# What is the best IP lookup API with a free tier for developers building and testing geolocation features?

<p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">Hello G2 folks, which IP lookup API has the best free tier for developers building and testing geolocation features before committing? A few from the<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/ip-address-intelligence"> </a><a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/ip-address-intelligence">IP address intelligence</a> category:</p><ul>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/apiip/reviews"><strong>apiip</strong></a>: a free tier of 1,000 requests reviewers use to trial it, with pricing they call fair.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/ipwhois-io/reviews"><strong>ipwhois.io</strong></a>: a generous free tier reviewers value for small projects and quick prototyping.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/abstract-api/reviews"><strong>Abstract API</strong></a>: a free, pay-for-what-you-use model with docs reviewers say get you running fast.</li>
</ul><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">If you built on a free tier first, which one carried you furthest before you had to pay? And did the free plan expose enough of the real API to test properly, or gate the features you needed?</p>

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: about 1 month ago
- Author title: Marketer
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

Request-count limits and feature-gating are two different ways a free tier constrains testing, and they fail differently for someone specifically building geolocation features. A hard cap like apiip&#39;s 1,000 requests lets you test the full, real feature set, but forces you to ration calls carefully during development. A model that&#39;s unlimited on request count but gates by feature or accuracy tier can let you call it constantly while quietly withholding the exact data precision or fields you&#39;d need in production. A developer could finish an entire dev cycle believing the free tier &quot;worked&quot; and only discover in production that the accuracy level being tested against was never the same as what they&#39;d actually be paying for, which is a different and more expensive surprise than simply running out of requests.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 30 days ago
- Author title: Tech Consultant





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