Look up any IPv4 or IPv6 address. Get country, city, coordinates, timezone, currency, ISP, and threat signals back as JSON. Try it on your own IP, then start free.
Trusted by Developers Worldwide
An IP geolocation API is a web service that takes an IP address and returns its real-world location: country, region, city, and coordinates, plus network context like ISP, timezone, and currency. Your application sends one HTTP request and gets structured JSON back in milliseconds.
Decide before the page renders: which currency to show, which consent banner to serve, whether a login looks suspicious. The lookup runs server-side, so it works on every request with no permission prompt and no client code.
The differences come down to accuracy, refresh frequency, coverage, and latency. A geolocation API is only as good as its data: ipstack covers 2M+ locations across 200,000+ cities, refreshed continuously through ISP partnerships.
You will also see this called a geolocation web service or an ip to geolocation API. The contract is identical: send an address, get back a structured answer your code can branch on.
An IP geolocation API tells your server where a request comes from. The browser Geolocation API asks the user’s device where it is. One is permissionless and city-level, the other is consent-gated and meter-level.
| IP geolocation API | Browser Geolocation API | |
|---|---|---|
| How it locates | Maps the IP to ISP service areas | GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell signals on the device |
| Permission required | None | Explicit user consent, per site |
| Works server-side | Yes: APIs, webhooks, logs, edge | No: browser JavaScript only |
| Typical accuracy | Country to city level | Meters, when the user allows it |
| Best for | Localization, fraud checks, analytics, geo-blocking | Navigation, store finders, ride hailing |
IP geolocation maps the address ranges that internet registries allocate to ISPs onto the physical areas where those ranges serve customers. GPS plays no part: the location comes from knowing who operates an address and where they route it.
The IP geolocation glossary defines registry, ASN, CGNAT, and the rest of the vocabulary.
VPNs and proxies resolve to the exit server, and the security fields flag them for you. IPv4 and IPv6 resolve with the same fields and the same precision.
Every lookup draws on five field groups: location, time zone, currency, connection, and security. Location fields come with the free plan, paid plans add time zone, currency, and connection, and Professional+ adds security. The JSON IP API page documents the full response format field by field.
| Field | Example | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Location | ||
| country_code / country_name | US · United States | ISO 3166-1 country of the address |
| region_code / region_name | VA · Virginia | State, province, or region |
| city / zip | Ashburn · 20149 | Resolved city and postal code |
| latitude / longitude | 39.0438 · -77.4879 | Coordinates of the area centroid |
| location.country_flag_emoji | 🇺🇸 | Flag ready for UI display |
| location.is_eu | false | EU membership, the GDPR consent trigger |
| Time zone | ||
| time_zone.id | America/New_York | IANA timezone identifier |
| time_zone.current_time | 2026-08-18T09:13:13-04:00 | Local time at the address right now |
| time_zone.gmt_offset | -14400 | Offset from GMT in seconds |
| Currency | ||
| currency.code / symbol | USD · $ | ISO 4217 currency for price display |
| currency.name / plural | US Dollar · US dollars | Names for checkout copy |
| Connection | ||
| connection.asn | 14618 | Autonomous system number |
| connection.isp | amazon.com Inc. | Operator serving the address |
| Security PROFESSIONAL+ | ||
| security.is_proxy / proxy_type | false · null | Proxy detection and classification |
| security.is_tor | false | Tor exit node flag |
| security.is_crawler / crawler_name | false · null | Bot and crawler identification |
| security.threat_level / threat_types | low · null | Aggregated risk scoring |
Each of these patterns runs on a single lookup per request.
Render the right currency and shipping terms on first paint using currency.code and country_code. The lookup runs during server-side rendering, so a shopper in Berlin sees € prices immediately. Match country_code to your price book for regional pricing, and use location.is_eu for tax wording.
A geolocation API for delivery apps answers the first operational question: do we serve this area? Resolve city and zip on arrival to pre-fill the coverage check, quote an ETA window from the regional depot, and keep delivery times in the customer's local clock with time_zone.id.
Default country, language, and timezone at signup from the IP so new users confirm instead of typing. Segment trials by region_name for your CRM, and schedule onboarding emails inside the user's working hours with time_zone.id.
Compare country_code against the billing country at checkout and route mismatches to review. Enforce licensing windows and embargo rules at the edge, and trigger consent flows when is_eu is true. For continuous IP checks in security and ops workflows, use our real-time IP lookup API.
2M+ Locations. One API Key.
Coverage across 200,000+ cities, free to start with no credit card.
One call returns location, timezone, currency, connection, and security data together. Most alternatives sell those as separate products or price tiers. With ipstack they are fields in the same JSON response.
The same endpoint serves your prototype and your production traffic, behind 99.9% uptime. When you need to enrich logs or backfill events, the bulk endpoint takes up to 50 IPs per request instead of 50 round trips.
Integrate in minutes: official SDKs, a maintained Postman collection, and copy-paste samples in every major language. Start on the free plan, 100 requests a month with no credit card, and verify the location data against your own traffic before paying anything.
Start free, upgrade only when your volume demands it.
One call on one flat plan returns location, timezone, currency, connection, and threat data.
| ipstack | ipinfo | MaxMind | ip-api.com | Abstract | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 100 requests/mo with key | Country-level only (Lite) | GeoLite2 self-hosted databases | 45 req/min, no signup, non-commercial, HTTP only | 1,000 req/mo, 1 req/sec |
| Data fields | 100+ incl. timezone, currency, connection | City, ASN, privacy (paid tiers) | City / Insights field sets | ~20 core fields | Location, timezone, security |
| Security / threat detection | Proxy, Tor, crawler, threat level (Professional+) | VPN/proxy on Core, $26/mo+ | Anonymizer via Insights, $0.002/query | Basic proxy/hosting flags | On free tier; drops on Starter |
| Uptime commitment | 99.9% | 99.99% stated | 99.99% stated | None published | 99.99% SLA (Enterprise) |
| Bulk lookups | Up to 50 IPs per request (Professional+) | Via database downloads, $1,000/mo+ | Not offered on web service | Batch endpoint, rate-limited | Separate bulk upload tool |
| Entry paid price | $12.99/mo for 50,000 calls | $26/mo for 150,000 calls | Pay-per-query from $0.0003 | Pro tier (unlimited, SSL) | $17/mo billed annually (60,000 req/yr) |
Based on each provider's published pricing and documentation, August 2026. Full plan details are on our pricing page.
Get a key, make a call, and parse the response in a few minutes. Test everything on the free IP API plan first.
Send one GET request with an IP and your key. The code samples show the same call in cURL, JavaScript, Python, and PHP.
Read city, country_name, or any of the 100+ fields straight off the JSON.
# Look up any IP at city level curl "https://api.ipstack.com/134.201.250.155?access_key=YOUR_KEY"
The step-by-step ipstack API guide covers every endpoint, parameter, and error code.
ipstack ships an MCP server so Claude, Cursor, and custom agents can call IP geolocation directly.
An IP geolocation API runs server-side: it takes any IP address and returns city-level location with no permission prompt. The browser Geolocation API runs in client-side JavaScript, asks the user for consent, and reads GPS or Wi-Fi for meter-level precision. Most production apps use IP data as the instant default and offer browser GPS as an opt-in upgrade.
Regional internet registries allocate IP ranges to ISPs and organizations, and each range maps to the physical areas where it serves customers. ipstack combines registry data with ISP partnerships that continuously supply updated ranges, so a lookup resolves an address to its real-world location without touching the device.
Country-level IP geolocation is highly reliable across the industry, typically around 99%. City-level accuracy varies with how ISPs allocate addresses: fixed broadband resolves more precisely than mobile carrier ranges. ipstack draws on 2M+ locations across 200,000+ cities; treat coordinates as city-level context, not a street address.
Start with city, region_code, zip, latitude and longitude for serviceability and routing context. Add time_zone.id for delivery windows and the connection fields to flag mobile orders. With those six fields a courier app can pre-fill the delivery region and quote a realistic ETA on the first page load.
Yes. Region detection from an IP is a standard way to trigger consent banners for EU visitors (the is_eu field), enforce content licensing windows, and apply embargo rules. IP addresses are themselves personal data under GDPR, so process lookups under a lawful basis and a data processing agreement.
Yes. The security module returns is_proxy, proxy_type, is_tor, is_crawler, threat_level and threat_types on every lookup, and it is included on the Professional+ plan. Compare plans on the pricing page, and use the flags to route risky signups and checkouts to manual review.
