Alternatives for MaxMind

Data quality

Accuracy remains paramount for any IP geolocation service. MaxMind and IPinfo make similar precision claims, but subtle distinctions emerge upon deeper inspection.

Accuracy findings

A recent analysis using ground truth data from an independent source revealed that in a 30-kilometer radius, IPinfo has better precision in 56 percent of countries. Narrow the scope to 10 kilometers and that difference jumps up to 68 percent better accuracy than MaxMind.

IPinfo leverages a worldwide network of probe systems to provide the most accurate geolocation data. We use this network to eliminate discrepancies in data such as the address above, which most providers place in the Bahamas based on associated metadata. The IP actually resides in a data center in New Jersey, and we prove this based on additional sources of data.

‍Database updates

IPinfo’s probe network updates our databases every day. MaxMind refreshes its databases once per week.

MaxMind offers detection of a larger number of VPN providers. However, quality trumps quantity for IP data accuracy. Customers report that MaxMind's VPN identification suffers from many false positives - incorrectly flagging legitimate traffic as VPN users. Retailers can lose sales opportunities, media sites reach fewer real viewers, and user experience suffers.

‍Bad Data has a Blast Radius

Inaccurate data has real-world consequences. A 2016 lawsuit in Kansas was the culmination of nearly fourteen years of MaxMind’s database rerouting unidentified IP addresses to a residence in the center of the U.S. This repeatedly and erroneously sent law enforcement to their doorstep to investigate instances of fraud, theft, kidnapping, and other illegal activity.

Data types

IPinfo and MaxMind offer similar data types. However, they offer them in different combinations.

MaxMind

• minFraud Service
• GeoIP2 Anonymous IP Database
• GeoIP2 Enterprise IP Database
• GeoIP2 Precision Web Services
• GeoIP2 Databases
• GeoLite2 Free Geolocation Data

IPinfo

• Abuse Contact API
• Privacy Detection API
• Custom Enterprise Plans
• IP Database Downloads
• IP to Geolocation API
• IP to Company API
• IP to Mobile Carrier API
• IP Ranges API
• Hosted Domains API
• ASN API

MaxMind products bundle preset packages of data types. Customers may pay for unneeded information just to access the specific data their application requires. Additionally, going beyond these predefined bundles requires paying premiums for customization.

In contrast, IPinfo allows you to select only the data types your use case demands - customized at the individual API or database level without paying for excess. The "pay for what you need" model ensures organizations do not waste money on superfluous data.

Cost and pricing

IPinfo’s pricing

IPinfo’s plans are open. We list our prices on our website for all to see. Nothing to hide. No extra fees. And no credit card details are required to start a free account.

Additionally, customers at IPinfo don’t need a company domain to sign up. Users can test our country-level geolocation API and basic ASN data for free with unlimited requests per month. Plus, we offer another free trial of all our APIs on top of our free plan.

We also offer metered billing when customers use up their monthly quota of lookups. And while this avoids service disruption, it’s also an optional feature that users can enable or disable at their discretion.

MaxMind’s pricing

MaxMind offers less transparency in pricing. Their minFraud service is priced per API request ($0.005 for each). But if customers want more than just IP risk scores, custom rules, and custom inputs, they’ll have to pay more for each individual request.

Support systems

IPinfo and MaxMind have different approaches in this area.

Response time

IPinfo has a global support team. We answer support inquiries the same business day they are raised. Our team covers all time zones, and we’re dedicated to friendly, personal, and helpful responses.

MaxMind’s team, on the other hand, is located only in the US and Canada. The result is that customers may experience slower response times depending on their location or the time of day. Additionally, MaxMind does not offer official support for the GeoLite 2 Database.

Responsive customer service is crucial for organizations leveraging IP intelligence across key functions. Fraud analysis, web personalization, targeted advertising - these mission-critical workflows all rely on real-time data flexibility impossible with slow or inadequate support.

Ease of use and free plans

There are also some points of comparison worth mentioning when it comes to API-related features.

Integrations

MaxMind offers integrations, but many of these aren’t supported by MaxMind or are difficult to find. In contrast, IPinfo offers a variety of supported integrations. And this list is constantly growing.

Free plans

MaxMind downgrades the accuracy of their free offerings as compared to their paid plans.

Here is a comparison of the free offerings from each provider:

MaxMind	IPinfo
Downloadable database for free	Free API and downloadable databases
Limited free API access (US$5 worth of access)	Additional IP to Country and ASN data for free
Reduced accuracy for free data	No reduction in accuracy for free data
No additional support for free data	Same support system from our data experts
1,000 requests per day (~30k/month)	unlimited requests per month

IPinfo prioritizes a robust free version to offer support to academic researchers, investigators, journalists, and other non-profits who are making a difference around the world. Plus, we want potential paying customers to test the true accuracy of our data for themselves before investing in paid plans.

It’s also important to mention that we don’t downgrade the quality of the data you receive as a free user. All of our free plans offer data with the same accuracy as that offered in our paid plans. This data is regularly updated by our in-house team of data experts so users get the most reliable information possible.

Support for developers

IPinfo and MaxMind also offer different levels of support when it comes to developers. For instance, here are the libraries both offer:

Libraries	IPinfo	MaxMind
️PHP
️Python
️Perl
️Java
️C#
️Ruby
️Go
️Rust
️NodeJS

IPinfo also offers several additional frameworks such as Django, Laravel, and Rails. And since we work with so many innovative leaders across many industries, there are plenty of third-party libraries to help developers get started.

Migration

IPinfo makes using IP intelligence and geolocation data easy, and migration is also simple. We have created a migration guide to help users begin taking advantage of all we have to offer.