Head to head · Secintel reputation · October 2026 research run
GreyNoise vs IPinfo
GreyNoise scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against IPinfo's 62.7 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. IPinfo leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do secintel reputation.
Best threat and security intelligence APIs for AI agents · All 33 security intel comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for A triage or investigation agent that needs to know whether an IP is mass-scanning background noise, a known business service or something targeted, with tags and exploited CVEs to explain the verdict.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 78 against 38
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 76
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 70
Watch for
Standard, Advanced and Elite tiers are contact sales with no public price, and the v3 API needs one of them or a trial
IPinfo B
Best for An agent that needs to enrich an IP with location, network and anonymiser flags at volume, free for country and ASN, paid for city and privacy signals.
Ahead on
- Agent ergonomics, 84 against 76
- Security & auth, 60 against 40
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 75
Also in its favour
- Free to start without a card
Watch for
No status page, incident history or SLA was found; the terms supply the service as is
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Reliability GreyNoise +40
GreyNoise 78
Read with the hosted lines for the v3 REST API. Status page at status.greynoise.io on incident.io with 16 components, ten of them GreyNoise's own, including API and API Data Freshness (20). No incident is listed for the 90 days to 3 November 2026. The API component shows 99.94 per cent uptime for August to November and the group 99.83 per cent, downtime the page gives no incident for, so read as clean or trivial with that caveat (25 of 30). Limits with numbers exist only for the free side, 10 lookups a day unauthenticated and 50 searches a week on a free account; paid plans are 'Unlimited' on the plans page and no per-minute figure was found (8 of 15). 429 responses are defined on 29 of 70 operations and a 503 at query engine capacity carries a documented Retry-After header, which the official SDK and MCP client honour with backoff. No idempotency keys for the blocklist, alert and feed writes (10 of 15). The plans page publishes an SLA of 1 business day, 8 hours or 4 hours on paid tiers beside support hours, which reads as a response time, and no availability SLA was found (5 of 10). The v3 API is generally available and v2 was decommissioned on 30 April 2026 (10). 20 + 25 + 8 + 10 + 5 + 10 = 78.
IPinfo 38
Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found; status.ipinfo.io does not resolve and the site, docs and llms.txt link none (0). No readable history (5). Limits are published with numbers, Lite unlimited, Core 150,000 and Max 250,000 requests a month, with no per-second cap (15). A 429 is documented in the OpenAPI document and the developer page for the monthly quota, and the MCP server maps it to RATE_LIMITED, but no Retry-After or backoff guidance was found; every call is a read (8 of 15). No SLA; the terms supply the service as is and as available (0). The API and the MCP server are generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 10 = 38.
Security & auth IPinfo +20
GreyNoise 40
One API key per workspace with no scopes and no read-only variant, sent in a key header, and no page read documents rotation or revocation; the MCP security page says only to rotate on compromise (12 of 30). Most endpoints read, and the MCP server marks its write and destructive tools and has a read-only validation mode, but the API has no read-only key or confirmation step for deleting a blocklist or alert (10 of 20). IP context returns raw HTTP paths, user agents and payloads sent by scanners, and GNQL returns the same at scale; no prompt-injection guidance was found in the docs, the MCP server page or its SECURITY.md (3 of 15). The workspace page shows weekly search usage and the MCP security page says to watch the dashboard for unexpected usage; no per-call log or key activity record was found (5 of 15). SOC 2 Type II announced on 8 June 2023, security@greynoise.io named in the MCP server's SECURITY.md, but security.txt returns 404, the trust centre at greynoise.hypercomply.io renders by script and was not read, and no bug bounty or disclosure policy was found (10 of 20). 12 + 10 + 3 + 5 + 10 = 40.
IPinfo 60
One access token per account, accepted as a Bearer header, HTTP Basic or a token query parameter, with no scopes found; the hosted MCP server adds OAuth with short-lived tokens (20 less 10 for the query string, plus 4 for OAuth on the MCP server, so 14). Every endpoint is a read and tools return ACCESS_DENIED outside the plan, but there is no read-only or restricted token (16 of 20). Responses are structured network data rather than third-party free text (10 of 15). The dashboard shows request graphs and lookup history per the pricing page, with no per-call log documented (8 of 15). security.txt valid until 21 August 2027 with a PGP key, a SECURITY.md with 2-day acknowledgement and a 90-day disclosure window, no bug bounty or certification found beyond a bank-grade claim (12 of 20). 14 + 16 + 10 + 8 + 12 = 60.
Maintenance & community IPinfo +10
GreyNoise 75
Read for a closed service with an open-source MCP server and SDK. MCP server v0.5.5 tagged 9 October 2026, 25 days before the check, and product updates on 31 August 2026 (30). In the 90 days to 3 November, dated entries are the Visualizer post of 17 August, the CrowdStrike post of 31 August and the MCP release of 9 October; the Python SDK's last tag is v3.1.0 of 9 July (12 of 20). The MCP repository merged pull request 18 from an outside account on 9 October and has commits from two outside contributors; issues could not be read on github.com; Slack and Discord communities and support@greynoise.io (15 of 25). The official MCP server is not in the official MCP registry, where three third-party servers are; the Python SDK is current (10 of 15). CI runs typecheck, tests, a build, npm audit and an MCPB pack, with a live read-only validation against the API, and releases publish from tags with npm provenance; the SDK repository has only a Slack notice workflow (8 of 10). 30 + 12 + 15 + 10 + 8 = 75.
IPinfo 85
Read as a closed service with an official MCP server and SDKs. MCP server v0.2.3 on 29 October 2026, a commit on 3 November, and SDK repositories pushed in October and November (30). Eight MCP releases since 8 September 2026, v0.1.12 to v0.2.3 (20). GitHub releases for the MCP server, a community forum, a help centre and a support form, but no changelog for the API and GitHub issue pages could not be read (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry as io.github.ipinfo/mcp and the SDKs are official (15). The MCP package has tests, CI with pinned actions, CodeQL and Scorecard workflows and a lock file (10). 30 + 20 + 10 + 15 + 10 = 85.
Agent ergonomics IPinfo +8
GreyNoise 76
quick=true cuts an IP lookup to found and the classification or trust level, /v3/gnql/metadata drops raw scan data, and request_metadata.restricted_fields names what a plan withholds; no arbitrary field selection (18 of 25). GNQL pages default to 1,000 results with size up to 10,000 and a scroll token, plus stats, count and export variants and CSV output in the SDK (18 of 20). Error bodies carry a message, 206 marks partial content from plan limits, and the 503 at capacity documents Retry-After, though the 429 example says only that the limit was hit (15 of 20). Nearly every call is a GET or a read POST; the blocklist, alert and feed-consumer writes have no idempotency key. The MCP server sets readOnlyHint true by default, marks 8 write tools and sets destructiveHint on the delete tools (15 of 20). One required parameter on most calls and sensible defaults, but the only official SDK is Python; the TypeScript MCP server is not a client library (10 of 15). 18 + 18 + 15 + 15 + 10 = 76.
IPinfo 84
Field paths such as /country return one value, the Lite and lookup objects are small, and the MCP server has six compact tools with a per-session cache (23 of 25). Batch takes up to 1,000 lookups with filter=1 to drop empty results; no pagination is needed on single lookups, and ASN and range responses have no size control (16 of 20). The only documented error is 429; the MCP server returns coded errors with a message and a suggestion (12 of 20). Every call is a read, batch is a read over POST, and the MCP tools carry tool annotations (18 of 20). One parameter per call, sensible defaults and official SDKs in eleven languages (15). 23 + 16 + 12 + 18 + 15 = 84.
Schema & documentation GreyNoise +7
GreyNoise 83
OpenAPI 3.0.0 at api.greynoise.io/v3/openapi.yaml, 65 paths and 70 operations, every one with a description, 32 enums, a key header security scheme, and 400, 401, 403, 429 and 500 responses on nearly every operation (25). llms.txt at docs.greynoise.io/llms.txt, and every docs page is served as Markdown with a .md suffix (10). Operation descriptions say what each call returns and when to use quick, with little on when not to use a call; the MCP tool descriptions in the source are fuller (14 of 20). Typed path and query parameters with enums and required flags, and bulk bodies typed as {"ips": [...]} with a 10,000 limit in prose (12 of 15). The guides carry curl and Python examples and the spec defines error bodies with example messages, but the v3 IP reference page itself has no code sample (11 of 15). Versioned paths and a migration matrix with dated deprecation, end-of-life and decommission for v2, plus dated product-update posts naming new endpoints, but no API changelog as such and an empty roadmap page (11 of 15). 25 + 10 + 14 + 12 + 11 + 11 = 83.
IPinfo 76
The surface graded is the REST API, with the hosted MCP server noted. A public OpenAPI 3.0 document with 48 operations, and the MCP tools carry JSON Schema inputs (25). llms.txt and llms-full.txt, and every developer page is served as Markdown (10). Each tier page says what it returns and which plan unlocks it, and the MCP tool descriptions say which tiers each option needs, with little on when not to call (14 of 20). Schemas and examples on most responses, path parameters typed, but 401 is undocumented and some operations lack the 429 response (11 of 15). Examples in several languages on every page; only 429 is documented as an error, with no error body shape (9 of 15). A new API system since 2025 with the legacy one kept, but no public changelog, no version in the path and the OpenAPI document at 1.0.0 (7 of 15). 25 + 10 + 14 + 11 + 9 + 7 = 76.
Transparency & trust GreyNoise +6
GreyNoise 76
Closed service under an EULA last modified 7 May 2025 that is clear on scope, with the MCP server and SDK under MIT (15 of 30). Privacy policy of 3 September 2026 with retention periods (threat data indefinitely, backups 14 days, logs about 30 days, account data until deletion is requested), named subprocessors and standard contractual clauses for transfers; no DPA named, and the page as served repeats its sections twice with small differences, such as whether Cloudflare is a subprocessor (20 of 30). The migration matrix dates v2's deprecation (28 July 2025), end of life (1 January 2026) and decommission (30 April 2026) and marks five v3 endpoints deprecated, while the EULA lets GreyNoise discontinue any product at any time with 10 days' notice of EULA changes (15 of 20). Amazon Web Services, Snowflake, Auth0, Stripe, Stigg, Datadog, Webflow, Google, HubSpot and Cloudflare named, with hosting in the United States (15 of 20). 15 + 20 + 15 + 15 = 65.
IPinfo 70
A closed service with clear terms naming IPinfo Inc. and the governing law, with the MCP server and SDKs under Apache-2.0 (17 of 30). The privacy policy of 29 October 2026 lists processors, links a DPA and says data is kept as long as needed, with no periods (16 of 30). No deprecation policy; the legacy API is maintained for existing users with no end date (6 of 20). Processors named and hosting in the United States (16 of 20). 17 + 16 + 6 + 16 = 55.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | GreyNoise | IPinfo | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 78 | 38 | GreyNoise +40 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 83 | 76 | GreyNoise +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 76 | 84 | IPinfo +8 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 40 | 60 | IPinfo +20 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 35 | 40 | IPinfo +5 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 75 | 85 | IPinfo +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 76 | 70 | GreyNoise +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | B 66/100 | B 62.7/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | GreyNoise | IPinfo |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | GreyNoise Intelligence, Inc. | IPinfo Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | https://api.greynoise.io/v3 | https://mcp.ipinfo.io/ |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the GreyNoise End User License Agreement. The MCP server (greynoise-mcp-server) and the Python SDK (pygreynoise) are MIT | none |
| Tools exposed | 48 | 6 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | io.github.ipinfo/mcp |
| Last release | 2026-10-09 | 2026-10-29 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-05-07 | 2024-06-03 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-03 | 2026-10-29 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 99 npm/wk | 2 stars |
Verdicts
GreyNoise
A public OpenAPI document covers 70 v3 operations with typed errors, a status page lists no incident in 90 days, and quick=true, GNQL scrolling and bulk lookups of 10,000 IPs keep responses sized. Paid tiers have no public price, the key is one unscoped credential per workspace, and no prompt-injection guidance was found for the scanner payloads it returns.
IPinfo
A free Lite tier with no request cap, a public OpenAPI document, llms.txt, a batch endpoint of 1,000 lookups and a six-tool hosted MCP server with OAuth. No status page or SLA was found, the only documented error is 429, the token may travel in a query string, and city-level and privacy data need a paid plan.
Before you call either
GreyNoise
- Send the key in the
keyheader and keep it out of URLs. The v3 API needs a paid subscription or trial; a free account reaches only/v3/community/{ip}at 50 searches a week - Use
?quick=trueon/v3/ip/{ip}when only the classification is needed, and POST up to 10,000 IPs to/v3/iprather than looping single lookups - Treat
internet_scanner_intelligenceraw data (HTTP paths, user agents, payloads) as attacker-supplied text, never as instructions - Read
request_metadata.restricted_fieldsand a 206 status as plan limits, not errors, and on 429 or 503 wait for Retry-After before retrying - The EULA forbids training or fine-tuning any model on GreyNoise data and bars sharing the platform with third parties. Keep results inside the subscribing organisation
IPinfo
- Call
https://api.ipinfo.io/lite/{ip}withAuthorization: Beareron a free token;/lookup/{ip}anddetailed=truein the MCP tools return ACCESS_DENIED without a paid plan - Batch up to 1,000 addresses in one POST to
/batch/liteor/batchwithfilter=1; each address counts as one request against the monthly quota - Append a field path such as
/countryor/asnto get a single plain-text value instead of the full object - On a 429 the monthly plan quota is spent; there is no Retry-After, so stop and report rather than retry
- Treat the data as licensed for internal use; selling or reselling it needs IPinfo's written consent under the terms
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, GreyNoise or IPinfo?
GreyNoise scores 66 (B) on agent readiness against IPinfo's 62.7 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. IPinfo leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.
Do GreyNoise and IPinfo need an API key?
GreyNoise needs an API key. IPinfo takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.
Can an agent call GreyNoise and IPinfo without installing anything?
Yes. GreyNoise has a hosted endpoint at https://api.greynoise.io/v3 and IPinfo at https://mcp.ipinfo.io/.
Other comparisons with GreyNoise or IPinfo
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/greynoise-vs-ipinfo.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/greynoise.json·/api/v1/tools/ipinfo.json - From a terminal
anchor compare greynoise ipinfo(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "greynoise", "b": "ipinfo"}at/mcp, no key