ip-api Pricing: Plans, Free Tier, and Cost Examples (2026)

Pricing overview

ip-api provides a pricing model designed to accommodate both non-commercial and commercial users, differentiating access based on request volume, protocol, and advanced features. The service offers a free tier that supports basic IP geolocation for non-commercial projects, subject to specific rate limits and restricted to HTTP requests. For commercial applications, ip-api transitions to a subscription-based model with various paid plans. These plans increase the allowable request volume, enable HTTPS encryption for secure data transmission, and introduce access to premium features such as proxy and VPN detection. This tiered approach allows users to select a plan that aligns with their operational scale and security requirements, ensuring that costs are proportional to usage and feature access. The pricing structure is detailed on the official ip-api pricing page.

The core offering of ip-api is its IP Geolocation API, which provides data points such as country, region, city, ZIP code, latitude, longitude, and ISP information based on an IP address. Higher-tier plans expand on this by offering more granular data and additional functionalities critical for fraud prevention or content geo-restriction. Understanding the distinction between the free and paid tiers, particularly regarding rate limits and HTTPS availability, is crucial for developers planning to integrate ip-api into their applications. The service is often chosen for its balance of affordability and feature set for basic to moderate IP lookup needs, as highlighted in various geolocation API comparisons.

Plans and tiers

ip-api structures its commercial offerings into several paid plans, each designed to meet different usage patterns and feature requirements. These plans primarily vary by the maximum number of requests allowed per minute or month, the availability of HTTPS, and access to advanced features like proxy and VPN detection. All paid plans include support for the full range of IP geolocation data fields and offer consistent API response formats (JSON, XML, CSV).

A comparison of the general structure of ip-api's paid plans, based on information provided on their pricing page, is outlined below:

It is important to note that these figures are representative and users should consult the official ip-api pricing page for the most current and exact details on each plan, as pricing and feature sets can be updated by the provider. The inclusion of HTTPS across all paid plans is a critical security feature, ensuring that IP lookup requests and the returned data are encrypted during transit, which is a standard requirement for most commercial applications.

Free tier and limits

ip-api offers a free tier that allows developers to use its IP geolocation service without charge for non-commercial purposes. This free access is subject to specific limitations designed to manage resource usage and encourage commercial users to subscribe to paid plans. The primary restriction of the free tier is a rate limit of 150 requests per minute. This limit resets every 60 seconds, meaning that if a user exceeds 150 requests within a minute, subsequent requests will be rejected until the minute resets. This makes the free tier suitable for development, testing, and small-scale, non-revenue-generating projects.

Another significant limitation of the free tier is that it supports HTTP requests only. Unlike paid plans which offer HTTPS, the free tier does not encrypt the data transmitted between the client and the API server. This lack of encryption means that data could potentially be intercepted or tampered with in transit, which is generally not acceptable for applications handling sensitive information or operating in production environments with security requirements. For commercial use or any application requiring secure data transmission, upgrading to a paid plan that includes HTTPS is a necessity.

The free tier also does not include access to advanced features such as proxy or VPN detection, which are available only on specific paid plans. While the free tier provides essential IP geolocation data (country, city, region, ISP, coordinates), these advanced capabilities are reserved for users who require more sophisticated IP intelligence for fraud prevention, content licensing, or network security. Developers considering the free tier should carefully review the ip-api documentation to ensure their use case aligns with these limitations, especially regarding commercial intent and security.

Real-world cost examples

Understanding the practical cost implications of using ip-api involves considering typical usage patterns and feature requirements. These examples illustrate how different scenarios map to ip-api's pricing tiers.

Small personal project (non-commercial)

• Scenario: A hobbyist developer creates a personal website that displays a visitor's city and country. The site receives occasional traffic, peaking at around 50-100 unique visitors per day.
• Usage: Approximately 3,000 requests per day, or 90,000 requests per month.
• Cost: $0. This usage falls well within the free tier's limit of 150 requests per minute and 3 million requests per month (implicitly, as it's rate-limited). Since it's a non-commercial project, the HTTP-only restriction is often acceptable.
• Consideration: If the project grows or becomes commercial, a paid plan would be necessary for HTTPS and higher limits.

Startup website (commercial, basic geo-targeting)

• Scenario: An e-commerce startup uses IP geolocation to show localized content (e.g., currency suggestions, regional promotions) to its users. The website expects moderate traffic, averaging 100,000 page views per day.
• Usage: Around 3 million requests per month (100,000 requests/day * 30 days). Peak traffic might hit 200-300 requests per minute.
• Cost: The Developer Plan at $15/month would be suitable. It offers 3 million requests per month and 150 requests per minute, which might be tight for peak traffic, but the overall monthly volume fits. For more comfortable peak handling, the Startup Plan ($30/month) with 300 requests/minute would provide more headroom. HTTPS is included, which is crucial for a commercial site.
• Consideration: Monitoring usage closely for spikes is important. If traffic consistently exceeds 150 requests/minute, upgrading to the Startup Plan is advisable to avoid rate limiting.

Medium-sized application (commercial, fraud detection)

• Scenario: A SaaS platform needs to identify potential fraudulent sign-ups by checking if an IP address is associated with a known proxy or VPN service, in addition to standard geolocation. The platform processes 250,000 user interactions daily requiring an IP lookup.
• Usage: Approximately 7.5 million requests per month (250,000 requests/day * 30 days). Peak traffic could reach 400-500 requests per minute.
• Cost: The Business Plan at $50/month would be a strong candidate. It includes 10 million requests per month, 500 requests per minute, and basic proxy/VPN detection. This plan aligns well with both the volume and the feature requirement for fraud prevention.
• Consideration: For more advanced or critical fraud detection needs, or if the traffic consistently nears the 10 million monthly limit, an Enterprise Plan might be considered for custom limits and enhanced proxy/VPN detection.

Large enterprise solution (high volume, advanced security)

• Scenario: A global content delivery network (CDN) or a large cybersecurity firm requires real-time IP intelligence for millions of requests daily, including detailed proxy/VPN classification and dedicated support.
• Usage: Tens to hundreds of millions of requests per month. Requires very high concurrent request handling.
• Cost: An Enterprise Plan with custom pricing. This tier provides tailored rate limits, potentially unlimited requests, advanced proxy/VPN detection, and dedicated account management and support, which are crucial for mission-critical operations at this scale.
• Consideration: Pricing would be negotiated directly with ip-api based on specific volume, features, and service level agreements (SLAs).

How the pricing compares

When evaluating ip-api's pricing, it's useful to compare it against alternative IP geolocation providers in the market. The competitive landscape includes services like MaxMind GeoIP2, IPinfo, and Abstract API IP Geolocation, each with its own pricing model, feature set, and target audience. These alternatives often present different trade-offs in terms of cost, data accuracy, speed, and advanced features.

MaxMind GeoIP2: MaxMind offers both downloadable databases and a web service. Their pricing for the web service is typically volume-based, with costs per 1,000 lookups. While MaxMind is often cited for its data accuracy and is a standard in the industry, its pricing can be higher for equivalent volumes compared to ip-api, especially for smaller businesses. For example, MaxMind's pricing for its GeoIP2 Precision City web service starts at $20/month for 10,000 queries, scaling up from there. ip-api's Developer Plan offers 3 million requests for $15, making it significantly more cost-effective for high volumes of basic lookups. However, MaxMind provides more detailed demographic data and a longer history of data updates, which may justify the cost for specific use cases.

IPinfo: IPinfo offers a comprehensive suite of IP data services, including geolocation, ASN details, company detection, and more. Their pricing model includes a free tier (50,000 requests/month) and various paid plans that scale with request volume and features. IPinfo's basic paid plans start around $49/month for 200,000 requests, which is a higher entry point than ip-api's $15/month for 3 million requests. While IPinfo provides richer datasets and more advanced features like privacy detection (VPN/proxy/TOR), ip-api tends to be more budget-friendly for core IP geolocation needs, especially for high-volume, less feature-intensive applications. For developers needing a broader spectrum of IP intelligence beyond just location, IPinfo may offer better value despite the higher price point.

Abstract API IP Geolocation: Abstract API offers a developer-focused suite of APIs, including an IP Geolocation API. Their pricing generally includes a generous free tier (250 requests/month) and paid plans that are often competitive. Abstract API's pricing for IP geolocation typically starts around $9/month for 25,000 requests. While this is a lower starting price than ip-api's paid plans, ip-api's Developer plan at $15/month provides a significantly higher volume of requests (3 million) for a relatively small increase in cost. Abstract API's strength often lies in its ease of integration and consistent developer experience across its various APIs, making it appealing for developers integrating multiple Abstract services. For pure IP geolocation volume, ip-api often presents a more economical choice.

In summary, ip-api generally positions itself as a cost-effective solution for high-volume IP geolocation, particularly for projects that can leverage its generous request limits on paid plans. While alternatives may offer more granular data, additional features, or different pricing structures, ip-api often stands out for its straightforward pricing and high request allowances at lower price points for its core offering. The decision often comes down to the specific data points required, the anticipated request volume, and the budget constraints of the project. Developers should consult the official pricing pages of each provider and consider their specific use case requirements before making a choice.