IP Address Lookup
Find out who operates an IP address. Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address, or a host name, and get the organisation it is registered to, the network block and autonomous system it belongs to, and the host name published for it.
- Encrypted connection
- No sign-up
- Free to use
How to use IP Address Lookup
- Enter an IP address or a host name, or select Use my IP address.
- Select Look up IP.
- Read the operator and autonomous system at the top of the result.
- Review the network details, the location information and the address in other notations.
IP Address Lookup features
Registry ownership data
The operator, network name and address block from the regional internet registry, via RDAP.
Autonomous system
The AS number and name that announce the address on the internet, with the routed prefix.
Reverse DNS
The host name the operator has published for the address, when there is one.
IPv4 and IPv6
Both address families, including expanded and compressed IPv6 forms.
Private range detection
Recognises private, loopback, link-local, carrier-grade NAT and documentation ranges and explains them.
Honest location data
Shows the registry country by default and city-level data only when a geolocation provider is connected.
When to use IP Address Lookup
- Identifying the hosting provider or internet provider behind an address in your server logs.
- Checking where a suspicious login or email was sent from.
- Finding the abuse contact route by learning which network an address belongs to.
- Verifying which provider a domain is really hosted with.
IP Address Lookup FAQ
What can an IP address reveal?
The organisation that the address block is assigned to, usually an internet provider, a hosting company or a large enterprise, and the network that routes it. It does not reveal a person's name or home address; only the provider knows which customer used an address at a given time.
How accurate is IP location?
Country-level results are right most of the time. City-level results are estimates derived from routing and registration data and can be off by tens or hundreds of kilometres, especially for mobile networks, VPNs and corporate networks. No public lookup can pinpoint a building.
What is an ASN?
An autonomous system number identifies a network that manages its own routing on the internet, such as a provider or a cloud platform. The lookup shows which AS announces the address, which is often the quickest way to recognise the hosting company.
What is reverse DNS?
A PTR record that maps an address back to a host name. Operators set it voluntarily. Mail servers are expected to have one, and names of access providers often hint at the region or connection type.
Why does my own address show a provider instead of me?
Addresses are allocated to providers, who lend them to customers. The public record therefore names your internet provider. With many mobile and fibre connections, one public address is even shared by several customers at once.
Why is there no data for 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x?
These are private ranges that anyone may use inside a local network. They are not unique on the internet and are not registered to anyone, so there is nothing to look up.
Where IP address information comes from
IP addresses are handed out in a hierarchy. A global authority assigns large blocks to five regional internet registries, which allocate smaller blocks to providers and organisations in their regions. Each registry keeps a public database of these allocations. When you look up an address, the answer comes from that database: the block the address falls into, the organisation holding it and the country the organisation registered it in.
Registration and routing are separate things, which is why the result also shows the autonomous system. An organisation may hold a block but let another network announce it, as often happens with cloud platforms and DDoS protection services. The AS that currently announces a prefix shows where the traffic actually flows, and the origin data used here is updated continuously from global routing tables.
Location is the least precise part of any IP lookup. Registries record a country for the holder of a block, not for each address in it, and a provider registered in one country may use the addresses in another. Commercial geolocation databases refine this with measurements and reports, yet remain estimates. This page shows the registry country by default and labels it as such, and adds city-level data only when a geolocation service is connected.
For practical investigations, combine the pieces. The operator and AS tell you whom to contact about abuse. Reverse DNS often indicates whether an address is a residential line, a server or a mail gateway. And a host name entered instead of an address shows you where a website is hosted right now.