Migration guide · ~an afternoon

Migrate from MaxMind to GeoQ

MaxMind ships GeoIP2 databases you download, host and keep updated, plus minFraud for proprietary scoring. GeoQ is a hosted API: one /v1/check call returns geo, ASN, abuse signals and a transparent risk score — no .mmdb files to fetch on a cron, no reader libraries, no metered minFraud queries to reconcile. If you'd rather not run a database update pipeline, that's the switch.

Based on publicly available information. We don't disparage competitors and make no "most accurate" or "cheapest" claims — if something here is wrong, tell us.

Why switch

Hosted one-call API instead of downloading, hosting and updating GeoIP2 .mmdb databases.
Abuse signals and a transparent risk score in the same call — no separate minFraud metering.
The risk score is documented (published weights + reasons[]), not a proprietary minFraud number.
Flat daily-quota pricing with a 1,000/day no-card free tier.

Field mapping

Map each field you read today to its GeoQ equivalent. GeoQ's schema: ip, version, geo, network, signals, evidence, risk — see the full response schema.

MaxMind field	GeoQ field	Notes
`(query IP)`	`ip`
`city.names.en`	`geo.city`
`subdivisions[0].names.en`	`geo.region`
`country.iso_code`	`geo.country_code`	GeoQ also returns the full name in geo.country.
`location.latitude`	`geo.latitude`
`location.longitude`	`geo.longitude`
`location.time_zone`	`geo.timezone`
`traits.autonomous_system_number`	`network.asn`
`traits.autonomous_system_organization`	`network.as_org`
`traits.is_anonymous_vpn`	`signals.is_vpn`	From MaxMind's Anonymous IP DB / minFraud.
`traits.is_public_proxy / is_residential_proxy`	`signals.is_proxy`	Residential-proxy detection is beta in GeoQ.
`traits.is_tor_exit_node`	`signals.is_tor`
`traits.is_hosting_provider`	`signals.connection_type === "datacenter"`	GeoQ adds signals.datacenter_provider (aws, gcp, azure, …) and a "satellite" connection type.
`minFraud risk_score`	`risk.score`	GeoQ's score is auditable: published formula + weights, plus risk.level and risk.reasons.
`Downloadable .mmdb databases`	—	No equivalent — GeoQ is API-first. Keep MaxMind if you need offline databases.

Before & after

Before — MaxMind

// Before — MaxMind (download, host, update .mmdb)
import maxmind from "maxmind";
// ...fetch + refresh GeoLite2-City.mmdb on a cron
const lookup = await maxmind.open("./GeoLite2-City.mmdb");
const data = lookup.get(ip);
const city = data?.city?.names?.en;
// abuse signals = a separate Anonymous-IP DB or metered minFraud call

After — GeoQ

// After — GeoQ SDK (hosted, one call)
import { GeoQ } from "@geoq/sdk";

const geoq = new GeoQ(process.env.GEOQ_API_KEY);
const r = await geoq.check(ip);
const city = r.geo.city;
const isHosting = r.signals.connection_type === "datacenter"; // same call, no extra product

What you'll lose

MaxMind's GeoIP2 databases run fully offline and minFraud is a long-established scoring incumbent. GeoQ is hosted and online-only — if you need air-gapped/offline lookups or are standardised on minFraud's model, GeoQ doesn't replace those. It replaces the hosted-lookup workflow.

Other migration guides

From IPinfo From IPQualityScore Full GeoQ vs MaxMind

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How long does migrating from MaxMind actually take?

For most apps, an afternoon. Swap the endpoint and auth, map the fields you read using the table above, and adjust where the response shape differs. GeoQ returns geo, network and abuse signals from one /v1/check call.

Is GeoQ a drop-in replacement for MaxMind?

Not byte-for-byte — the JSON shapes differ. The field-mapping table above covers the common fields; see the full response schema for everything GeoQ returns.

Is this guide fair to MaxMind?

We describe MaxMind neutrally from publicly available information and link to their docs where we can. We don't claim to be the most accurate or the cheapest. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.

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