IP address lookup
See where an IP address is, which network runs it, and how far to trust the answer.
What an IP lookup tells you
An IP address is a number that identifies a device or a service on the internet. It does not contain a location, but the companies that run networks tend to use address blocks in predictable places, so databases can make a good guess. A lookup combines that guess with the name of the network that announces the address.
LookupOwl shows the city, region and country that the DB-IP database holds for the address, the network behind it (its AS number and organisation), and the country the address block is registered in at the regional internet registry. Entering a domain name works too: the name is resolved and each address it points to is looked up.
How to use it
- Enter an address or a nameIPv4 and IPv6 both work, and so does a domain such as
example.comor a full web address. Up to six addresses of a domain are shown. Private addresses such as192.168.1.1are named as private and are not looked up, because they only exist inside a network. - Read the headline firstThe big answer says where DB-IP thinks the address is, at city, region or country level. A badge says whether the registry agrees on the country, and warns when the address belongs to a CDN or an anycast service.
- Check the network and the areaThe network tile names the organisation that announces the address. The area tile gives a rule-of-thumb size for the guess, and the map shows a dot at its centre. Open the sources tab to see what each source said.
Reading the result
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| City level | DB-IP has a city for this address. Think of it as "somewhere around there", within tens of kilometres at best. |
| Region or country level | DB-IP knows less. No city or area is drawn, because that would suggest a precision nobody has. |
| Registry agrees | The country in the registry record matches DB-IP. Two independent sources agreeing is good evidence for the country, not for the city. |
| Registered in another country | Common for global companies, leased address space and cloud networks. The registry country is where the block was registered, which is not always where it is used. |
| Anycast or CDN | The same address is answered from many cities. Any single location is only a label for the range. |
| Not a public address | A private, loopback or reserved address. It has no place on the internet to look up. |
How accurate is it?
IP location is approximate. Country is usually reliable for ordinary home and office connections. City is a guess, and the guess is worse for mobile networks, satellite links and companies that route all traffic through one office. VPNs and proxies move a person to wherever the exit server is. If many customers share one address through carrier-grade NAT, the location is that of the provider, not of any one customer.
- Do not use it as proof of identity or presence. An address shows where traffic comes out of a network, which can differ from where a person sits.
- Treat the radius as a guide. DB-IP does not publish an accuracy figure for each address, so the area shown is a rule of thumb.
- Compare sources. When DB-IP and the registry name different countries, read the note under the answer before drawing a conclusion.
Where the data comes from
The location and network come from the free DB-IP Lite databases, published under a Creative Commons Attribution licence and updated every month. They are read from the server's own disk, so a lookup does not send the address to a third party. A domain name is resolved with a normal DNS query, and the registry check asks the regional internet registry over RDAP. Results carry the credit "IP geolocation by DB-IP", as the licence asks.
curl -s https://lookupowl.com/api/v1/tools/ip-location \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{"q":"8.8.8.8"}'Questions people ask
What is an IP lookup?
An IP lookup takes an IP address and returns what is known about it: the network that announces it, the country it is registered in, and a best guess at the place it is used from. It is a way to learn where traffic seems to come from, not an exact location of a person or a device.
Can an IP address show my exact location?
No. An IP address cannot show a street, a building or a person. The best a database can do is name a city or a region, and often only a country. Anyone claiming to pinpoint a home from an IP address is guessing. Your phone or browser can give a precise location only if you allow it to.
Why does the lookup show the wrong city?
Databases infer locations from how address blocks are registered and used, and that inference can be off by a city or a country. Mobile networks, VPNs, company networks and shared addresses are the usual reasons. The page on IP location explains the causes and what you can do about a wrong result.
Can I look up an IPv6 address?
Yes. IPv6 addresses work the same way, including the shortened forms with a double colon. Coverage and detail can differ between IPv4 and IPv6 in any database, so an IPv6 address may show less detail than an IPv4 one from the same network.
What does it mean when an address is anycast?
Anycast means the same address is announced from many places, and each visitor reaches the nearest one. Public DNS resolvers such as 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1 work this way. A database can list only one place for them, so the page flags them instead of letting a single city look like a fact.
Can I look up a domain name instead of an address?
Yes. Enter a domain and LookupOwl resolves its A and AAAA records and locates each address, up to six. A site behind a CDN will show the CDN's addresses, not the origin server. To see who hosts a site, use Who hosts this website.
Who owns an IP address?
The organisation that announces the address owns the network, shown here as the AS number and organisation. The registry record has the full registration, including the abuse contact. For that, use the IP WHOIS lookup, or the ASN lookup for the network itself.
Use it from AI, the API or the command line
Every LookupOwl tool is also a free API and an MCP tool, with no key and no account. This one is ip_location. Please be kind to the rate limits.
curl "https://lookupowl.com/api/v1/tools/ip-location?q=8.8.8.8"claude mcp add --transport http lookupowl https://lookupowl.com/mcp