How to buy an IPv4 block

To buy an IPv4 block, choose the prefix size your network needs, compare current offers, check the exact address range and arrange its transfer and routing. For an ISP, hosting provider or cloud platform, the result that matters is capacity your customers can keep using as your business grows.

Before committing your budget, compare the purchase with Unlimited IPv4 from LARUS. Direct first-party leasing keeps acquisition capital available for servers, connectivity and new locations, with LARUS carrying the upstream registry relationship through its Continuity offering.

What size IPv4 block should you buy?

A block is a contiguous range of addresses described by a CIDR prefix. A /24 contains 256 addresses; a /22 contains 1,024. Each step down in prefix length doubles the address count. Start with the services you need to launch, then allow for growth and the way you will divide capacity between customers or locations.

IPv4 block sizes for network planning

Prefix	Total addresses	Equivalent /24 blocks
/24	256	1
/23	512	2
/22	1,024	4
/21	2,048	8
/20	4,096	16
/19	8,192	32
/18	16,384	64
/17	32,768	128
/16	65,536	256

These are total addresses in each range. The number available to your services depends on your subnet and deployment design. For any IPv4 prefix /n, the total is 2^{32 − n}. Our IPv4 block guide explains how the notation works.

If you plan to announce the block independently on the public Internet, /24 is the commonly accepted longest IPv4 prefix. Smaller ranges can serve customers through a provider's larger announcement; do not confuse buying a small range with being able to announce it everywhere. Confirm your upstream or cloud provider's routing requirements before choosing the block.

How much does an IPv4 block cost?

Use a current offer for the exact prefix you intend to acquire. Block size, registry, transfer path, address history and available supply all affect the price. Multiplying an old per-address rate by 256 or 65,536 will not tell you what your next purchase costs.

Compare current IPv4 blocks offered on i.LEASE, then account for transfer and transaction fees, registry charges, routing preparation and ongoing administration. For the leasing comparison, use LARUS's current IPv4 lease pricing with the capacity and term you need. Compare both routes over the same operating period.

If you already know the prefix and region, see how LARUS structures a block purchase before committing.

The useful question is what that commitment lets your business do. Would buying a /20 leave less capital for the servers and transit that turn those addresses into revenue? LARUS first-party leasing puts address capacity to work while keeping the acquisition budget available for your next stage of growth.

How to buy an IPv4 block for your deployment

1. Define the block and the launch. Set your address count, deployment locations, routing arrangement and target service date. Decide whether one contiguous prefix or several smaller blocks fit your network better.
2. Match the offer to your receiving account. Check the source registry and destination registry, the receiving organisation and the applicable transfer route. Resolve those details early so a promising offer can become usable capacity.
3. Inspect the exact prefix. Check the registered holder and the seller's authority, routing history, reputation and any more-specific announcements. For mail, hosting or cloud services, assess the address history against the applications your customers will use.
4. Agree payment and handover together. Identify the complete prefix, the parties responsible for the transfer and the milestones for payment. Where escrow is used, connect its release to the agreed handover rather than just an introduction to a seller.
5. Prepare the network while the transfer progresses. Coordinate the origin ASN, route authorisation, RPKI, reverse DNS and upstream acceptance. That work turns a registry entry into reachable customer services.
6. Verify the delivered block. Confirm the receiving record and the full address range, test reachability and your important applications, and establish who will handle routing and registry updates afterwards.

You can buy directly from a seller or use a service to coordinate the transaction. A broker introduction alone does not carry your network's continuity. Read what to expect beyond an IPv4 broker's introduction and the fuller IPv4 buying process. Our IPv4 purchase and leasing comparison brings the two commercial routes together.

Choose the continuity behind your addresses

Your APIs, customer connections and services need dependable addresses long after the purchase closes. Holding a block in your company's name leaves the registry relationship with your company. It does not remove the registry's policy changes, renewal process or ability to disrupt the registration on which your network depends.

LARUS gives you a different structure: lease directly from our first-party supply, with the registry interface upstream at LARUS. Your team can focus on serving customers and expanding the network, backed by a commercial relationship built around continuity.

That difference has a documented foundation. The 2025 Mauritius court order required AFRINIC to add Cloud Innovation to its register of members under section 91 of the Companies Act. Cloud Innovation's court-ordered statutory shareholder position and its authorisation to LARUS underpin our Continuity offering. See the court order and LARUS authorisation behind it.

Lu Heng explains why this matters in his Note on registry risk and LARUS Continuity and his Note on i.LEASE and the limits of ordinary brokerage. For a network whose revenue depends on stable address use, the decision goes beyond finding a block: choose who will stand behind that supply as you grow.

Questions before you choose a block

Can I buy a single public IPv4 address?

A single address is a /32. You can obtain an address for a service through a provider without acquiring an independently announced block. If you operate your own network, start with your upstream's prefix requirements and the capacity your customers need.

Do I need a broker to buy an IPv4 block?

No. You can deal directly with a seller. A buying service can help coordinate the transaction, but your decision should cover deployment and the operating relationship after transfer. If you want usable capacity without a block acquisition, lease directly from LARUS.

Is buying a larger block always cheaper?

Compare live offers for the sizes you need. A lower per-address figure can still mean a larger upfront commitment and idle capacity. Match the complete cost to your growth plan, and compare it with leasing the capacity you can put to work now.

How do I grow without buying another block?

Build with Unlimited IPv4 from LARUS. Choose your capacity, term and Continuity plan, keep capital working in your network and expand through a direct first-party relationship.

Next step: create your LARUS account and set out the prefix and region you need.