Why Houski is the superior alternative to Canada Post's AddressComplete service
Canadian businesses have relied on Canada Post's AddressComplete service for years to validate addresses on their websites and in their systems. But like many legacy products from established players, it's remained stagnant while technology has moved forward. Houski's property data API now offers a significantly better alternative for address validation and completion – with modern tech, straightforward pricing, and vastly more valuable data at your fingertips.
The problems with AddressComplete
Before diving into why Houski is better, let's understand the pain points of the Canada Post offering:
Confusing, tiered pricing that gets expensive fast
AddressComplete's pricing model feels like it was designed by a committee from 2005:
- Complex tiered pricing with 12 different plan options
- Prices ranging from 11.6¢ per lookup to 4.0¢ per lookup (if you buy 500,000 lookups)
- Additional 1¢ surcharge for international addresses
- Lookup credits that expire after 12 months
- Plans starting at $35 and going up to $20,000 (with a mysterious "custom" tier above that)
This forces businesses to predict their exact usage a year in advance, and either overpay for unused lookups or get stuck with extra costs when they exceed their limit.
Outdated implementation
AddressComplete uses an approach that feels outdated in today's development landscape:
- Drag-and-drop setup that requires modifying your website's forms
- Copy-paste code that lacks modern integration options
- Limited to web forms rather than flexible API integration options
- No support for modern development workflows
Limited to just address validation
The most significant limitation is that AddressComplete only does one thing: validate addresses. It provides no additional property information that could enhance your business intelligence or customer experience.
Why Houski is the clear winner
Houski's property data API completely changes the game for Canadian businesses needing address validation and much more.
Simple, transparent pricing at $99 (USD)/month
We've thrown out the convoluted tier system and replaced it with a simple offering:
- $99 (USD)/month for full API access
- No weird per-lookup pricing
- No expiring credits to track
- No hidden surcharges for different address types
This predictable pricing means no more anxiety about usage spikes or wasted credits, and no more spreadsheets to calculate which tier is most cost-effective. Just a straightforward cost you can budget for.
Modern, developer-friendly API
Houski was built by developers for developers:
- Modern API with comprehensive documentation
- All returned data is JSON
- Return values are consistent and predictable
- Easy integration with any programming language
- No need to modify your forms - implement however works best for you
// Simple address validation with Houski
const validateAddress = async (address: string) => {
const url = new URL('https://api.houski.ca/properties');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
url.searchParams.set('address', address);
url.searchParams.set('select', 'address,city,province_abbreviation,postal_code');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
return data.data; // Returns validated address information
}
Address validation plus much more valuable data
This is where Houski truly shines. We're not just validating addresses – we're providing you with a goldmine of property data that can transform your business:
-
Complete address validation and standardization
- Standardized address formats
- Postal code verification
- City, province, and neighborhood validation
- Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude)
-
Rich property information
- Property type (house, condo, commercial, etc.)
- Year built and renovation history
- Square footage and lot size
- Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.
- Zoning information
- Tax assessment data
-
Market and valuation data
- Estimated property value
- Historical sales data
- Market trends for the area
- Rental price estimates
-
Neighborhood intelligence
- Demographics for the surrounding area
- School information
- Walkability and transit scores
- Community amenities
All of this is available through the same API call you'd use for simple address validation, giving you the power to choose exactly what data you need for each use case.
Real-world applications beyond simple address validation
With Houski's comprehensive property data API, you can do much more than ensure deliveries arrive at the right place:
Enhanced e-commerce experiences
- Auto-populate tax information based on verified address
- Show shipping time estimates based on actual geographic data
- Offer personalized product recommendations based on housing type
- Provide accurate installation service quotes using property information
Smarter CRM systems
- Enrich customer profiles with property data
- Segment customers based on housing type, value, or neighborhood
- Enable more targeted marketing based on property characteristics
- Identify high-value customers based on property value
Financial services applications
- Pre-fill mortgage application forms with verified property data
- Speed up insurance quote processes with property characteristics
- Enhance risk assessments with neighborhood data
- Improve fraud detection with address verification
Real estate and proptech
- Build better search experiences with standardized addresses
- Offer instant property valuations during user journeys
- Create comprehensive property profiles with minimal user input
- Power comparison tools with consistent data formats
Address autocompletion with additional context
Houski address searches can return access to all Houski data on the property, including permits, listing history, demographic information and much, much more.
// Houski - Address with additional context
async function searchAddressWithContext(search_address) {
const results = await houskiApiCall(search_address);
return results.map(property => ({
address: property.address,
propertyType: property.property_type,
estimatedValue: property.estimate_list_price,
bedrooms: property.bedroom,
bathroom_half: property.bathroom_half,
bathroom_full: property.bathroom_full,
// Plus 200+ additional data points available
}));
}
Modernize your address validation today
Why settle for an outdated, overpriced address validation service when you can have a modern, comprehensive property data API for $99/month?
Houski delivers:
- Modern API with developer-friendly integration
- Simple, transparent pricing
- Comprehensive property information beyond just addresses
- Daily data updates
- Consistent coverage across all of Canada for most data
Ready to upgrade from AddressComplete? Visit our API documentation to get started.
The future of Canadian address validation and property data is open, accessible, and built for modern developers – not trapped behind outdated systems with confusing pricing.