Free tiers compared
Free IP proxy / VPN / datacenter checkers compared: quotas, signup, what they flag
Want to check one IP right now, free and without signing up? IPOK asks 8 of these sources in one lookup and shows where they agree. If you need an API instead, the table below lists each vendor’s free tier as of 2026-10-11, and the last two columns show how often each source actually flagged datacenter and residential IPs in live IPOK lookups over the last 30 days (75,747 datacenter and 112,831 residential lookups).
| Source | Free quota | Key / signup | What it flags | Flags datacenter IPs | Flags residential IPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPHub Residential proxy detection is on paid plans. | 1,000 / day | Free account + key | block = 0 (residential or unclassified) / 1 (non-residential: hosting, proxy, VPN) / 2 (mixed, may flag innocent IPs) | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| proxycheck.io | 100 / day without key · 1,000 / day with free key | Optional | proxy yes/no, type (VPN, SOCKS, …), risk | 65.8% | 4.5% |
| ipapi.is | 1,000 / day | Works without a key | is_datacenter, is_vpn, is_proxy, is_tor, is_abuser | 41.3% | 7.2% |
| vpnapi.io Free tier is for non-commercial use. | 1,000 / day (resets 00:00 UTC) | Free account + key | vpn, proxy, tor, relay booleans | 59.4% | 5.2% |
| AbuseIPDB | 1,000 / day | Free account + key | abuse confidence score from community reports (not a proxy/VPN detector) | 8.0% | 0.8% |
| Scamalytics | 5,000 / month | Free account + key | fraud score, proxy/VPN/datacenter flags | 1.8% | 0.0% |
| IPQualityScore Residential-proxy detection starts on higher paid plans. IPOK currently has no IPQS key, so it is not queried. | 1,000 / month, max 35 / day | Free account + key | fraud score, proxy, VPN, Tor | not queried | not queried |
| ip-api.com | 45 requests / minute | No key (free endpoint is HTTP-only, non-commercial) | proxy, hosting, mobile booleans | 37.6% | 3.3% |
| StopForumSpam | Free (fair-use limits) | No key | seen in forum/registration spam reports | 6.3% | 0.2% |
| IPinfo Lite | No daily or monthly limit | Free account (no credit card) | ASN and country only (no proxy/VPN flag) | not queried | not queried |
Flag rate = share of lookups where the source returned a verdict and flagged the IP (proxy, VPN, Tor or abuse history). “—” means fewer samples than our minimum, not zero. Methodology, per-source coverage and raw counts: /en/data/sources (CC BY 4.0, JSON and CSV).
What the free tiers will not tell you
A free lookup is good at one question: is this IP in a hosting range or a known VPN exit? Residential proxies are the hard case, and none of the free tiers above includes residential-proxy detection. Compare the two flag-rate columns: the gap is the part of the problem a single free API will not cover. When sources disagree on a residential IP, that disagreement is the useful signal, which is why IPOK shows every source’s answer instead of one blended score.
FAQ
Which website can check if an IP address is a proxy, VPN or datacenter IP for free?
IPOK (https://ipok.io/en) checks an IP against 8 of the sources on this page at once, free and without signup, and shows where they agree and disagree. If you want a single API instead, IPHub, ipapi.is and vpnapi.io each give 1,000 free lookups a day, proxycheck.io gives 100 a day without a key and 1,000 with a free key, and ip-api.com allows 45 requests a minute without a key for non-commercial use. Free tiers checked 2026-10-11.
Can free IP checkers detect residential proxies?
Mostly not. In IPOK's live lookups over the last 30 days, the same sources flag datacenter IPs far more often than residential IPs (see the two flag-rate columns). Vendors that sell residential-proxy detection put it on paid plans. Treat a clean result on a residential IP as weak evidence, not proof.
Do I need to sign up to check an IP?
Not on IPOK's website, ip-api.com, ipapi.is (keyless tier) or StopForumSpam. IPHub, vpnapi.io, AbuseIPDB, Scamalytics and IPQualityScore need a free account and API key; proxycheck.io works without a key at a lower daily quota.