The world is split on IPv4 and IPv6, some companies practically even ignore the existence of IPv6.
(And we were just discussing this on LET — raindog308).
IPv4 is still very fundamental to the internet, a necessity by far.
However, it’s no secret our time with IPv4 is running out as supplies shrink and the amount of people using the internet grows.
The question is, though, if IPv4 is becoming such a scarce commodity with big companies like Amazon buying up all of the rest of the IPv4 ranges…
How easy is it to acquire IPv4 addresses right now, in 2023?
Is it all scarcity doom fear-mongering? Or are concerns the real deal and reflected in the market?
Let’s find out…
First, Let’s Start With Leasing…
When it comes to renting/leasing an IPv4 block, you have two major avenues you can go down:
1) Forums, like LowEndTalk!
On our hosting-related forum, LowEndTalk, we have a dedicated thread for buying/renting IP space.
The two most recent comments could tell you something about current market prices:
You’re basically looking at around $100-110 to rent a /24 (256 IPs) of IPv4 space. Less than 0.50 cents per IP address.
Of course, the prices scale up according to bigger block sizes, but what you’ll frequently see offered on forums are smaller block sizes available like a /24.
Most hosts charge about $2 per IP or more when it comes as an add-on to a VPS or dedicated server.
By renting the block directly instead and only going to providers that allow BYOIP… you can significantly cut your costs down.
2) Middlemen and marketplaces.
Normally it’s a bad thing to use a middleman because you can know for certain they added a tax in to profit off of the transaction for themselves.
Sometimes for the sake of convenience, especially in the case of an increasingly scarce resource… it’s a good thing.
There are a couple of different sites that exist out there, but I’m only going to name my favorite one…
IPXO, a self-proclaimed “fully automated IP address lease & monetization marketplace,” aka, middleman.
They offer two directly related services:
- IP leasing management for IPv4 block owners.
- IP leasing for those that are looking for IPv4.
Here’s what you’re looking at over on IPXO:
It’s important to note the “starts from” part because depending on the settings you select in the filter, the location, etc, this pricing could go up or down.
That could go up especially if you’re looking for a block for something like email marketing, which is a selectable filter on IPXO.
I’d say on average the pricing is about the same as the pricing you find on various forums around the internet.
You do, however, gain convenience and have a straight path to scaling upwards if you need more IPv4 space in the future.
The most economical, long-term investment is going to be neither of these options, though…
Buying Your Own IPv4 Addresses
Almost always these deals are done through brokers.
Sometimes these deals simply happen through business partners, people you meet on forums, and beyond… for definitely better prices than you’d find from a broker.
It’s not a bad idea to approach a well-known host with a couple of IP blocks and get acquainted with its founder.
You can get some amazing deals that way, on both leasing and purchasing.
But most people are going to be using a broker, like IPv4.Global.
They also provide a marketplace, but they provide both leasing and purchasing options, with an emphasis on the purchasing options.
If we look at recent sales:
We can see a RIPE /24 was just sold for $9,216, APNIC /24 for less.
Essentially, $10,000 for a /24 (or $36 per IPv4) that you own, forever… and work your way up from there. Not bad.
It’s important to note that IPv4 prices actually have gone down according to their own statistics over the last year.
However, when you zoom out…
You can see IPv4 prices have gone up considerably in the last 10 years.
So, How Hard Is It Really To Acquire IPv4 in 2023?
Between the options you have available like forums, marketplaces, and brokers… not hard at all.
You could purchase a /24 (for example) for about $10,000 today and own it forever.
It’ll probably be one of the best investments you make, and you could then sell it 10 years from now for quadruple what you bought it for.
Or, you could lease a /24 IPv4 block and have 256 IPv4 addresses for dirt cheap and bring it to whatever hosting provider you’re using instead of paying them $2 or more per IP address.
Despite big businesses like AWS racing to gobble up all of the IPv4 addresses available… you can still easily acquire them.
You can see the scarcity reflected in the graph above, though. Prices have certainly gone up.
I think there’s certainly going to come a time when it’s nearly impossible for the small guy to own any IPv4 space… but that time isn’t yet.
In short:
If you’re willing to fork over a little bit more than you would have 10 years ago, for the time being, you can still readily get your hands on some sweet IPv4 space before we permanently set sail to IPv6 land.
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