The USPS Address API is free. How is your LiveAddress service different?

Here are some of the more important ways that the address verification service that we provide might be a better match for you or your business needs.

• Delivery Point Verification (DPV) - We give you the DPV number which can then be used to create a Delivery Point Barcode. If you are doing bulk mailings and want to qualify for the USPS bulk discounts, you'll need the DPV number in the barcode.
• Address failed. But why? - We give you back a lot of data ABOUT the address that helps you to correct the address if needed. Sure, it's nice to know if an address is deliverable or not, but if it's not, why isn't it. For example, and address can be valid (meaning it's a good address) and vacant at the same time. The USPS API returns basically a "yes/no" response. (Look at the USPS XML response versus our much more informative response.)
• Address Components - We give you back the various parts that make up the full address. This can be used if you need to further segment your mailing list or address database.
• County and County FIPS - We return the county that the address is located in as well as the specific FIPS code for that county. This aids in gathering statistical information about and address.
• Server Availability - We have our address verification servers geo-distributed across the country to ensure fast service.
• Focus - Our service exists to get you the best address data possible in the shortest amount of time. If we can't deliver, and FAST, we're not going to stay in business. We typically have response times down to a hundredth of a second (or faster). When our servers have heavy load, we launch another server to keep the speed fast. Since it is a free service, the USPS API doesn't have any incentive to be super fast.
• Guaranteed Uptime - We know that you are using our service to help run your business so you need to be sure that our service will be available (and fast) when you need it. All of our planning is to ensure that you have the service you need. We have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that acts as your guarantee that our service will be available.
• Expert Customer Service - We answer the phone quickly and are knowledgeable about address verification. We can help you with just about any aspect of addressing and if we're not the best match for you, we'll let you know.
• Proper Case Addresses - We return the verified addresses in a comfortable Title Case instead of all UPPERCASE. If you are mailing to your customers, they will appreciate this.
• Terms of Use - The USPS License Agreement states: "User agrees to use the USPS Web site, APIs and USPS data to facilitate USPS shipping transactions only. [27Jan2012]". We make our address validation services available to anyone for any reason. More information available here.
• More Additional Data Coming Soon - We are always improving our service such as giving geo-coordinates, and indicating residential/commercial status. As we find new ways to give you better data, we incorporate into the existing system. There are never additional charges for more features.

The USPS API does work and if you just need to know if an address is valid and high reliability of the service is not an issue, perhaps the free USPS Api would work just fine for you.

Keep in mind that if you are a nonprofit or educational organization, we unlimited access to our services at no charge. We also have a free level that handles up to 250 address lookups per month. If your volume is low, this is a great option for you. If you need more than that, the pricing is quite reasonable.