Best IP Geolocation APIs
Opinionated picks for ip geolocation apis, with the trade-offs up front, judged from each API’s published, cited data. The reasoning is shown, so disagree where you know better. Compare all 12 →
Best overall: MaxMind GeoIP2
MaxMind GeoIP2 is an IP geolocation service covering IPv4 and IPv6 addresses across 190+ countries, used for content localization, fraud prevention, proxy and VPN detection, ad targeting, and compliance geofencing. Pricing starts at $0.0001 per lookup with a free tier of 1,000 lookups per day via the GeoLite2 web service, though GeoLite2 requires attribution and is not intended for commercial use. Official SDKs span seven languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and PHP, and the service holds SOC 2 Type II certification and GDPR compliance. Databases are updated every weekday, and paid accounts receive unlimited web service queries.
From $0.0001 1,000 lookups · free tier available.
How it stacks up
- ✓ On compliance, MaxMind GeoIP2 additionally documents SOC 2.
- ✓ On compliance, MaxMind GeoIP2 additionally documents SOC 2.
- ✓ On compliance, MaxMind GeoIP2 additionally documents SOC 2.
Best for: Prototypes and side projects - free to start, no sales call; Regulated or enterprise workloads - compliance attestations and an enterprise plan; Teams needing broad API coverage out of the box.
The catch: The industry standard with downloadable databases for fast offline lookups, but the free GeoLite2 tier is coarser, attribution-gated, and city-level accuracy is modest (~68% within 50km in the US).
At a glance
| # | API | Best for | Starting price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MaxMind GeoIP2 | Best overall · Best free pick · Best for enterprise · Broadest surface | $0.0001 1,000 lookups | 60 |
| 2 | IPGeolocation.io | Best for agents | $19 month | 76 |
| 3 | IPinfo | transparent public pricing | $49 month | 68 |
| 4 | ipdata | Cheapest to start | $10 month | 67 |
| 5 | IP2Location | transparent public pricing | $49 month | 64 |
| 6 | Abstract IP Geolocation API | transparent public pricing | $17 month | 73 |
| 7 | ip-api.com | transparent public pricing | Free tier | 55 |
| 8 | Ipregistry | transparent public pricing | $10 50,000 lookups (prepaid credits, no expiry) | 55 |
| 9 | DB-IP | transparent public pricing | Free tier | 56 |
| 10 | ipapi.co | transparent public pricing | $12 month | 62 |
| 11 | ipstack | transparent public pricing | $12.99 month | 56 |
| 12 | Digital Element (NetAcuity) | GDPR | - | 11 |
Quick pick by use case
- If you want the strongest all-round pick, pick MaxMind GeoIP2 - our default pick: strongest across pricing, trust and breadth.
- If you want to start free, pick MaxMind GeoIP2 - free tier: GeoLite2 free tier: downloadable Country, City, and ASN databases (30 downloads/day) plus….
- If you're buying for a regulated or large team, pick MaxMind GeoIP2 - for regulated or large teams: SOC 2 Type II, enterprise plan.
- If you want the lowest published entry price, pick ipdata - from $10 month to start; compare on your real usage, not the entry price.
- If you're wiring this into coding agents or AI workflows, pick IPGeolocation.io - easiest to wire up programmatically: MCP server + llms.txt.
- If you want the broadest documented surface, pick MaxMind GeoIP2 - 18 documented actions; breadth isn't quality, but it's the most to build on.
The picks in depth
#1 MaxMind GeoIP2
60 / 100- Best overall
- Best free pick
- Best for enterprise
- Broadest surface
MaxMind GeoIP2 is an IP geolocation service covering IPv4 and IPv6 addresses across 190+ countries, used for content localization, fraud prevention, proxy and VPN detection, ad targeting, and compliance geofencing. Pricing starts at $0.0001 per lookup with a free tier of 1,000 lookups per day via the GeoLite2 web service, though GeoLite2 requires attribution and is not intended for commercial use. Official SDKs span seven languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and PHP, and the service holds SOC 2 Type II certification and GDPR compliance. Databases are updated every weekday, and paid accounts receive unlimited web service queries.
PricingHybrid · from $0.0001 1,000 lookups · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPRDoesStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchThe industry standard with downloadable databases for fast offline lookups, but the free GeoLite2 tier is coarser, attribution-gated, and city-level accuracy is modest (~68% within 50km in the US).ScoresAgent 20 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 15 · Procurement 100 · Trust 40#2 IPGeolocation.io
76 / 100- Best for agents
IPGeolocation.io is a REST API for IP-based geolocation and threat intelligence, covering both IPv4 and IPv6 across 30.2 million IP ranges with country-level accuracy near 99% and city-level accuracy around 75%. It supports use cases including fraud prevention, content localization, ad targeting, and security enrichment, with actions spanning proxy/VPN/Tor detection, ASN lookups, carrier data, and reverse DNS. Paid plans start at $19 per month with no rate limits; a permanent free tier offers 1,000 credits per day for non-commercial use, no credit card required. SDKs are available in ten languages, an MCP server is supported, and customers on record include Atlassian, Intuit, SpaceX, and Verizon.
PricingSubscription · from $19 month · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesUsed byAtlassian, Intuit, SpaceX, VMwareStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchGenerous data and a permanent free tier with no card required, but the free tier is non-commercial only.ScoresAgent 75 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 60 · Procurement 100 · Trust 35#3 IPinfo
68 / 100IPinfo is an IP data API launched in 2013, serving use cases from content localization and fraud prevention to proxy/VPN detection and network intelligence. Paid plans start at $49/month for up to 150,000 requests, with city-level geolocation and privacy detection available on the Core tier and above; a free Lite tier offers unlimited country-level and ASN lookups with attribution required. The REST API uses API key auth and ships official SDKs for over a dozen languages including Python, Go, Rust, and Swift, and an MCP server is available. GDPR compliance and a published SLA are documented; database downloads require a separate sales agreement.
PricingSubscription · from $49 month · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesUsed byBupa, GreyNoise, Fingerprint, TransferGoStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupAvoid ifYou have strict compliance requirementsScoresAgent 50 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 35 · Procurement 100 · Trust 35#4 ipdata
67 / 100- Cheapest to start
ipdata is an IP geolocation and threat intelligence API, launched in 2017, that returns location, ASN, carrier, company, timezone, currency, and threat profile data for any IPv4 or IPv6 address. It targets use cases such as content localization, fraud prevention, VPN and proxy detection, and GDPR/CCPA compliance geofencing. Pricing starts at $10/month with a free tier of 1,500 requests per day for non-commercial use, and advanced features like VPN detection and commercial blocklists are gated to Business and Enterprise plans. SDKs are available in 11 languages, the API uses simple key-based REST calls, and customers include Disney, Adobe, Cisco, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
PricingSubscription · from $10 month · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesUsed byDisney, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Tencent, CiscoStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupAvoid ifYou have strict compliance requirementsScoresAgent 35 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 45 · Procurement 100 · Trust 35#5 IP2Location
64 / 100IP2Location is a REST-based IP intelligence service, established in 2002, that resolves IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to geolocation, ASN, carrier, proxy and VPN detection, threat scoring, and company data for uses ranging from content localization and fraud prevention to ad targeting. Commercial database subscriptions start at $49 per month with 99.5% country accuracy and daily updates, while a free tier covers 50,000 queries per month with attribution required. SDKs span 18 languages including PHP, Python, Go, Rust, and Haskell, and an MCP server is available; GDPR compliance and a published SLA are documented.
PricingSubscription · from $49 month · free tier ✓TrustGDPRDoesStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupAvoid ifYou have strict compliance requirementsScoresAgent 50 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 15 · Procurement 100 · Trust 35#6 Abstract IP Geolocation API
73 / 100Abstract IP Geolocation API is a REST-based lookup service covering 4 billion+ IPs across 190+ countries at city-level precision, returning location, ASN, timezone, currency, connection type, and VPN/proxy detection in a single call. It suits developers building content localization, fraud prevention, geofencing, and analytics enrichment into their products. Paid plans start at $17/month after a free tier of 1,000 requests/month, with self-serve signup and SDKs for JavaScript, Python, and PHP. The service is SOC 2 Type 2 certified and GDPR compliant, with a published SLA and enterprise plans available.
PricingSubscription · from $17 month · free tier ✓TrustSOC 2 Type II · GDPRDoesUsed bySalesforce, Google, PepsiCo, Wells FargoStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupScoresAgent 45 · Pricing 100 · Setup 85 · Docs 45 · Procurement 100 · Trust 60#7 ip-api.com
55 / 100ip-api.com is a REST-based IP geolocation service, active since 2012, covering global IPv4 and IPv6 addresses with lookups for location, ASN, carrier data, timezone, currency, and proxy/VPN/Tor detection. A free tier allows up to 45 requests per minute for non-commercial use over HTTP only, while the Pro subscription adds HTTPS, unlimited requests, and access to a larger anycast network spanning 23 points of presence. Pro plans require annual billing and self-serve signup is available without a sales call. The service is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified.
PricingSubscription · free tier ✓TrustGDPR · ISO 27001DoesStrengthstransparent public pricing · a free tier · self-serve signupThe catchGenuinely free with no signup for non-commercial use, but the free endpoint is HTTP-only and bars commercial use; the Pro tier is a flat annual subscription.ScoresAgent 20 · Pricing 75 · Setup 70 · Docs 25 · Procurement 90 · Trust 50#8 Ipregistry
55 / 100Ipregistry is an IP intelligence API covering geolocation, ASN lookup, proxy and VPN detection, user agent parsing, and threat intelligence for use cases ranging from fraud prevention and geo-blocking to ad targeting and GDPR enforcement. It covers roughly 99.99% of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses globally, with geolocation data refreshed daily and threat data updated every 15 minutes. Pricing is credit-based starting at $10 for 50,000 lookups with no expiry, and new accounts receive a one-time 100,000-lookup free trial for personal use. Notable customers include Coinbase and Accenture, and SDKs are available for JavaScript, Python, and Java.
PricingUsage · from $10 50,000 lookups (prepaid credits, no expiry) · free tier ✗TrustGDPRDoesUsed byAccenture, Coinbase, Kustomer, SlidoStrengthstransparent public pricing · self-serve signup · GDPRAvoid ifYou want to try it free before payingScoresAgent 20 · Pricing 85 · Setup 60 · Docs 45 · Procurement 85 · Trust 35
How we rank
The headline score is the average of six 0-100 axes computed only from each API’s published, sourced fields: agent-friendliness, pricing transparency, setup speed, docs quality, procurement ease, and trust readiness. An unknown signal scores 0 for its axis - we credit what’s confirmed, never guess. The score is one input, not the verdict: we lead with each pick’s trade-off, and where a job has only one real option we say so rather than crown it. Full method on the methodology page.
Why trust apio
- ✓ Every field cited. Each profile links the source for every claim - check us.
- ✓ Public audit log. Every change to this data is recorded per field, with who changed it and why.
- ✓ Published, deterministic methodology. The score is a formula over the same fields you can see - recompute it yourself.
- ✓ Zero affiliate links, zero ads, zero paid placement. Money never moves rank.
- ✓ No reviews yet - and we say so rather than synthesizing them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ip geolocation api?
MaxMind GeoIP2 is our current top pick across pricing, trust, and developer-surface data (from $0.0001 1,000 lookups). The right pick depends on your constraint: if you want the strongest all-round pick, MaxMind GeoIP2; if you want to start free, MaxMind GeoIP2; if you're buying for a regulated or large team, MaxMind GeoIP2.
How are these IP Geolocation APIs ranked?
By a transparent data-readiness score computed from each API's published, sourced fields: pricing, free tier, self-serve access, compliance, webhooks/sandbox, and capability breadth. No reviews, no paid placement.
Which IP Geolocation APIs have a free tier?
MaxMind GeoIP2, IPGeolocation.io, IPinfo, ipdata, IP2Location, Abstract IP Geolocation API, ip-api.com, DB-IP, ipapi.co.