and may return a result not in the list of suggestions.

label

Type: String Default: null

If the label and a id prop (see "Others") were supplied, a <label> tag with the passed label text will be rendered. The <label> element's for attribute will correctly point to the id of the <input> element.

suggestsClassName

Type: String Default: ''

Add an additional class to suggest list.

suggestsHiddenClassName

Type: String Default: null

Additional className to toggle as the list of suggestions changes visibility.

suggestItemClassName

Type: String Default: ''

Add an additional class to suggest item.

suggestItemActiveClassName

Type: String, Default: null

Additional className to add when a suggestion item is active.

autoComplete

Type: String, Default: nope

Autocomplete input attribute.

inputType

Type: String, Default: text

The value for the type attribute on the html input element. Can be either text or search.

Others

All allowed attributes for input[type="text"] All DOM clipboard events. All DOM mouse events except for drag & drop. All data attributes.

Exposed component functions

These functions are accessible by setting "ref" on the component (see example below)

focus()

Call focus to focus on the element. The suggest list will be expanded with the current suggestions.

blur()

Call blur to blur (unfocus) the element. The suggest list will be closed.

update(value)

It is possible to update the value of the input contained within the GeoSuggest component by calling the update function with a new desired value of the type String.

clear()

It is also possible to clear the value of the input contained within the GeoSuggest component by calling the clear function.

selectSuggest()

Same effect as hitting enter (will geocode the text inside of the input).

Example

import React, {useRef} from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import Geosuggest from 'react-geosuggest';

const App = () => {
  const geosuggestEl = useRef(null);

  const fixtures = [
    {label: 'New York', location: {lat: 40.7033127, lng: -73.979681}},
    {label: 'Rio', location: {lat: -22.066452, lng: -42.9232368}},
    {label: 'Tokyo', location: {lat: 35.673343, lng: 139.710388}}
  ];

  /**
   * When a suggest got selected
   */
  const onSuggestSelect = (suggest) => console.log(suggest);

  return (
    <div>
      <Geosuggest
        ref={geosuggestEl}
        placeholder="Start typing!"
        initialValue="Hamburg"
        fixtures={fixtures}
        onSuggestSelect={onSuggestSelect}
        location={new google.maps.LatLng(53.558572, 9.9278215)}
        radius="20" />

      {* Buttons to trigger exposed component functions *}
      <button onClick={()=>geosuggestEl.current.focus()}>Focus</button>
      <button onClick={()=>geosuggestEl.current.update('New Zealand')}>Update</button>
      <button onClick={()=>geosuggestEl.current.clear()}>Clear</button>
      <button onClick={()=>geosuggestEl.current.selectSuggest()}>Search</button>
    </div>
  );
};

ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('app'));

Styling

This component uses BEM for namespacing the CSS classes. So styling should be easy and without conflicts. See the geosuggest.css for an example styling.

Note:

The geosuggest__suggests--hidden class is added to hide the suggestion list. You should copy the style below into your CSS file.

.geosuggest__suggests--hidden {
  max-height: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
  border-width: 0;
}

The above class is added whenever the suggestion list needs to be hidden. This occurs when the user selects an item from the list or when the user triggers the blur event on the input.

Similarly, you need to have the class geosuggest__item--active similar to this:

.geosuggest__item--active {
  background: #267dc0;
  color: #fff;
}

to see what item is selected, f.ex. when using the arrow keys to navigate the suggestion list.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome! Please read the guidelines in CONTRIBUTING.md before starting to work on a PR.

License

See LICENSE.md