Google and Melissa Address Validation APIs
When choosing an address validation service, businesses often balance two priorities: how accurately it confirms deliverable addresses and how broadly it covers global data.
Both Melissa Global Address API and Google Address Validation API offer strong capabilities in this space. However, they differ in purpose, data foundation, and output interpretation.
Below are the functional differences between the two solutions, followed by findings from our six-country study comparing how each performs in real-world scenarios.
Feature and Capability Comparison
| Feature | Melissa Global Address | Google Address Validation |
|
Available Technology |
Available as a Web Service, On-Premise API, and Dockerized Container for flexible deployment. |
Available as a Web Service only. |
|
Company Focus |
Provides an authoritative address validation solution with advanced address correction techniques designed to improve postal deliverability, accuracy, and reliability. |
Offers broad global coverage with focus on mapping and geocoding, but less consistent for postal deliverability. |
| Data Retention & Storage Rights | Corrected addresses can be stored indefinitely with no time-based restrictions — ideal for point-of-entry and large-scale batch processing. | Corrected addresses may only be stored for 30 days and must be deleted unless confirmed by the end user — limiting batch cleansing and long-term storage use cases.1 |
|
Data Sources |
Licensed data from official postal authorities including USPS®, Canada Post™, Royal Mail®, Deutsche Post®, La Poste®, Australia Post®, Austrian Post®, SingPost®, NZ Post®, Swiss Post®, PostNL®, and Correios®.2 |
Based on Google Maps Platform data (crowdsourced, geospatial, and partial postal data). In the U.S., the CASS-mode output uses licensed USPS® data under CASS certification. |
| Certifications |
Certified by postal authorities: USPS CASS®3, Canada Post SERP®, Royal Mail PAF®, Eircode®4 |
USPS CASS®-certified5 Uses a CASS-certified process but is not a listed USPS CASS vendor.6 |
|
Deliverability Status |
Uses definitive result codes:7 • AV2# – Fully Verified • AV1# – Partially Verified • AE# – Error / Unverified Results are deterministic and derived from postal-licensed data. |
Uses suggestive actions in possibleNextAction: Accept - the address might not contain issues. Confirm - the address might contain minor issues. Fix - the address might contain significant issues. Add Subpremises - the address might be missing a subpremises. Google recommends combining this field with others (e.g., validationGranularity, missing/unconfirmed components) to build your own validation logic.8 US Note: |
|
Countries Supported |
250 countries9 |
40 countries.10 |
|
Sub-Premise & |
Supported across multiple countries with granular precision. |
Limited support outside the U.S. |
| Customer Support |
Included at no cost: email, phone, and ticket-based support during business hours for installation, integration, and troubleshooting. |
Basic (Free) - Documentation, community, and billing support only; no technical or direct phone support. Standard (Included) – Case submission via console or email and weekday assistance; no direct phone support. Enhanced (Paid) – 24/7 coverage for critical issues and faster response times; can request voice or video conferencing for case resolution. Premium (Paid) – Enterprise plan with a Technical Account Manager, 15-minute P1 response, and phone or bridge support for critical events.11 |
Study: Testing Real-World Address Deliverability
We conducted a study evaluating how each Address Validation API performs in real-world address validation.
About 1,000 addresses per country - including both valid and invalid examples - were tested across Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Our focus is on address validation accuracy and deliverability, especially when handling incomplete or incorrect inputs.
Sample Selection
About 1,000 addresses (both valid and invalid) per country were tested across Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Samples were randomly distributed across all regions within each country and included:
-
Different levels of correction needs
e.g., typos, missing pre-/post-directions, alias street names, and incomplete data. -
Missing/Incorrect components
e.g., thoroughfare name, locality, administrative area, or postal code information. -
Special cases
e.g., P.O. Boxes and other non-standard address formats.
→ We intend for this diverse sample to reflect real-world address scenarios.
Disclaimer
Findings are based on tests conducted in September 2025 using the current production APIs. Because both systems and postal data update regularly, results should be viewed as time-specific observations, not permanent benchmarks. Additionally, results are dependent on the input data provided. Users may see different results when utilizing their own data.
Service Specific Categorization
For this comparison, we grouped Melissa and Google’s statuses into High, Medium, and Low confidence levels.
Google – Three validation groups - returned in the possibleNextAction field:
-
Accept
-
Confirm
-
Fix
These statuses are only general suggestions. Users need to check extra response details to decide how confident they are in each address.
Melissa – Three validation criteria - returned in the Results field:
-
Full Validation - AV24, AV25
-
Partial Validation - AV14
-
Invalid - All other results
These statuses are definitive.
|
Category |
|
Melissa |
Definition |
| High |
Accept |
AV24, AV25 |
Full Validation |
| Medium |
Confirm |
AV14 |
Partial Validation |
|
Low |
Fix |
All Other Results |
No Validation |
Quantitative Results
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AU |
82.90% |
8.60% |
8.50% |
53.18% |
6.17% |
40.65% |
|
CA |
83.08% |
6.30% |
10.62% |
85.81% |
3.38% |
10.81% |
|
DE |
91.64% |
0.00% |
8.36% |
65.04% |
11.75% |
23.21% |
|
FR |
85.83% |
0.00% |
14.17% |
81.88% |
3.86% |
14.26% |
|
GB |
82.51% |
6.19% |
11.30% |
69.35% |
7.86% |
22.79% |
|
JP |
80.24% |
0.00% |
19.76% |
47.04% |
19.76% |
33.20% |
Key Findings for Google Address Validation API
Unreliable Subpremise Validation
For address validation, Melissa checks every required component while Google often marks addresses missing suite number as valid.
Google Address Validation API May Mark Addresses Missing Required Suite as Valid
Can label an address as fully valid even when a suite or apartment number is missing, leading to false confidence and potential delivery failures.
In our test, roughly 3% of all addresses Google accepts are missing required suite details.
Reference Address: 28 Cascade St, Parry Sound, ON P2A 1J6, Canada
→ Missing an apartment or unit number according to Canada Post.
|
|
|
|
|
|
28 Cascade Street, Parry Sound, Ontario, P2A 1J6, Canada |
Medium Premises Partial (Missing Suite) |
High Premise Full (Building Only) |
Medium Premises Partial (Missing Suite) |
|
|
|
|
AV14 The address has been partially verified to the Premise → Realistic deliverability confidence |
validationGranularity: PREMISE possibleNextAction: ACCEPT Unconfirmed Component: NONE → False confidence in deliverability |
Google Address Validation API Often Stops at the Building Level
Validates the building but doesn’t confirm the exact apartment or office inside.
In our test, roughly 7% of all addresses Google accepts are addresses deemed fully valid at building level even when SubPremise (Suite) is required.
Reference Address: 3400 Boul de Maisonneuve, Montreal, QC H3Z 3E7, Canada
→ Missing an apartment or unit number according to Canada Post
|
|
|
|
|
|
1200-3400 Boul de Maisonneuve O, Montreal QC H3Z 3E7, Canada |
High SubPremise Full (Suite Confirmed) |
High Premise Full (Building Only) |
High SubPremise Full (Suite Confirmed) |
|
|
|
|
AV25 → Precise address accuracy and dependable customer mapping |
validationGranularity: PREMISE possibleNextAction: ACCEPT Unconfirmed Component: SUBPREMISE → Loss of subpremise detail leading to potential diminished user confidence |
Addresses Marked Valid With Unconfirmed Parts
For address validation, Melissa confirms every required component while Google may mark addresses with unconfirmed components as valid.
Google Address Validation API Accepts Unconfirmed Addresses
May accept an address when components like the premise number or thoroughfare are not confirmed, leading to false positives and potential delivery failures.
In our test, 32% of all addresses Google accepts have unconfirmed components, and 3% were false positives.
Reference Address: 035 Avenue d'Etain, 55100 Verdun, France
→ The street and location are found, but the building number is not valid according to La Poste.
|
|
|
|
|
|
035 Avenue d'Etain, 55100 Verdun, France |
Low Thoroughfare Partial (Street Only) |
High Premise Full (Unconfirmed Premise/ Street) |
Low Thoroughfare Partial (Street Only) |
|
|
|
|
AV13 The address has been partially verified to the Thoroughfare Level → Accurate validation level that prevents wasted effort |
validationGranularity: PREMISE possibleNextAction: ACCEPT Unconfirmed Component: STREET_NUMBER, ROUTE → Contradictory signals leading to potential operational waste |
Limited P.O. Box Coverage
For address validation, Melissa supports P.O. Box validation across worldwide countries, while Google offers limited or no coverage in many regions.
Google Address Validation API Offers Limited P.O. Box Support in Some Countries
May not recognize P.O. Box addresses in certain regions outside the U.S.
In our test sample of valid P.O. Box addresses across Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan, Google failed to accept approximately 98% of them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
P.O. Box 103005, 20020 Hamburg, Germany |
High SubPremise Full (PO Box Confirmed) |
Low Address Invalid (Not Supported) |
High SubPremise Full (PO Box Confirmed) |
|
|
|
|
AV25 → Dependable postal coverage, ideal for government & finance |
validationGranularity: OTHER possibleNextAction: FIX → Limited postal coverage may result in negative customer experience |
Summary
We compared Google and Melissa’s address validation APIs across thousands of addresses in six countries, focusing on how each handled incomplete, incorrect, or special-case addresses such as aliases, subpremises, and P.O. Boxes.
-
Melissa Global Address consistently delivered higher validation confidence and postal deliverability accuracy, particularly for subpremise, P.O. Box, and postal-certified data—ideal for compliant, delivery-critical operations.
-
Google Address Validation performed well on clean, accurate data, but its crowdsourced foundation and interpretive confidence model can lead to inconsistencies and occasional false positives when address data is incomplete or ambiguous.
Overall, Melissa’s results align more closely with official postal standards, providing stronger user confidence and reducing the risk of operational or delivery errors, while Google’s focus remains on geocoding accuracy.
1 Google Maps Platform Service Specific Terms: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/maps-service-terms?hl=en
2 Melissa’s official postal partners: https://www.melissa.com/company/partners#official-postal-partners
3 Melissa’s USPS CASS Certification: https://www.melissa.com/address-experts/what-is-cass-certification
4 Melissa’s Canada Post SERP, Royal Mail PAF, and EIRCode Certification: https://www.melissa.com/company/certifications
5Google’s USPS CASS Certification: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/address-validation/overview#about-cass
6 USPS’s official list of CASS certified vendors: https://postalpro.usps.com/storages/2025-11/CASSALLN.TXT
7 Melissa addressvalidation definitions: https://docs.melissa.com/cloud-api/global-address-verification/result-codes.html
8 Google address validation definitions: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/address-validation/build-validation-logic
9 Melissa country coverage: https://docs.melissa.com/other/data-coverage-by-country-index.html
10 Google Address Validation country coverage: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/address-validation/coverage
11 Google Support Tiers: https://cloud.google.com/support?hl=en
Try Melissa's Address Verification & Validation Tool Now
Verify a U.S., Canadian or international address. Output includes latitude/longitude coordinates.
250 +
Countries & Territories
1000555787 +
Addresses Verified
40 +
Years Of Experience
10000 +
Satisfied Customers Worldwide
