shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use IP-API.com - Geolocation API?

Free IP Geolocation API - lookup any IP address - ip-api.com

Depends. Buy if you need free, no-signup IP geolocation for a non-commercial project and can live with HTTP and a 45 req/min cap. Commercial products needing HTTPS, volume, or support should pick a paid competitor.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources; only 1 G2 review found, so user-feedback confidence is low.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
ProPaid — price not stated in reviewed sources

Best for

  • Non-commercial sites and hobby projects
  • Server-side country or language detection
  • WordPress plugins needing visitor geo
  • Quick prototypes and scripts

Not for

  • Commercial production apps — free license forbids it
  • Anything needing HTTPS on the free endpoint
  • High-traffic apps exceeding 45 lookups per minute
  • Teams wanting vendor support or accountability

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

HTTPS requires the paid plan; free tier is HTTP-only, breaking HTTPS pages

high

Free tier forbids commercial use; commercial traffic must upgrade to Pro

medium

Exceeding the 45 requests/minute limit cuts off responses

medium

hCaptcha challenges hit requests originating from hosting/datacenter IPs

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free for non-commercial use, no signup
  • Marketed as fast and accurate geolocation
  • Returns JSON, XML, and CSV formats
  • Batch endpoint handles bulk IP lookups
  • Widely integrated, including WordPress plugins

Cons

  • Free endpoint capped at 45 requests per minute
  • Free tier restricted to non-commercial use
  • Only 1 G2 review, rated 3.5/5
  • Competitors undercut Pro price and add HTTPS

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x5review x3security x2news x2

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free tier; simple paid plan exists
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Developers call it clean and well-documented
  • Feature depth: 3/5. JSON/XML/CSV plus batch; no threat intel
  • Support quality. No evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security posture: 3/5. No breaches found; 79/100 trust score
  • 3.5/5 G2 rating from just 1 review
  • Yes Free tier non-commercial use only
  • 45 req/min Free rate limit exceeding it cuts off responses
  • 79/100 Trust score Gridinsoft hosting review

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Non-commercial use only
  • 45 requests/minute
  • JSON, XML, CSV, batch

Pro

Paid — price not stated in reviewed sources

  • Commercial use allowed
  • HTTPS endpoint
  • Simple pricing, no commitment

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Feedback is thin: one G2 reviewer gives 3.5/5, while developer forums and Reddit threads show it is commonly recommended but also frequently hammered by unwanted automated traffic.

Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; only 1 G2 review found, so user-feedback confidence is low.

Free and frictionless for non-commercial geo lookups; commercial or HTTPS-needing teams should look elsewhere.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; only 1 G2 review found, so user-feedback confidence is low.

Sources

  1. IP-API.com - Geolocation APIip-api.com
    official
  2. Geolocation API - Documentation - JSONip-api.com
    official
  3. Geolocation API - Privacy Policyip-api.com
    official
  4. ip-api | promembers.ip-api.com
    official
  5. Geolocation API - Batch JSON endpointip-api.com
    official
  6. Product security pageip-api.com
    security
  7. ip-api Reviews - G2g2.com
    review
  8. Best IP geolocation API discussion - G2g2.com
    review
  9. Getting hammered by requests to ip-api.com - Reddit r/piholereddit.com
    review
  10. ip-api.com Alternative: HTTPS + Lower Cost Paid Plans - IPWhoipwho.org
    news
  11. Ip-api.com Hosting Provider Review (79/100 Trust Score) - Gridinsoftgridinsoft.com
    security
  12. BT Visitor Insights - WordPress pluginco.wordpress.org
    news

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.