Maxmind is a widely used IP intelligence provider with a long history in downloadable databases and web services. Yet it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution — many teams complain about their price, the complexity of multiple products, unclear licensing, and data accuracy.
If Maxmind doesn’t quite meet your needs, alternatives like IPLocate, ipdata, ipgeolocation, DB-IP, and IP2Location each offer different approaches that may fit better.
In this article, we compare the top Maxmind alternatives in detail, examining their key features, cost models, and best-fit scenarios.
Why you might want to switch from Maxmind
While Maxmind remains a credible choice, users often mention:
Cost and limitations
Maxmind offers per-request pricing which is often an order of magnitude more expensive than other providers.
Plus, they split capabilities across separate products (e.g., City/ISP/Connection Type/Anonymous IP or different web-service tiers). For example, if you need geolocation plus ISP/company and proxy/VPN detection, you need to combine multiple products, and pay more for the privilege.
Data accuracy
Although Maxmind have operated for over 20 years, users often complain about the accuracy of their data. They don’t publish details of their geolocation methodology, so it’s hard to know what a geolocation result is based on.
In comparison, providers that focus on open data and explainability can help users understand why an IP address is geolocated to a particular location.
Top Maxmind alternatives in 2025
1. IPLocate
If you want modern IP intelligence with flexible pricing and one integration, IPLocate is the straightforward choice.
What you get
- One API, all the data: geolocation (country, city, region, coordinates, timezone), ASN and WHOIS-derived network info, company data, hosting/datacenter detection, and privacy & threat flags (proxy/VPN/Tor/relay, abuse signals). All plans—including the free tier—use the same endpoints and return the same fields.
- Generous free tier: 1,000 requests per day, full dataset access.
- Flexible billing: either monthly quotas or credit top-ups that don’t expire, so burst traffic doesn’t surprise you.
- Public database pricing: city/postcode geolocation, privacy/threat, company, hosting, WHOIS, ASN, abuse contacts, and more—each with posted monthly rates and daily/weekly/monthly refresh options. Two daily-updated, full-accuracy databases are also available for free: IP-to-Country and IP-to-ASN.
- Open-source friendly: free datasets under an open license; options for OSS/non-commercial projects (API credits or dataset access).
Good fits
- Teams that want transparent, flexible pricing.
- Developers who prefer one API platform rather than piecing together add-ons.
- Security/fraud and personalization teams that benefit from company/hosting/threat in the same call.
Key points
- Free: 1,000/day. Scale via pre-paid credits or a monthly subscription for a fixed price.
- Data coverage: geo + ASN + company + hosting + privacy/threat in one API. (Docs)
- Databases: Full catalog with public prices. (See pricing)
- Open source: free IP to Country and IP to ASN databases, updated daily. Free support for open source and research projects.
2. ipdata
ipdata packages useful datapoints into simple plan tiers with clear documentation.
Key points
- Straightforward plans and an API that’s quick to adopt for greenfield projects.
- Threat and reputation signals (e.g., VPN/proxy/Tor, OSINT/commercial blocklists) available at higher tiers.
- Enterprise posture with stated high-availability targets and SSO options.
Pricing
Free 1,500/day. Paid: Personal $10/mo (2,500/day), Lite $30/mo (10,000/day), Startup $50/mo (50k/day), Business $120/mo (100k/day). Enterprise minimum $500/mo. Annual discounts available.
Best for
Compliance-focused teams that want EU-only processing and a published 99.999% uptime SLA with enterprise “per-million” pricing.
3. ipgeolocation.io
ipgeolocation.io offers a broad suite with transparent entry pricing and optional databases.
Key points
- Free 1,000/day plus paid tiers that add company/ASN, abuse contacts, and proxy/VPN detection.
- Unique API suite beyond geolocation - Timezone, User-Agent, Astronomy.
- Threat scoring: classifies VPN/proxy/Tor/bot/cloud to support simple allow/deny or risk-based policies.
- Downloadable databases available for self-hosting.
Pricing
Free 1,000/day (dev/eval only). Standard $9/mo for 50k requests (annual billing), Security $99/mo for 150k (+12k at $15), Advance $199/mo for 150k (+15k at $25). Annual plans give ~2 months free. Overages are a configurable surcharge.
Best for
Cost-sensitive apps that prefer soft caps (auto-overage via surcharge) and a very low entry price, plus optional threat data.
4. DB-IP
DB-IP offers pragmatic plans across API and databases with sensible entry points.
Key points
- Threat/vpn/tor updates refreshed frequently; location refreshed multiple times per day.
- Threat level classification in extended tiers used as a single policy input by some teams.
- Localization & batching built-in, with 50+ languages and bulk endpoints.
Pricing
Free 500/day. Paid: Basic from €8.29/mo, Core from €11.49/mo, Extended from €16.49/mo; Premium €99.90/mo (200k–1M/day, 99.95% uptime), Enterprise €499.90/mo (unlimited, 99.99% uptime).
Best for
Teams wanting simple Euro-denominated pricing with explicit uptime tiers and built-in threat level at higher plans.
5. IP2Location
A long-running vendor best known for downloadable databases (DB1–DB26) plus an API service.
Key points
- Databases-first model with fine-grained SKUs from country-only to city/ISP/usage type.
- API option via IP2Location.io if you prefer hosted lookups.
- Licensing tuned for internal vs. redistribution scenarios.
Pricing
API plans: Free $0, Starter $49/mo, Plus $249/mo, Security $499/mo; overage add-ons ($10/$50/$100) top up extra queries.
Keyless endpoint allows 1,000/day without a key; Free plan with key gives 50,000/month.
Database pricing varies. DB Site License example: DB1 $980/year (internal use only).
Best for
Database-first buyers who need granular SKUs and published site-license pricing, with an API that supports keyless low-volume usage.
Next steps
IPLocate stands out as the most balanced MaxMind alternative for engineering teams. One integration provides accurate geolocation, ASN, company, hosting, and privacy/threat detection—with a generous free tier and flexible pricing that scales cleanly.
- Get started fast: SDKs, clear docs, and low-friction onboarding.
- No risk: Free tier covers 1,000 requests/day with no credit card required.
- Pricing that makes sense: No hidden SKUs, no paywalls on fields, and credits that don’t expire.
