Free website tool
EU hosting check: is a website hosted in Europe?
Use this free EU hosting check to see whether a website runs on a network in Europe. Enter a domain and the tool shows the IP address of the website and the country its network is registered in.
Free, no account needed
How do you check where a website is hosted?
The EU hosting check finds the IP address a domain points to and asks the regional internet registry, such as RIPE NCC, which country that network is registered in. If that country is in the EU or the wider EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), the result is green. It is the country of the network registration, so for a site behind a CDN it can differ from where the server actually stands.
What the EU hosting check looks up
The tool takes the IPv4 address of the domain, or its IPv6 address, and uses www when the domain itself has no address. It then asks the regional internet registry of that address over RDAP for the country of the network.
- IP address: the address the domain points to
- Country: the country the network is registered in
- EU or EEA: whether that country is one of the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway
How to read the result
Hosted in the EU (green): the network is registered in an EU or EEA country. Hosted outside the EU (red): the network is registered elsewhere, for example in the United States. Location unknown (orange): the registry gave no country, or the domain has no address the tool can look up.
Why it matters: EU data protection rules apply to the whole European Economic Area. When personal data leaves the EEA, the European Commission requires extra safeguards so that the protection travels with the data, such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses.
Limits and common mistakes
A green result is a good sign, but it does not tell the whole story.
- A CDN or proxy hides the real server: the result then shows the network of the CDN
- A European company name does not guarantee European servers, so check the location
- The result covers the website only; email, forms, analytics and other tools can send data elsewhere
- The domain and www can point to different servers, so check the address your visitors use
What to do next
If your website is hosted outside the EU and you process personal data of your visitors, ask your host which safeguards apply, or move to a European host.
SitePack hosts websites and webshops in the EU, with SSL and daily backups included. A website starts at €15 a month and a webshop at €25 a month, billed yearly.
How to use the EU hosting check
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Enter the domain
Type the domain of the website, for example yourbusiness.com.
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Run the check
Click the button. The tool finds the IP address and asks the registry where that network is registered.
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Read the country
Green means EU or EEA, red means outside, orange means the location could not be determined.
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Check the rest of your tools
Check where your email, forms and analytics run as well, because they handle personal data too.
Questions about the EU hosting check
Is the EU hosting check free?
Yes, free and without an account. If you run many checks in a short time, the tool may ask you to wait a moment.
Why does it say location unknown?
The registry of the network did not give a country, or the domain has no address the tool can look up. A website behind a CDN is a common reason.
Does EU hosting make my website GDPR compliant?
Not on its own. The GDPR is about how you handle personal data as a whole. Hosting in the EU keeps your website data inside the EEA, but your forms, email, analytics and other services count too.
Do Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein count?
Yes. They are not EU members, but they are part of the European Economic Area, where EU data protection rules apply. The tool counts them as green.
Can the result differ from what my host says?
Yes. The tool shows the country the network is registered in. Large providers and CDNs can register a network in one country and use it in another. Your host can tell you the exact data centre.
Where does SitePack host websites?
In the EU. Every SitePack package includes EU hosting, SSL and daily backups.
More tools and guides
- SSL check Check whether the SSL certificate of a website is valid.
- WHOIS lookup See the registrar, expiry date and status of a domain.
- Guide: a website for your business What a professional business website needs, step by step.
- Made in Europe: why SitePack is European EU hosting and privacy built in from the start.
- Free tools
Host your website in Europe
A SitePack website starts at €15 a month and a webshop at €25 a month, billed yearly, with EU hosting, SSL and daily backups included. Try it free for 14 days, without payment details.