react-native-google-places-autocomplete vs react-native-autocomplete-input
React Native Autocomplete Libraries Comparison
1 Year
react-native-google-places-autocompletereact-native-autocomplete-input
What's React Native Autocomplete Libraries?

These libraries provide autocomplete functionality for React Native applications, allowing users to select from a list of suggestions as they type. They enhance user experience by reducing input errors and speeding up the data entry process. While both libraries serve a similar purpose, they differ in features, customization options, and integration capabilities with external services.

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react-native-google-places-autocomplete221,3962,03885.3 kB1776 months agoMIT
react-native-autocomplete-input14,99783510.3 kB143 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: react-native-google-places-autocomplete vs react-native-autocomplete-input

Data Source Integration

  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    This package is specifically designed to work with the Google Places API, providing seamless integration for fetching place predictions. It simplifies the process of obtaining location-based suggestions, making it ideal for applications that require geographic data.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    This library allows you to connect to any data source, whether local or remote, giving you full control over the suggestions displayed. You can easily implement custom filtering logic to tailor the suggestions based on user input.

Customization and Styling

  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    While this library offers some customization options, it is more opinionated in its design. It provides a default styling that aligns with Google's design principles, which may limit customization compared to the react-native-autocomplete-input.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    Highly customizable, this library allows you to style the input field and suggestion list according to your application's design. You can modify the appearance of the dropdown, including colors, fonts, and layout, to match your app's theme.

User Experience

  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    With its integration of Google Places, this package enhances user experience by providing accurate and relevant location suggestions. It leverages Google's extensive database, ensuring users receive high-quality predictions.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    This library provides a simple and effective user experience, allowing users to see suggestions as they type without any external dependencies. It focuses on delivering a fast and responsive interface for autocomplete functionality.

Performance

  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    Performance may vary based on network conditions since it relies on external API calls to Google Places. While it provides rich data, it can introduce latency if the network is slow or if the API rate limits are reached.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    Performance is generally good, as it relies on local data and does not require external API calls unless configured to do so. This can lead to faster response times and a smoother user experience, especially with smaller datasets.

Learning Curve

  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    This package may require a bit more understanding of the Google Places API and its usage. Developers need to manage API keys and understand the API's limitations, which can add complexity for those unfamiliar with Google services.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    This library has a gentle learning curve, making it easy for developers to implement and customize. The documentation is straightforward, allowing for quick integration into projects without extensive setup.

How to Choose: react-native-google-places-autocomplete vs react-native-autocomplete-input
  • react-native-google-places-autocomplete:

    Opt for this package if your application requires integration with Google Places API for location-based suggestions. It offers built-in support for fetching place predictions, making it ideal for apps focused on location services, such as travel or food delivery applications.

  • react-native-autocomplete-input:

    Choose this package if you need a lightweight and customizable autocomplete solution that can work with any data source. It allows for easy integration with local data and provides flexibility in styling and behavior, making it suitable for applications that require a tailored user experience.

README for react-native-google-places-autocomplete
npm version

Google Maps Search Component for React Native

Customizable Google Places autocomplete component for iOS and Android React-Native apps

Sponsor



The financial management super app for expenses, corporate cards, and more.

Click to learn more

Preview

Installation

Step 1.

npm install react-native-google-places-autocomplete --save

or

yarn add react-native-google-places-autocomplete

Step 2.

Get your Google Places API keys and enable "Google Places API Web Service" (NOT Android or iOS) in the console. Billing must be enabled on the account.

Step 3.

Enable "Google Maps Geocoding API" if you want to use GoogleReverseGeocoding for Current Location

Basic Example

Basic Address Search

import React from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
      }}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

You can also try the basic example in a snack here

More Examples

Get Current Location

Click to expand

Extra step required!

If you are targeting React Native 0.60.0+ you must install either @react-native-community/geolocation (link) or react-native-geolocation-service(link).

Please make sure you follow the installation instructions there and add navigator.geolocation = require(GEOLOCATION_PACKAGE) somewhere in you application before <GooglePlacesAutocomplete />.

import React from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

// navigator.geolocation = require('@react-native-community/geolocation');
// navigator.geolocation = require('react-native-geolocation-service');

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
      }}
      currentLocation={true}
      currentLocationLabel='Current location'
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Search with predefined option

Click to expand
import React from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

const homePlace = {
  description: 'Home',
  geometry: { location: { lat: 48.8152937, lng: 2.4597668 } },
};
const workPlace = {
  description: 'Work',
  geometry: { location: { lat: 48.8496818, lng: 2.2940881 } },
};

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
      }}
      predefinedPlaces={[homePlace, workPlace]}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Limit results to one country

Click to expand
import React from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
        components: 'country:us',
      }}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Use a custom Text Input Component

Click to expand

This is an example using the Text Input from react-native-elements.

import React from 'react';
import { Text, View, Image } from 'react-native';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';
import { Input } from 'react-native-elements';

const GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY = 'YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY';

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      query={{
        key: GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY,
        language: 'en', // language of the results
      }}
      onPress={(data, details) => console.log(data, details)}
      textInputProps={{
        InputComp: Input,
        leftIcon: { type: 'font-awesome', name: 'chevron-left' },
        errorStyle: { color: 'red' },
      }}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Props

This list is a work in progress. PRs welcome!

| Prop Name | type | description | default value | Options | | ----------------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | autoFillOnNotFound | boolean | displays the result from autocomplete if the place details api return not found | false | true | false | | currentLocation | boolean | Will add a 'Current location' button at the top of the predefined places list | false | true | false | | currentLocationLabel | string | change the display label for the current location button | Current Location | Any string | | debounce | number | debounce the requests (in ms) | 0 | | | disableScroll | boolean | disable scroll on the results list | | | | enableHighAccuracyLocation | boolean | use GPS or not. If set to true, a GPS position will be requested. If set to false, a WIFI location will be requested. use GPS or not. If set to true, a GPS position will be requested. If set to false, a WIFI location will be requested. | true | | | enablePoweredByContainer | boolean | show "powered by Google" at the bottom of the search results list | true | | | fetchDetails | boolean | get more place details about the selected option from the Place Details API | false | | | filterReverseGeocodingByTypes | array | filter the reverse geocoding results by types - ['locality', 'administrative_area_level_3'] if you want to display only cities | | | | GooglePlacesDetailsQuery | object | "query" object for the Google Place Details API (when you press on a suggestion) | | | | GooglePlacesSearchQuery | object | "query" object for the Google Places Nearby API (when you use current location to find nearby places) | { rankby: 'distance', type: 'restaurant' } | | | GoogleReverseGeocodingQuery | object | "query" object for the Google Geocode API (when you use current location to get the current address) | | | | isRowScrollable | boolean | enable/disable horizontal scrolling of a list result https://reactnative.dev/docs/scrollview#scrollenabled | true | | inbetweenCompo | React.ReactNode | Insert a ReactNode in between the search bar and the search results Flatlist | | keepResultsAfterBlur | boolean | show list of results after blur | false | true | false | | keyboardShouldPersistTaps | string | Determines when the keyboard should stay visible after a tap https://reactnative.dev/docs/scrollview#keyboardshouldpersisttaps | 'always' | 'never' | 'always' | 'handled' | | listEmptyComponent | function | use FlatList's ListEmptyComponent prop when no autocomplete results are found. | | | | listLoaderComponent | function | show this component while results are loading. | | | | listHoverColor | string | underlay color of the list result when hovered (web only) | '#ececec' | | | listUnderlayColor | string | underlay color of the list result when pressed https://reactnative.dev/docs/touchablehighlight#underlaycolor | '#c8c7cc' | | | listViewDisplayed | string | override the default behavior of showing the list (results) view | 'auto' | 'auto' | true | false | | minLength | number | minimum length of text to trigger a search | 0 | | | nearbyPlacesAPI | string | which API to use for current location | 'GooglePlacesSearch' | 'none' | 'GooglePlacesSearch' | 'GoogleReverseGeocoding' | | numberOfLines | number | number of lines (android - multiline must be set to true) https://reactnative.dev/docs/textinput#numberoflines | 1 | | | onFail | function | returns if an unspecified error comes back from the API | | | | onNotFound | function | returns if the Google Places Details API returns a 'not found' code (when you press a suggestion). | | | | onPress | function | returns when after a suggestion is selected | | | | onTimeout | function | callback when a request timeout | ()=>console.warn('google places autocomplete: request timeout') | | | placeholder | string | placeholder text https://reactnative.dev/docs/textinput#placeholder | 'Search' | | | predefinedPlaces | array | Allows you to show pre-defined places (e.g. home, work) | | | | predefinedPlacesAlwaysVisible | boolean | Shows predefined places at the top of the search results | false | | | preProcess | function | do something to the text of the search input before a search request is sent | | | | query | object | "query" object for the Google Places Autocomplete API (link) | { key: 'missing api key', language: 'en', types: 'geocode' } | | | renderDescription | function | determines the data passed to each renderRow (search result) | | | | renderHeaderComponent | function | use the ListHeaderComponent from FlatList when showing autocomplete results | | | | renderLeftButton | function | add a component to the left side of the Text Input | | | | renderRightButton | function | add a component to the right side of the Text Input | | | | renderRow | function | custom component to render each result row (use this to show an icon beside each result). data and index will be passed as input parameters | | | | requestUrl | object | used to set the request url for the library | | | | returnKeyType | string | the return key text https://reactnative.dev/docs/textinput#returnkeytype | 'search' | | | styles | object | See styles section below | | | | suppressDefaultStyles | boolean | removes all default styling from the library | false | true | false | | textInputHide | boolean | Hide the Search input | false | true | false | | textInputProps | object | define props for the textInput, or provide a custom input component | | | | timeout | number | how many ms until the request will timeout | 20000 | |

Methods

| method name | type | description | | -------------------- | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | getAddressText | () => string | return the value of TextInput | | setAddressText | (value: string) => void | set the value of TextInput | | focus | void | makes the TextInput focus | | blur | void | makes the TextInput lose focus | | clear | void | removes all text from the TextInput | | isFocused | () => boolean | returns true if the TextInput is currently focused; false otherwise | | getCurrentLocation | () => void | makes a query to find nearby places based on current location |

You can access these methods using a ref.

Example

import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  const ref = useRef();

  useEffect(() => {
    ref.current?.setAddressText('Some Text');
  }, []);

  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      ref={ref}
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
      }}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Styling

GooglePlacesAutocomplete can be easily customized to meet styles of your app. Pass styles props to GooglePlacesAutocomplete with style object for different elements (keys for style object are listed below)

| key | type | | --------------------------- | ----------------------- | | container | object (View) | | textInputContainer | object (View style) | | textInput | object (style) | | listView | object (ListView style) | | row | object (View style) | | loader | object (View style) | | description | object (Text style) | | predefinedPlacesDescription | object (Text style) | | separator | object (View style) | | poweredContainer | object (View style) | | powered | object (Image style) |

Example

<GooglePlacesAutocomplete
  placeholder='Enter Location'
  minLength={2}
  autoFocus={false}
  returnKeyType={'default'}
  fetchDetails={true}
  styles={{
    textInputContainer: {
      backgroundColor: 'grey',
    },
    textInput: {
      height: 38,
      color: '#5d5d5d',
      fontSize: 16,
    },
    predefinedPlacesDescription: {
      color: '#1faadb',
    },
  }}
/>

Default Styles

{
  container: {
    flex: 1,
  },
  textInputContainer: {
    flexDirection: 'row',
  },
  textInput: {
    backgroundColor: '#FFFFFF',
    height: 44,
    borderRadius: 5,
    paddingVertical: 5,
    paddingHorizontal: 10,
    fontSize: 15,
    flex: 1,
  },
  poweredContainer: {
    justifyContent: 'flex-end',
    alignItems: 'center',
    borderBottomRightRadius: 5,
    borderBottomLeftRadius: 5,
    borderColor: '#c8c7cc',
    borderTopWidth: 0.5,
  },
  powered: {},
  listView: {},
  row: {
    backgroundColor: '#FFFFFF',
    padding: 13,
    height: 44,
    flexDirection: 'row',
  },
  separator: {
    height: 0.5,
    backgroundColor: '#c8c7cc',
  },
  description: {},
  loader: {
    flexDirection: 'row',
    justifyContent: 'flex-end',
    height: 20,
  },
}

Web Support

Web support can be enabled via the requestUrl prop, by passing in a URL that you can use to proxy your requests. CORS implemented by the Google Places API prevent using this library directly on the web. You will need to use a proxy server. Please be mindful of this limitation when opening an issue.

The requestUrl prop takes an object with two required properties: useOnPlatform and url, and an optional headers property.

The url property is used to set the url that requests will be made to. If you are using the regular google maps API, you need to make sure you are ultimately hitting https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api.

useOnPlatform configures when the proxy url is used. It can be set to either web- will be used only when the device platform is detected as web (but not iOS or Android, or all - will always be used.

You can optionally specify headers to apply to your request in the headers object.

Example:

import React from 'react';
import { GooglePlacesAutocomplete } from 'react-native-google-places-autocomplete';

const GooglePlacesInput = () => {
  return (
    <GooglePlacesAutocomplete
      placeholder='Search'
      onPress={(data, details = null) => {
        // 'details' is provided when fetchDetails = true
        console.log(data, details);
      }}
      query={{
        key: 'YOUR API KEY',
        language: 'en',
      }}
      requestUrl={{
        useOnPlatform: 'web', // or "all"
        url:
          'https://cors-anywhere.herokuapp.com/https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api', // or any proxy server that hits https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api
        headers: {
          Authorization: `an auth token`, // if required for your proxy
        },
      }}
    />
  );
};

export default GooglePlacesInput;

Note: The library expects the same response that the Google Maps API would return.

Features

  • [x] Places autocompletion
  • [x] iOS and Android compatibility
  • [x] Places details fetching + ActivityIndicatorIOS/ProgressBarAndroid loaders
  • [x] Customizable using the styles parameter
  • [x] XHR cancellations when typing fast
  • [x] Google Places terms compliant
  • [x] Predefined places
  • [x] typescript types
  • [x] Current location

Compatibility

This library does not use the iOS, Android or JS SDKs from Google. This comes with some Pros and Cons.

Pros:

  • smaller app size
  • better privacy for your users (although Google still tracks server calls)
  • no need to keep up with sdk updates

Cons:

  • the library is not compatible with a Application key restrictions
  • doesn't work directly on the web without a proxy server
  • any Google API change can be a breaking change for the library.

Use Inside a <ScrollView/> or <FlatList/>

If you need to include this component inside a ScrolView or FlatList, remember to apply the keyboardShouldPersistTaps attribute to all ancestors ScrollView or FlatList (see this issue comment).

A word about the Google Maps APIs

Google Provides a bunch of web APIs for finding an address or place, and getting it’s details. There are the Google Places Web APIs (Place Search, Place Details, Place Photos, Place Autocomplete, Query Autocomplete) and the Google Geocode API .

The 5 Google Places Web APIs are:

  • Place Autocomplete - automatically fills in the name and/or address of a place as users type.
  • Place Details - returns more detailed information about a specific place (using a place_id that you get from Place Search, Place Autocomplete, or Query Autocomplete).
  • Place Photos - provides access to the millions of place-related photos stored in Google's Place database (using a reference_id that you get from Place Search, Place Autocomplete, or Query Autocomplete).
  • Place Search - returns a list of places based on a user's location or search string.
  • Query Autocomplete - provides a query prediction service for text-based geographic searches, returning suggested queries as users type.

The Geocoding API allows you to convert an address into geographic coordinates (lat, long) and to "reverse geocode", which is the process of converting geographic coordinates into a human-readable address.

Which APIs does this library use?

Place Autocomplete API, Place Details API, Place Search API and the Geocoding API.

We use the Place Autocomplete API to get suggestions as you type. When you click on a suggestion, we use the Place Details API to get more information about the place.

We use the Geocoding API and the Place Search API to use your current location to get results.

Because the query parameters are different for each API, there are 4 different "query" props.

  1. Autocomplete -> query (options)
  2. Place Details -> GooglePlacesDetailsQuery (options)
  3. Nearby Search -> GooglePlacesSearchQuery (options)
  4. Geocode -> GoogleReverseGeocodingQuery (options)

Number 1 is used while getting autocomplete results.
Number 2 is used when you click on a result.
Number 3 is used when you select 'Current Location' to load nearby results.
Number 4 is used when nearbyPlacesAPI='GoogleReverseGeocoding' is set and you select 'Current Location' to load nearby results.

Changelog

Please see the releases tab for the changelog information.

License

MIT

Authors