How Much Does It Cost to Lease IPv4 Addresses?

IPv4 leasing is typically priced per IP address per month, although the actual cost depends on the block size, lease duration, IP reputation, routing requirements, region, and operational support included in the agreement.

Table of Contents

As a general market reference, our 2026 analysis places IPv4 leasing at approximately $0.25 to $0.55 per IPv4 address per month in common scenarios.

At that rate, leasing a /24 block containing 256 IPv4 addresses would be approximately $64 to $141 per month.

However, the advertised price per IP does not tell the whole story.

A lower-priced IPv4 block may carry reputation problems, routing limitations, geolocation issues, weak renewal terms, or additional operational costs. A higher-priced lease may include clean inventory, Letter of Authorization support, RPKI and ROA management, reverse DNS, geolocation coordination, abuse handling, and ongoing technical support.

This guide explains how IPv4 leasing is priced, what different block sizes may cost, which factors affect the final rate, and how businesses should compare IPv4 lease offers.

If you want to understand IPv4 leasing more broadly, including how it works, its benefits, risks, and leasing versus purchasing, read our complete guide to leasing IP addresses.

If you are looking for the actual deployment process instead, see our step-by-step guide on how to lease IP addresses.

How Is IPv4 Leasing Priced?

The most common IPv4 leasing model uses a monthly rate per IPv4 address.

For example:

Monthly IPv4 lease cost = Number of IPv4 addresses × Monthly rate per IP

If the lease rate is $0.30 per IPv4 address per month, a /24 containing 256 addresses would cost:

256 × $0.30 = $76.80 per month

However, providers may structure pricing differently depending on the size and duration of the lease.

Common pricing models include:

Monthly price per IPv4 address

Fixed monthly price per subnet

Quarterly contracts

Six-month contracts

Annual contracts

Multi-year agreements
Volume-based pricing for larger blocks

The effective per-IP price may change according to the size of the block and the commitment period.

This is why businesses should compare both the headline rate and the total cost of operating the leased IPv4 space.

Typical IPv4 Leasing Cost by Block Size

IPv4 blocks are normally expressed using CIDR prefix sizes.

Common leasing requirements include /24, /23, /22, /21, and /20 blocks.

Using a reference range of approximately $0.25 to $0.55 per IPv4 address per month, the following table illustrates how monthly lease costs could scale.

Typical IPv4 Leasing Cost by Block Size
IPv4 Block	Number of Addresses	Illustrative Monthly Cost*
/24	256	$64 – $141
/23	512	$128 – $282
/22	1,024	$256 – $563
/21	2,048	$512 – $1,126
/20	4,096	$1,024 – $2,253

These figures are illustrative estimates based on a $0.25–$0.55 monthly rate per IPv4 address. They are not quotations or guaranteed market prices.

Actual pricing may be higher or lower depending on:

Inventory availability
Block size
Lease duration
IP reputation
Regional requirements
Routing configuration
RPKI support
Reverse DNS requirements
Geolocation requirements
Abuse-management services
Provider support
Renewal terms

Larger blocks may also qualify for different commercial terms, so the price does not necessarily scale perfectly from a /24.

For a deeper analysis of the smallest commonly routed IPv4 subnet, see our guide to how much a /24 IPv4 block costs in 2026.

Why Does IPv4 Leasing Have a Cost?

IPv4 addresses are scarce.

IPv4 uses a 32-bit address space containing roughly 4.3 billion possible addresses. As Internet usage expanded, the available pool of previously unallocated IPv4 space was gradually depleted.

ARIN states that its IPv4 free pool was depleted on September 24, 2015, and organisations that do not qualify under specific policies now have to consider options such as a waiting list or IPv4 transfers. You can review ARIN’s official IPv4 addressing options.

The RIPE NCC similarly reports that it exhausted its remaining IPv4 pool in November 2019. Its IPv4 run-out documentation explains how scarcity has affected networks that need additional address capacity.

IPv6 provides a much larger address space, but IPv4 remains operationally important across hosting, cloud computing, VPN networks, SaaS infrastructure, telecommunications, cybersecurity, email, enterprise applications, and many other services.

As a result, organisations that need additional IPv4 capacity increasingly obtain addresses from existing resource holders through transfers or leasing arrangements.

That scarcity gives IPv4 address space an economic value.

What Affects IPv4 Leasing Cost?

There is no single universal IPv4 lease price.

Two blocks containing the same number of addresses can have different commercial value depending on their history, technical readiness, and contractual structure.

The following factors can materially affect IPv4 leasing cost.

1. IPv4 Block Size

Block size is one of the most obvious pricing factors.

A business may require:

/24 — 256 addresses
/23 — 512 addresses
/22 — 1,024 addresses
/21 — 2,048 addresses
/20 — 4,096 addresses
Larger prefixes for substantial infrastructure deployments

A /24 is particularly important because it is commonly treated as the smallest IPv4 prefix that is broadly accepted in global BGP routing.

Smaller blocks can be attractive because they allow businesses to acquire only the amount of capacity they need.

Larger leases may have different per-address economics due to volume, supply, contract length, and provider inventory.

Therefore, do not assume that the price of a /20 is always exactly sixteen times the price of a /24.

2. IP Address Reputation

IPv4 reputation can materially affect the real value of a lease.

An address block may have been used previously for:

Hosting
Email
VPN services
Proxy networks
Automated traffic
Cloud services
Customer infrastructure

Previous abuse can create problems with blocklists, spam filtering, security platforms, CAPTCHA systems, or third-party services.

A very inexpensive IPv4 block may become expensive operationally if your team must spend time resolving:

Spam listings
Abuse history
Poor email reputation
Incorrect classifications
Security-platform flags
Customer complaints

Before leasing a block, determine whether the addresses have been checked for reputation problems and whether the provider has a process for dealing with pre-existing issues.

In many production environments, a cleaner block with reliable support can have a lower total cost than a cheaper block with unresolved history.

For a broader discussion of market pricing factors, see what determines IPv4 pricing in today’s market.

3. Lease Duration

The length of the lease can influence the rate.

Short-term IPv4 leasing gives businesses greater flexibility but may have a higher effective monthly cost.

Long-term leasing may offer:

Better pricing stability
Lower effective rates
More predictable budgeting
Greater continuity

However, longer agreements also create a greater commitment.

A company expecting stable IPv4 requirements over several years may evaluate pricing differently from a startup that needs a /24 for a three-month deployment.

The decision should therefore consider both price and operational requirements.

For a detailed comparison, see our guide to short-term vs long-term IPv4 leasing.

4. Regional and Registry Requirements

IPv4 resources are administered through Regional Internet Registries, including:

ARIN
RIPE NCC
APNIC
LACNIC
AFRINIC

The RIR associated with a resource can matter operationally because organisations may have requirements related to network location, registry records, routing, compliance, or customer expectations.

Regional demand and available inventory may also affect commercial pricing.

However, businesses should avoid selecting IPv4 space solely because a particular registry or region appears cheaper.

The block still needs to meet the technical and operational requirements of the intended deployment.

5. Routing Requirements

A quoted IPv4 lease price may cover only access to the addresses.

It may not necessarily include all the work needed to make the block production-ready.

Depending on the deployment, routing support can include:

Letter of Authorization (LOA)
Origin ASN coordination
BGP routing
Route Origin Authorization (ROA)
Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI)
Internet Routing Registry (IRR) objects
Upstream routing coordination

These are not minor technical details.

A prefix that cannot be announced correctly is of limited value to the network that leased it.

When comparing prices, ask:

Is LOA issuance included?
Who handles ROA changes?
Is RPKI support included?
Who creates required IRR objects?
Can the provider coordinate an origin ASN change?
How quickly can a routing problem be escalated?

A $0.05 difference per IP may be insignificant compared with the cost of delayed or failed deployment.

6. Reverse DNS

Reverse DNS, or rDNS, maps an IPv4 address back to a hostname through a PTR record.

It can be important for:

Email servers
Hosting infrastructure
Network diagnostics
Logging
Security investigations
Customer environments

Some providers delegate reverse DNS control to the lessee.

Others manage PTR records on behalf of the customer.

Before comparing IPv4 lease rates, determine whether rDNS management is included or whether it requires a separate process or fee.

Our guide to reverse DNS and PTR records explains how rDNS works and why it matters for leased IPv4 space.

7. IPv4 Geolocation

IP geolocation databases do not always update immediately when an IPv4 block changes users or deployment regions.

A newly leased prefix may initially appear to be located in the wrong:

Country
Region
City
Network
Organisation

That can create problems for services that depend on location-sensitive information.

For relevant deployments, ask whether the provider supports:

Geofeed updates

Registry-data coordination
Geolocation correction
Major database updates

The cost of resolving incorrect geolocation after deployment should be considered when comparing providers.

8. Operational Support

The cheapest IPv4 lease is not necessarily the cheapest IPv4 infrastructure.

Consider what happens when something goes wrong.

Does the provider support:

Routing incidents
RPKI problems
Reputation issues
Abuse complaints
Reverse DNS changes
Geolocation corrections
Replacement blocks
Renewal
Emergency escalation

A lower rate may be attractive during procurement but expensive when a business-critical prefix develops a problem and there is no clear party responsible for fixing it.

This is why IPv4 leasing should be evaluated using total operational cost, not only price per IP.

9. Renewal Terms

Renewal deserves particular attention.

A business may initially lease a block for 12 months, then gradually attach important operational dependencies to those addresses.

Examples include:

Customer allowlists
DNS records
API integrations
Firewall rules
Email reputation
VPN configuration
Partner systems
Security policies
Application configuration

Once that happens, changing IPv4 addresses may become expensive.

When comparing prices, ask:

Is the renewal price fixed?
Can the rate change?
How much notice is required?
Does the provider control the source?
Who is accountable for securing renewal?
What happens if renewal is unavailable?
Can replacement IPv4 space be provided?

A cheap first-year rate can become less attractive if renewal is unpredictable.

Cheap IPv4 Leasing vs Production-Ready IPv4 Leasing

IPv4 lease offers should not be compared only by monthly rate.

Consider what is included.

Cheap IPv4 Leasing vs Production-Ready IPv4 Leasing
Basic Low-Cost IPv4 Lease	Production-Ready IPv4 Lease
Address availability	Pre-vetted IPv4 inventory
Unknown historical quality	Reputation assessment
Basic routing permission	LOA and routing coordination
Limited RPKI assistance	ROA and RPKI support
rDNS may be unsupported	rDNS delegation or management
Geolocation left to customer	Geofeed/geolocation coordination
Reactive abuse handling	Defined abuse-management process
Basic support	Operational escalation
Renewal may be unclear	Renewal accountability
Price-focused	Continuity-focused

The right option depends on the workload.

A temporary test environment may tolerate a more basic arrangement.

A hosting company, ISP, VPN platform, SaaS provider, or production network may place greater value on reputation, routing control, support, and continuity.

The key question is not simply:

What is the cheapest IPv4 lease rate?

It is:

What will it cost to keep this IPv4 block usable throughout the life of the deployment?

IPv4 Leasing vs Buying: Which Costs Less?

Leasing and purchasing have fundamentally different cost structures.

IPv4 Leasing

Leasing usually converts the requirement into an operating expense.

Potential advantages include:

Lower upfront cost
Faster access to capacity
Flexible block sizes
Easier scaling
Less capital tied to IPv4 assets

The trade-off is recurring cost and dependence on renewal.

IPv4 Purchasing

Purchasing requires significantly more upfront capital but provides a stronger form of long-term control after a successful transfer.

Costs can include:

Purchase price
Transfer fees
Registry processes
Legal and administrative work
Reputation due diligence
Routing preparation
Ongoing management

For a short-term project, purchasing may not make economic sense.

For an organisation with stable multi-year demand, ownership may deserve consideration.

The decision therefore depends on:

Duration of need
Available capital
Growth plans
Operational capabilities
Risk tolerance
Requirement for long-term control

For a deeper comparison, read our analysis of IPv4 leasing vs purchasing and structural risk.

How to Calculate an IPv4 Leasing Budget

The simplest calculation is:

Number of IPv4 addresses × Monthly lease rate × Number of months

For example, assume an organisation requires a /22.

A /22 contains 1,024 IPv4 addresses.

At an illustrative rate of $0.35 per address per month:

1,024 × $0.35 = $358.40 per month

For a 12-month lease:

$358.40 × 12 = $4,300.80

But this is only the base address cost.

A complete budget should also consider whether the quoted price includes:

Setup
Reputation checks
LOA
ROA/RPKI management
IRR records
Reverse DNS
Geolocation updates
Abuse management
Technical support
Replacement space
Renewal support

Therefore:

Total IPv4 leasing cost = Address cost + operational cost + risk cost

The lowest headline rate does not always produce the lowest total cost.

Questions to Ask Before Comparing IPv4 Lease Prices

Before choosing an IPv4 lease based on price, ask the provider:

Is the price quoted per IPv4 address or per subnet?
Is the rate monthly, annual, or based on another contract period?
Is the rate fixed throughout the lease?
What happens to pricing at renewal?
Has the entire IPv4 block been reputation checked?
Is the block currently listed on any major blocklists?
Is LOA issuance included?
Who manages ROA and RPKI changes?
Are IRR route objects included?
Is reverse DNS delegation or management included?
Is geolocation support available?
Who handles abuse complaints?
What support is available during a routing incident?
Can replacement space be provided if the assigned prefix has a serious issue?
Who controls the underlying IPv4 resource?
Who is responsible for renewal?

These questions make different IPv4 lease offers easier to compare on a like-for-like basis.

How to Reduce IPv4 Leasing Costs

Businesses can potentially control IPv4 leasing costs through better planning.

Lease only the capacity you need

Avoid paying for large amounts of unused space.

At the same time, account for realistic growth so the organisation does not have to procure another block immediately after deployment.

Match the lease term to the workload

Short-lived projects may justify flexible short-term capacity.

Stable infrastructure may benefit from longer agreements and greater price predictability.

Evaluate reputation before deployment

It is generally cheaper to identify unsuitable IPv4 space before migration than to resolve reputation problems after customer traffic has moved.

Confirm technical requirements before signing

Know whether you require:

Your own ASN
BGP announcement
LOA
RPKI
ROA changes
IRR records
rDNS
Geolocation support

Unexpected technical requirements can create unexpected costs.

Compare total cost, not only IP rate

If one provider charges slightly more but includes operational services your team would otherwise have to manage manually, the overall cost may still be lower.

When Does IPv4 Leasing Make Financial Sense?

Leasing can make financial sense when a business needs IPv4 capacity but does not want to commit large amounts of capital to ownership.

Typical scenarios include:

Temporary infrastructure expansion
New product launches
Startups preserving capital
Hosting growth
Cloud deployments
VPN infrastructure
SaaS expansion
ISP capacity
Seasonal demand
New regional deployments
Proof-of-concept environments

Leasing can also be useful when the organisation wants greater flexibility while its long-term IPv4 requirements are still uncertain.

However, cost should not be evaluated separately from operational continuity.

For stable infrastructure that may depend on the same IPv4 addresses for many years, businesses should also evaluate renewal risk and the economics of purchasing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to lease IPv4 addresses?

IPv4 leasing rates vary by block size, reputation, term, region, market conditions, and included services. As a general 2026 reference used in i.lease market analysis, common lease rates can fall around $0.25 to $0.55 per IPv4 address per month, although actual quotes may fall outside this range.

How much does it cost to lease a /24 IPv4 block?

A /24 contains 256 IPv4 addresses. At an illustrative rate of $0.25–$0.55 per IP per month, the monthly cost would be approximately $64 to $141.

Actual pricing depends on the quality of the block and the commercial and operational terms.

How much does it cost to lease a /22 IPv4 block?

A /22 contains 1,024 IPv4 addresses.

Using the same illustrative $0.25–$0.55 range, the theoretical monthly cost would be approximately $256 to $563.

Larger blocks may be priced differently, so businesses should request an actual quote rather than assume perfectly linear pricing.

Is IPv4 leasing priced per address?

Often, yes.

Many IPv4 leasing arrangements are expressed as a monthly price per IPv4 address, but providers may also quote a fixed price for the entire subnet or contract period.

Are larger IPv4 blocks cheaper per IP?

They can be, depending on provider inventory, demand, lease duration, and volume pricing.

However, there is no universal rule. Obtain a block-specific quotation.

Why do clean IPv4 addresses cost more?

Blocks with good reputation and limited abuse history may require less remediation and create fewer deployment problems.

For business-critical applications, the value of cleaner IPv4 space can outweigh a small difference in the headline monthly rate.

Is short-term IPv4 leasing more expensive?

Short-term leases can have a higher effective per-address cost because they offer greater flexibility and create more frequent provisioning and renewal work.

Longer commitments may offer more predictable commercial terms.

Are LOA and RPKI services included in IPv4 lease prices?

Not always.

Providers structure services differently. Before comparing rates, confirm whether LOA issuance, ROA/RPKI changes, IRR records, routing coordination, rDNS, and other operational services are included.

Is it cheaper to lease or buy IPv4 addresses?

For short- and medium-term requirements, leasing usually requires far less upfront capital.

Purchasing requires a much larger initial investment but can provide stronger long-term control.

The correct comparison depends on how long the addresses are needed, available capital, market pricing, operational requirements, and the expected cost of renewal.

Does IPv4 reputation affect lease pricing?

Yes, reputation can influence both commercial value and total operational cost.

An inexpensive block with a poor history may create remediation costs, service restrictions, or deployment delays.

Compare IPv4 Leasing by Total Value, Not Only Monthly Rate

IPv4 leasing prices are easy to compare when reduced to a number such as $0.30 per IP per month.

Production infrastructure is more complicated.

The real value of an IPv4 lease depends on whether the address space is:

Available
Clean
Properly authorised
Routable
RPKI-ready
Supported
Correctly geolocated
Configurable for rDNS
Protected by clear renewal terms

For that reason, organisations should compare total operational value, not only the lowest advertised price.

If you are still learning how the wider IPv4 leasing model works, read our complete guide to leasing IP addresses.

If you have decided to lease and want to understand the deployment process, follow our step-by-step IPv4 leasing process.

For organisations ready to provision address space, i.lease Managed IPv4 Leasing provides pre-vetted IPv4 inventory with operational services including LOA generation, routing coordination, RPKI and ROA management, reverse DNS support, geolocation coordination, abuse mitigation, and ongoing support.