Comparison

IP-API.com - Geolocation API vs Free IP API

IP-API.com - Geolocation API lands on Depends, and Free IP API lands on Worth it.

IP-API.com - Geolocation API

Depends

Confidence: Medium

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.

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Free IP API

Worth it

Confidence: Medium

A low-risk pick for prototypes, hobby tools, and small sites needing basic country/city lookups.

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IP-API.com - Geolocation API versus Free IP API
Compare	IP-API.com - Geolocation API	Free IP API
Verdict	Depends	Worth it
Best for	Non-commercial sites and hobby projects	Solo developers
Who it's not for	Commercial production apps . free license forbids it	Fraud or VPN-detection workflows . no ISP/VPN signals here
Privacy	No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.¹¹	No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.¹⁶
Support quality	No evidence in reviewed sources	No evidence in sources
Public sentiment	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.^⁷	User feedback is sparse; the product appears mainly in directories and a Show HN launch, with no substantial independent reviews found.
Biggest gotcha	HTTPS requires the paid plan; free tier is HTTP-only, breaking HTTPS pages¹⁰	Vendor says free; third parties report $8.25/month paid entry . verify current pricing before budgeting.¹⁵

Pick IP-API.com - Geolocation API when

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

When IP-API.com - Geolocation API is not a fit

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

Pick Free IP API when

Solo developers
Prototypes and hobby projects
Small sites needing country/city lookup
Non-commercial tools

When Free IP API is not a fit

Fraud or VPN-detection workflows . no ISP/VPN signals here
Enterprise apps needing SLAs or compliance documentation
High-traffic production APIs without your own caching
Buyers requiring vendor security audits or certifications

Sources

IP-API.com - Geolocation APIip-api.com
official
Geolocation API - Documentation - JSONip-api.com
official
Geolocation API - Privacy Policyip-api.com
official
ip-api | promembers.ip-api.com
official
Geolocation API - Batch JSON endpointip-api.com
official
Product security pageip-api.com
security
ip-api Reviews - G2g2.com
review
Best IP geolocation API discussion - G2g2.com
review
Getting hammered by requests to ip-api.com - Reddit r/piholereddit.com
review
ip-api.com Alternative: HTTPS + Lower Cost Paid Plans - IPWhoipwho.org
news
Ip-api.com Hosting Provider Review (79/100 Trust Score) - Gridinsoftgridinsoft.com
security
BT Visitor Insights - WordPress pluginco.wordpress.org
news
Free & Fast IP Geolocation API (JSON & XML) - Free IP APIfreeipapi.com
official
Free IP API - Features & Pricing (August 2026)saasworthy.com
review
ipXapi vs Free IP API: Pricing, Features and Reviewsspotsaas.com
review
Security pagefreeipapi.com
security