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RIPE Atlas

Free plan Open source APILinuxMacSelf-hostedWeb

What RIPE Atlas is

RIPE Atlas is a global network of probes that measures Internet connectivity and reachability in real time. Most collected data is freely available to browse, download or use without hosting a probe or having a RIPE NCC account. Users with sufficient credits can schedule custom ping, DNS, traceroute and SSL certificate measurements through the portal or API, with configurable settings such as address family and interval. The system also runs built-in measurements automatically; some provide years of historical data. Eligible new users can claim a one-time grant of 50,000 free credits, while probe hosts earn credits as their probes remain connected. Probe-host applications are assessed by location, and approved applicants receive a probe by post at no charge. Software probe options include Linux, Raspbian, Docker and OpenWRT. RIPE Atlas provides REST and streaming APIs, plus command-line tools that require Python. Listed purposes include research, network monitoring, debugging and alerts about network events. Probe IP addresses can appear in measurements, while personal email addresses are not shown.

Who it suits

RIPE Atlas suits researchers and network operators who need public connectivity measurements or want to schedule custom tests. Hosting a probe can earn credits, while custom measurements require sufficient credits.

What it does well

Most collected data is freely available
Supports ping, DNS, traceroute and SSL tests
Offers REST and streaming APIs
Eligible new users can claim 50,000 credits
Includes built-in measurements with historical data

What to know first

Custom measurements require credits
Command-line tools require Python
Probe IP addresses can appear in measurements

Limits

Public data is freely available, but custom measurements require credits. Eligible new users can claim 50,000 free credits once; probe hosts earn credits while their probes are connected.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
RIPE Atlas	Public measurements and data · Custom measurements require credits · Up to 100 simultaneous measurements · Up to 1,000 probes per measurement · Up to 100,000 results per day	Free

As atlas.ripe.net lists them, read 15 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open the RIPE Atlas website to browse public data.
Create or use access through the portal or API to schedule custom measurements when you have sufficient credits.
Eligible new users can claim a one-time grant of 50,000 free credits.
Apply to host a probe; approved applicants receive one by post at no charge.
Choose a documented software probe option such as Linux, Docker or OpenWRT if using a software probe.

Verdict

RIPE Atlas provides public measurement data and credit-based custom tests across a global probe network. Its credit requirements and visibility of probe IP addresses are worth considering before use.

Questions

Is RIPE Atlas free?

Yes. Its listed plan costs nothing. Public data is freely available, while custom measurements require credits.

Do I need an account or probe to use the public data?

The vast majority of collected data can be browsed, downloaded or used without a probe or RIPE NCC account.

What kinds of custom measurements can I schedule?

They include ping, DNS, traceroute and SSL certificate tests, with configurable settings such as address family and interval.

Which platforms are supported?

Listed platforms include Linux, macOS, BSD, Docker, OpenWRT, Raspbian and Turris. Windows is experimental.

How do probe-host applications work?

Applications are evaluated based on location. Approved applicants are sent a probe by post at no charge.

Can measurements expose personal information?

Probe IP addresses can appear in measurements, while personal email addresses are never shown.

Facts from RIPE Atlas's own pages

API and tooling: RIPE Atlas provides a REST API, a streaming API, and command-line tools that require Python. · atlas.ripe.net, 30 Sept 2026
Authentication: The API supports scoped API keys and session-based authentication, while many read operations work anonymously. · beta-ui.atlas.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Built-in measurements: Connected probes automatically run predefined ping, traceroute, DNS, SSL/TLS and HTTP measurements toward well-known targets. · ui.prod.atlas.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Credits: Probe hosts earn credits while probes remain connected and spend those credits on user-defined measurements. · atlas.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Custom measurements: Users can schedule their own measurements through the portal or API when they have enough credits. · atlas.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Documentation: Documentation includes getting-started guides, how-to procedures, troubleshooting, API manuals, endpoint references, release notes and security disclosures. · beta-ui.atlas.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Founded: 2010 · atlas.ripe.net, 23 Sept 2026
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands · atlas.ripe.net, 23 Sept 2026
Independent use case: Microsoft researchers used more than 8,000 predominantly home-hosted RIPE Atlas probes to investigate anycast CDN performance. · microsoft.com, 15 Oct 2026
Independent use case: NAT64: A 2024 RIPE Labs study used RIPE Atlas to measure NAT64 deployment and performance across networks. · labs.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: API rate limits: A January 2025 RIPE Atlas mailing-list report describes errors from too many concurrent WebSocket connections and observations of 100% packet loss or very long RTTs. · mailman.ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: Missing data: A peer-reviewed study found that regular RIPE Atlas measurements commonly lose data points, including many losses occurring while probes appeared connected. · arxiv.org, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: Sampling bias: Independent analysis reports that RIPE Atlas vantage-point deployment and its probe-selection algorithm can produce substantial measurement bias compared with random sampling. · tma.ifip.org, 15 Oct 2026
Maker founded: The RIPE NCC began operations in April 1992. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Maker headquarters: The RIPE NCC Amsterdam office is at Stationsplein 11, Amsterdam, Netherlands. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Maker legal status: RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit membership organisation under Dutch law, funded by members and governed by an elected board. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Maker size: The RIPE NCC says it has more than 175 people from over 40 countries. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Measurement types: Built-in and user-defined tests include ping, traceroute, DNS, SSL/TLS, NTP and HTTP measurements for anchors. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Network scale: The RIPE NCC states that the network contains more than 14,000 probes. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Notable news: anchor upgrade: The RIPE NCC announced an RIPE Atlas anchor operating-system upgrade on 28 June 2024. · ripe.net, 15 Oct 2026
Open-source probe code: The RIPE Atlas software-probe code is publicly maintained in a RIPE-NCC GitHub repository. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Organization: RIPE NCC’s Amsterdam office is at Stationsplein 11 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. · ripe.net, 30 Sept 2026
Praise: Research utility: Independent research papers use RIPE Atlas for large-scale Internet measurement, including studies involving roughly 10,000 vantage points and billions of results. · arxiv.org, 15 Oct 2026
Privacy: Probe IP addresses can appear in measurements, while personal email addresses are never shown. · atlas.ripe.net, 30 Sept 2026

Where RIPE Atlas stands on Freedom251

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