Use cases · IP Geolocation APIs

Best Downloadable IP Geolocation Databases

Providers offering a local IP geolocation database (not just a hosted API) for low-latency, offline, or high-volume lookups.

Required capability: Downloadable database.

Our pick: 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.

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).

MaxMind GeoIP2 profile →

Best for…

Best overall
MaxMind GeoIP2 - our default pick: strongest across pricing, trust and breadth
Best free pick
MaxMind GeoIP2 - free tier: GeoLite2 free tier: downloadable Country, City, and ASN databases (30 downloads/day) plus…
Best for enterprise
MaxMind GeoIP2 - for regulated or large teams: SOC 2 Type II, enterprise plan
Cheapest to start
IPGeolocation.io - from $19 month to start; compare on your real usage, not the entry price
Best for agents
IPGeolocation.io - easiest to wire up programmatically: MCP server + llms.txt
Broadest surface
MaxMind GeoIP2 - 18 documented actions; breadth isn't quality, but it's the most to build on

Ranked (6)

  • #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 · GDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • Threat intelligence
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    The 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).

    MaxMind GeoIP2 profile →

  • #2 IPGeolocation.io

    76 / 100
    • Cheapest to start
    • 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
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • Threat intelligence
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    • Bulk lookups
    Used byAtlassian, Intuit, SpaceX, VMware
    The catchGenerous data and a permanent free tier with no card required, but the free tier is non-commercial only.

    IPGeolocation.io profile →

  • #3 IPinfo

    68 / 100

    IPinfo 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
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    • Bulk lookups
    Used byBupa, GreyNoise, Fingerprint, TransferGo
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    IPinfo profile →

  • #4 IP2Location

    64 / 100

    IP2Location 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
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • Threat intelligence
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    • Bulk lookups
    Avoid ifYou have strict compliance requirements

    IP2Location profile →

  • #5 DB-IP

    56 / 100

    DB-IP is an IP geolocation and network intelligence service, active since 2010, covering IPv4 and IPv6 addresses across 215,000+ cities with daily-updated commercial data. It supports lookups, ASN queries, proxy/VPN/Tor detection, and threat intelligence via a REST API with API key auth, plus downloadable CSV and MMDB database files. Pricing is subscription-based with a free tier of 500 requests per day (HTTP only) and paid plans scaling to enterprise unlimited volume. Customers include Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung, and the service publishes an SLA and is GDPR compliant.

    PricingSubscription · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • Threat intelligence
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    • Bulk lookups
    Used byAmazon, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Samsung
    The catchCheap, with downloadable databases, but the free API is HTTP-only and the better accuracy and fields sit behind paid tiers.

    DB-IP profile →

  • #6 Digital Element (NetAcuity)

    11 / 100

    Digital Element's NetAcuity is an enterprise IP geolocation database and API that has been in market since 1999, covering 99.9999% of routable IPv4 and IPv6 addresses with country-level accuracy above 99.9% and city-level accuracy above 97%. It serves use cases including ad targeting, content localization, fraud prevention, proxy and VPN detection, and compliance geofencing, with customers such as Netflix, LinkedIn, Adobe, and The Trade Desk. Pricing is fully custom and requires a sales engagement, with no published tiers, no free tier, and no self-serve signup. The data is delivered as a downloadable flat-file database or via REST API with weekly geolocation updates and daily proxy intelligence refreshes, and the product is built on a privacy-by-design methodology that collects no PII.

    PricingSales-led · free tier
    TrustGDPR
    Does
    • Proxy / VPN detection
    • Threat intelligence
    • ASN / company data
    • IPv6 support
    • Downloadable database
    Used byThe Trade Desk, eBay, CNN, Oracle
    The catchThe enterprise incumbent (NetAcuity) with the deepest proxy and B2B intelligence, but it is sales-led with no public pricing, no free tier, and no self-serve signup.

    Digital Element (NetAcuity) profile →

Scope: only APIs with the required capability, picked from published, cited data. The score is one input, not the verdict, and we lead with each one’s trade-off. No reviews yet, no paid placement. See the full IP Geolocation APIs directory.