1Lookupvs

ipstack

The 5 best ipstack 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 ipstack alternative when IP intelligence should share a credit balance with phone and email validation: every lookup returns geolocation, proxy and Tor detection, and a fraud score. IPinfo adds a free unlimited country tier, MaxMind and IP2Location serve database buyers, and ipapi is ipstack's sibling with a near-identical shape.

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 ipstack.

IP geolocation only; no email or phone validation products, so multi-channel verification requires other vendors
Security module (threat/proxy detection) and bulk endpoint are ticked only on the Professional + plan at $99.99/mo among paid plans per the pricing matrix
The free plan is 100 requests a month, non-commercial, with location data only
Overage is billed automatically once the quota is hit ('we will charge you a small amount for each new API call'), so monthly cost can exceed the sticker price
Switching from monthly to yearly billing requires a manual request through the contact form with the 'Sales' category per the FAQ

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

1. 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 pricing 7-day free trial

2. 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

3. 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

4. IP2Location

Best for flat-rate database licenses alongside a large free API tier

Pick IP2Location when you prefer querying a locally hosted database under a flat annual license, or you want one of the biggest free API allowances in IP geolocation to start from.

Starting price: API: $49/mo Starter for 150,000 IP lookups/mo (~$0.33 per 1,000); databases: from $980/yr Site License for DB1 country-level (new customers; the $99/yr per-server Standard License is limited to existing customers adding servers)
Free option: API Free plan: 50,000 IP geolocation queries/mo plus 500 WHOIS and 50 hosted-domain queries, 11 data fields, attribution required, resets monthly, service stops at quota; separately, free LITE databases (country to city level with lat/long, ZIP, timezone, plus proxy and ASN) downloadable for personal or commercial use with attribution, account signup but no credit card
The catch: IP-only vendor: no email or phone validation products

1Lookup vs IP2Location: full comparison

5. 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.

Product	Starting price	Free option
1Lookup	$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
IPinfo	$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
MaxMind	$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
IP2Location	API: $49/mo Starter for 150,000 IP lookups/mo (~$0.33 per 1,000); databases: from $980/yr Site License for DB1 country-level (new customers; the $99/yr per-server Standard License is limited to existing customers adding servers)	API Free plan: 50,000 IP geolocation queries/mo plus 500 WHOIS and 50 hosted-domain queries, 11 data fields, attribution required, resets monthly, service stops at quota; separately, free LITE databases (country to city level with lat/long, ZIP, timezone, plus proxy and ASN) downloadable for personal or commercial use with attribution, account signup but no credit card
ipapi	$12.99/mo (Standard) for 50,000 lookups/mo ($0.00026/lookup, $0.26 per 1,000); $11.99/mo if billed yearly	100 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: Best when IP checks sit next to phone and email validation.
IPinfo: Best developer experience with an unlimited free country-level tier.
MaxMind: Best for low-cost IP geolocation at scale, by query or by database.
IP2Location: Best for flat-rate database licenses alongside a large free API tier.
ipapi: Best budget metered geolocation at high volume.

This is how much work a switch takes.

The API swap is quick, but inventory where ipstack is wired in first: plugins, localization snippets, and checkout logic often call it directly. Replace each with the new provider's integration, replay real traffic to diff geolocation agreement, and add usage alerts so overage-style billing surprises do not repeat on the new vendor.

These are the questions people ask about ipstack alternatives.

What is the best ipstack alternative?

1Lookup, for teams consolidating IP, phone, and email checks onto one API with shared credits, with a fraud score on every IP. IPinfo is the strongest direct upgrade for geolocation alone, with a free country-level tier that never meters requests. MaxMind and IP2Location fit teams that would rather license databases, and ipapi is ipstack's sibling product, so it changes little.

How is ipstack priced?

Monthly subscription tiers with fixed request quotas and automatic overage billing per extra call beyond the quota. The entry point is a small free allowance that ipstack itself labels a trial, with location, time zone, currency, and connection fields arriving across the paid tiers. Verified tier prices are in the comparison table above.

Why do teams switch away from ipstack?

Three recurring reasons: automatic overage charges on traffic spikes, a free allowance that reads as one-time rather than recurring, and plain-geolocation scope. Teams that need VPN and proxy detection, risk scoring, or validation channels beyond IP consolidate onto providers built around those signals.

How hard is it to migrate off ipstack?

Small: swap the endpoint, remap response fields, and confirm parity for the fields you use, especially time zone and currency if you localize by IP. ipstack is embedded in many CMS plugins and low-code tools, so inventory those integration points first; each needs the new provider's plugin or a small code change.

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 trial 1Lookup vs ipstack in depth