A reliable IP Address API from Developers for Developers

Many public and proprietary data sources are integrated into an accurate and frequently updated IP address API at api.ipapi.is

The free plan (1,000 daily requests) covers use-cases for most users.

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  "message": "Please make an API request",
}
ipapi.is

Accurate IP address data from developers for developers. Fast lookups, frequently updated, actively maintained. 1,000 free API lookups per day.

About Documentation

Comprehensive Hosting Detection

By using a proprietary hosting detection algorithm, thousands of hosting providers and their IP ranges are tracked.

ASN information

ipapi.is provides the best and most frequently updated ASN information on the market.

Geolocation

A proprietary geolocation database was built from scratch. The database is constantly updated and pruned for accuracy.

{
"message": "Please make an API request",
}

Security Intelligence

The API provides Tor, Proxy, VPN, and Abuse information. Many different open source IP block lists are used to source the data. [1] [2] [3]

Organization Information

ipapi.is provides information for the organization that has ownership of the queried IP address.

WHOIS Data

WHOIS data is the primary data source of ipapi.is. Millions of constantly updated WHOIS records are used in the API.

Quick Start

You can use ipapi.is from any programming language that supports HTTP requests. You can query any IP address (IPv4 and IPv6) or ASN by making a simple API request to the endpoint:
https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55

Read the Documentation

Curl

Quickly test the API by using the ubiquitous curl command from the terminal 

# open a new terminal / shell and then paste:
curl 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=32.5.140.2'

# open a new terminal / shell and then paste:
curl 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=32.5.140.2'

JavaScript

Use the API from any browser easyily with JavaScript or from Node.js 

fetch('https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res));

fetch('https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55')
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res));

Python

Of course you can also use Python with the requests module 

# install requests module first
import requests

url = 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55'
response = requests.get(url)
print(response.json())
# install requests module first
import requests

url = 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55'
response = requests.get(url)
print(response.json())

PHP

Integrate the API in PHP in your application with these lines 

$url = 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55'; 
echo file_get_contents($url);

$url = 'https://api.ipapi.is?q=23.236.48.55'; 
echo file_get_contents($url);

Unique Strengths

Multiple API Servers

The API is hosted on multiple servers globally. Requests to the API endpoint at api.ipapi.is are routed to the geographically closest or most performant endpoint. This routing is achieved using Microsoft Azure Cloud DNS and Azure Traffic Manager.

Dedicated API Access

If you require a high request volume or need to host the API in your own infrastructure for technical or legal reasons, you can obtain the ipapi.is software and database for offline usage.

IT Security

The API provides robust IT Security support. It offers TOR, VPN, Proxy, and Hosting Detection intelligence for each queried IP Address.

WHOIS First

The primary data source is WHOIS records obtained from the five major Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) and their databases. WHOIS records are the most trustworthy data source for IP Address data, thus they are prioritized.

Constantly Updated

The API data is continuously updated from hundreds of sources. These include our own honeypot network, WHOIS databases from the five major RIRs, various threat intelligence feeds, internet-wide scans, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ipapi.is?

ipapi.is is a fast and accurate IP address API. It can be used to get meta information about any IPv4 and IPv6 address on the Internet.

Our clients use ipapi.is for many different purposes:

  • Blocking malicious traffic from accessing their services (such as datacenter, TOR, or Proxy/VPN traffic).
  • Traffic classification - Our clients want to know the composition of their traffic. Is it normal residential ISP traffic (isp) or does a majority of the requests originate from hosting providers (hosting)?
  • Some customers need accurate IP Geolocation intelligence. This is necessary for launching targeted advertising campaigns or enforcing specific location-based actions (Only EU traffic allowed, Only US traffic allowed, etc.).

Is the API stable? How many servers are behind ipapi.is?

The API is hosted in the following geographical locations:

With the above server coverage, the average end-user latency is significantly decreased. Each API server is large and can handle 1,000 requests per second.

api.ipapi.is uses the following cloud services from Microsoft Azure to reduce latency for API lookups:

  • Azure Cloud DNS for handling DNS lookups
  • Azure Traffic Manager to route API requests to the geographically closest server

Why was ipapi.is developed?

Initially, ipapi.is was developed to provide accurate and reliable IP address data as a foundation for more complex IT security products. During development, we realized that many other organizations also need such basic (but accurate) IP data.

ipapi.is is technically a simple service that does not deal with live end-user traffic and its complex consequences.

However, our biggest challenge with ipapi.is is to provide basic IP address data in the most reliable, accurate, and updated manner possible. By providing this reliable data, your more complex IT security solutions and decisions will stand on a robust foundation.

What are the use cases of the API?

There are many different ways how IP address data can be used:

  • Geolocation: Determining the geographic location of a device connected to the Internet.
  • IP reputation: Identifying whether an IP address has been associated with spam or malicious activity.
  • Network troubleshooting: Identifying connectivity issues and diagnosing network problems.
  • IT security: Tracking the source of cyberattacks and implementing security measures to prevent them.
  • Targeted advertising: Using IP address data to target advertisements to specific regions or traffic types (e.g., locating only US visitors and excluding hosting traffic).
  • Personalization: Customizing website content based on the visitor's geographic location.
  • Analytics: Analyzing website traffic and visitor behavior based on their IP address.

How often is the API updated?

The core API data is updated every week. Some parts of the API are updated daily.

Can I rent the API as a whole and run it in my own infrastructure?

Yes, you can rent ipapi.is in its entirety and host it in your own infrastructure. To effectively run ipapi.is, a server with a minimum of 8GB of memory and 2 vCPUs is necessary. With these specifications, you can expect to handle approximately 1,000 API lookups per second or 100 million lookups per day. It is possible to run the API in more than one cluster.

The price to rent the full ipapi.is software (database included) is $200 per month, including automatic updates and support. This allows you to have complete control and customization of the service while still receiving regular updates and assistance.

How accurate is the API?

The accuracy of the API depends on the specific data point. While the general accuracy is constantly improved, some data is more accurate than others.

  • WHOIS data: Very accurate, as it comes directly from the source (ARIN, APNIC, RIPE, AFRINIC, LACNIC).
  • Geolocation: Very accurate at the country level and reasonably accurate at the city level.
  • ASN data: Very accurate.
  • Hosting/datacenter detection: Very accurate (superior to competitors).
  • TOR detection: Very accurate.
  • Proxy and VPN detection: Moderately accurate. Does not detect residential proxies or unknown VPN providers.

Why should we use ipapi.is and not competitors?

You should test for yourself and not trust anyone. Some of the biggest strengths of ipapi.is are:

  • Hosting/Datacenter detection - Likely much better than competitors
  • TOR detection - Very good and accurate
  • WHOIS data support - Broad coverage, including RWHOIS data from various ISPs
  • ASN metadata - Accurate type detection, better than many competitors
  • Accurate geolocation - ipapi.is is a strong alternative, but not the top performer currently

How fast is the API?

Very fast. On average, a simple IP lookup takes 1ms of processing time. A server with 8GB of memory and 2 vCPUs will give you roughly 1,000 API lookups per second or 100 million lookups per day.