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1Lookup logo1LookupvsIP2Location logoIP2Location

The 5 best IP2Location alternatives in 2026 start with 1Lookup, which scores every IP for fraud and checks phones and emails on the same key.

1Lookup is the best IP2Location alternative for teams that want IP checks beside phone and email validation: every lookup returns geolocation, proxy and Tor detection, and a fraud score on one credit balance. MaxMind is the like-for-like for downloadable databases, IPinfo leads on a free unlimited country tier, and ipstack and ipapi compete on cheap metered lookups.

  • A fraud score, risk level, proxy and Tor detection on every IP lookup, for 1 credit
  • Phone and email validation on the same credits, so one key covers a signup end to end
  • 76 data products on one API key, with an MCP server and Zapier, Make and n8n apps

Prices verified October 2026 on each vendor’s own pricing page.

These are the reasons teams look beyond IP2Location.

  • IP-only vendor: no email or phone validation products
  • New customers cannot buy the cheap per-server Standard License for databases; DB1 and DB3 pages state it is reserved for existing customers adding servers, new customers must take the Site License ($980 to $27,980/yr)
  • Top database tiers (DB19-DB26, IP2Proxy PX9-PX12) are quote-only with no published prices; IP2Proxy site licenses run $7,980 to $79,980/yr
  • No rollover: unused API queries and purchased overage are forfeited every monthly renewal, and the free plan stops serving at quota
  • Standard (per-server) database licenses update only semi-monthly; site licenses get faster updates (pages state weekly on DB1/DB11, daily on DB3)
  • Free API plan returns only 11 basic fields with only open-proxy detection; VPN detection needs Plus ($249/mo), fraud score needs Security ($499/mo)

1Lookup leads the shortlist, followed by the closest swaps.

1Lookup logo1. 1LookupTop pick, our product

Best when IP checks sit next to phone and email validation

Pick 1Lookup when you look up IPs alongside phone and email checks and want geolocation, proxy and Tor detection, and a fraud score billed from the same credit balance as the rest of your validation stack.

Starting price
$99/mo for 20,000 credits ($4.95 per 1,000, down to $2.00 on Enterprise)
Free option
Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required
Where it wins
76 data products on one API key and one credit balance: phone, email and IP checks, people and company data, social data and more
See 1Lookup pricing7-day free trial

MaxMind logo2. MaxMind

Best for low-cost IP geolocation at scale, by query or by database

Pick MaxMind when you want reference-grade geolocation data at very low per-query rates, or a downloadable database for unlimited local lookups, and IP is the only channel you need.

Starting price
$20 minimum service credit purchase; at $0.0001/query that buys 200,000 GeoIP Country lookups ($0.10 per 1,000)
Free option
GeoLite2 Country, City, and ASN databases free with account signup (capped at 30 downloads/day), plus free GeoLite Country and City web services capped at 1,000 lookups/day per service
The catch
IP-only vendor: no email or phone validation products (minFraud scores fraud risk on transactions, it is not identifier verification)
1Lookup vs MaxMind: full comparison

IPinfo logo3. IPinfo

Best developer experience with an unlimited free country-level tier

Pick IPinfo when you want a polished IP data API you can start on free without request caps, with clean paid tiers for city-level accuracy and VPN and proxy detection.

Starting price
$31/mo for the Core plan with 150,000 requests/mo, billed monthly ($0.21 per 1k lookups); $26/mo billed annually ($310/yr)
Free option
Lite plan, free forever: unlimited API requests, country-level geolocation and ASN name and domain only, 50 web lookups, no credit card required
The catch
IP intelligence only: no email or phone validation products
1Lookup vs IPinfo: full comparison

ipstack logo4. ipstack

Best established low-cost geolocation with time zone and currency data

Pick ipstack when you want a long-running, widely integrated geolocation API with location, time zone, currency, and connection fields at low fixed monthly prices.

Starting price
$12.99/mo for 50,000 lookups on Basic ($0.26 per 1,000, about $0.00026/lookup); $140.99/yr on yearly billing
Free option
Free plan: 100 requests a month, no credit card; SSL and location module only, no commercial use, no standard support
The catch
IP geolocation only; no email or phone validation products, so multi-channel verification requires other vendors
1Lookup vs ipstack: full comparison

ipapi logo5. ipapi

Best budget metered geolocation at high volume

Pick ipapi when you want simple monthly quotas that get very cheap per lookup at scale and straightforward geolocation fields are the whole job.

Starting price
$12.99/mo (Standard) for 50,000 lookups/mo ($0.00026/lookup, $0.26 per 1,000); $11.99/mo if billed yearly
Free option
100 lookups/month free, non-commercial use only, no support ("Limited requests. All Pro features.")
The catch
IP geolocation only; no email or phone validation products
1Lookup vs ipapi: full comparison

This table compares all 5 on the same criteria.

ProductEmailPhoneIPStarting priceFree option
1Lookup logo1Lookup$99/mo for 20,000 credits ($4.95 per 1,000, down to $2.00 on Enterprise)Free single lookups via the online tools at 1lookup.io/tools, no account required
MaxMind logoMaxMind$20 minimum service credit purchase; at $0.0001/query that buys 200,000 GeoIP Country lookups ($0.10 per 1,000)GeoLite2 Country, City, and ASN databases free with account signup (capped at 30 downloads/day), plus free GeoLite Country and City web services capped at 1,000 lookups/day per service
IPinfo logoIPinfo$31/mo for the Core plan with 150,000 requests/mo, billed monthly ($0.21 per 1k lookups); $26/mo billed annually ($310/yr)Lite plan, free forever: unlimited API requests, country-level geolocation and ASN name and domain only, 50 web lookups, no credit card required
ipstack logoipstack$12.99/mo for 50,000 lookups on Basic ($0.26 per 1,000, about $0.00026/lookup); $140.99/yr on yearly billingFree plan: 100 requests a month, no credit card; SSL and location module only, no commercial use, no standard support
ipapi logoipapi$12.99/mo (Standard) for 50,000 lookups/mo ($0.00026/lookup, $0.26 per 1,000); $11.99/mo if billed yearly100 lookups/month free, non-commercial use only, no support ("Limited requests. All Pro features.")

Prices verified from each vendor’s public pricing page as of October 2026. Pricing models differ (subscriptions, pay-as-you-go credits, per-lookup metering), so compare at your real monthly volume; the full per-vendor volume tables are on each linked comparison page.

This is who should choose each one.

  • 1Lookup logo1Lookup: Best when IP checks sit next to phone and email validation.
  • MaxMind logoMaxMind: Best for low-cost IP geolocation at scale, by query or by database.
  • IPinfo logoIPinfo: Best developer experience with an unlimited free country-level tier.
  • ipstack logoipstack: Best established low-cost geolocation with time zone and currency data.
  • ipapi logoipapi: Best budget metered geolocation at high volume.

This is how much work a switch takes.

Know which product you are actually leaving: the database and the API migrate differently. Databases need an architectural swap to hosted lookups (cache aggressively); the API is an endpoint change. Either way, run old and new sources side by side on real traffic and diff country and city agreement before switching decisions to the new data.

These are the questions people ask about IP2Location alternatives.

What is the best IP2Location alternative?

1Lookup, when IP intelligence should live in the same API and credit balance as phone and email validation, with a fraud score on every IP. MaxMind is the closest swap for the downloadable-database model, with its own free database tier. IPinfo is the strongest API-first pick, and ipstack and ipapi cover budget metered lookups.

How is IP2Location priced?

Two buying shapes: annual licenses for downloadable databases you host yourself, and a hosted API on monthly subscription tiers with a comparatively large free plan that requires attribution. Unused subscription queries do not roll over. Verified license and tier prices are in the comparison table above.

Database license or API: which should I pick?

Pick the database license when you do very high lookup volumes, need offline capability, or want flat annual costs independent of query count. Pick a hosted API when you want data that updates continuously without re-downloading, no infrastructure to run, and signals beyond static geolocation, like proxy and VPN detection or risk scoring.

How hard is it to migrate off IP2Location?

API users swap endpoints and remap fields in an afternoon. Database users have an architecture change: moving to any hosted API introduces latency and rate limits, so add caching, and check field parity for the columns your queries actually read, since database editions and API tiers expose different field sets.

Try 1Lookup free for 7 days before you decide.

The 7-day free trial includes credits for all 76 data products: $5 on Starter, $20 on Growth and above. No payment today.

Start your free trial1Lookup vs IP2Location in depth