Comparison
A MaxMind GeoLite2 Alternative for WordPress
GeoLite2 is a reasonable place to start. When you need state or region rules, or you would rather stop maintaining database files, the native IP Location Block provider takes over.
What GeoLite2 does well
MaxMind publishes GeoLite2 Country and GeoLite2 City as free databases. They run on your own server, so no lookup leaves your hosting and no monthly quota applies. For most blocking work, country matching from a local file is enough.
IP Location Block supports GeoLite2 for exactly that reason. If your requirement is a list of countries to deny, GeoLite2 will handle it, and it will keep handling it for free.
- Free Country and City databases.
- Lookups stay on your server.
- No request limit.
- Supported inside the plugin as a local provider.
Where GeoLite2 costs you time
Free databases are free to license. They are not free to operate.
An account and a license key
GeoLite2 downloads require a MaxMind account and a license key. Someone has to create it, store it somewhere safe, and replace it when it changes.
Updates are your job
The database is a file. It goes stale unless something downloads the new release, unpacks it, and drops it where the plugin can read it. That job never finishes.
Free city data is approximate
City and subdivision values in the free databases are estimates. They are useful as a hint. They are a thin basis for a rule that decides who reaches your site.
Country level inside this plugin
Within IP Location Block, GeoLite2 answers country questions. State, region, and city rules are available only when the native provider is connected.
What the native API changes
Connect the native IP Location Block provider and the file management disappears.
No files to maintain
Nothing to download, nothing to schedule, no license key sitting on your server. The plugin asks the service and gets an answer.
Frequently updated data
We keep the data current on our side. Your rules keep matching against fresh records without anyone on your team remembering to refresh anything.
State and city precision
Write US:State:California or US:City:Los Angeles instead of blocking a whole country. Plain country rules such as US keep working as before.
The free plan covers 10,000 requests a month, and results are cached, so a typical site stays well inside it. See pricing for Plus, Premium, and Business.
Side by side
Both options are supported. This is where they differ.
| GeoLite2 local database | IP Location Block native API | |
|---|---|---|
| Data updates | You download the new database file and put it in place, on a schedule you maintain. | Handled by the service. There is no file on your server to refresh. |
| Setup | MaxMind account, license key, download, unpack, repeat. | Create an account, paste the API key into the plugin settings. |
| Country rules | Yes. A rule like US works. |
Yes. A rule like US works. |
| State or region rules | Not inside this plugin. GeoLite2 is used at country level here. | Yes. US:State:California. |
| City rules | Not inside this plugin, and free city data is approximate. | Yes. US:City:Los Angeles. |
| Where the lookup happens | On your own server. Nothing leaves your hosting. | A call to the IP Location Block API, with results cached. |
| Cost to start | Free, with no request limit. | Free plan of 10,000 requests a month. Paid plans from the pricing page. |
Prefer to keep GeoLite2? Keep it.
This is not a switch you are pushed into. IP Location Block still supports GeoLite2 as a local database provider, alongside a local IP2Location database, and it still supports IPInfoDB, ipinfo.io, ipapi, and ipstack as remote providers. Point the plugin at whichever source you already trust. See local databases and the full provider list.
A common arrangement is to run country rules on a local database now and connect the native API later, on the day a support request finally needs a state rule. Nothing has to be rebuilt when you do.
Set it up in five steps
- Install the free plugin from WordPress.org and activate it.
- Work through getting started to choose which targets are protected: front-end, login form, admin area, XML-RPC.
- Create a free account and copy your API key.
- Select IP Location Block as the provider and paste the key. The steps are in connect a provider.
- Write your rules, including state and region rules, then watch the validation logs for a few days before you tighten them.
Requirements are WordPress 6.5 or later and PHP 8.1 or later. The current release is 1.4.x.
Start with country rules today
The plugin is free. Connect the native provider when you need state or city precision, with 10,000 requests a month at no cost.