Most buying guides treat IPv4 acquisition as a shopping problem. It is closer to a title search. You are not buying a product off a shelf, you are acquiring the registered right to use a numbered resource, and the thing that determines whether that purchase works is whether the seller genuinely holds it free and clear.
That is why the platform you buy through matters more than the price you pay. A block that arrives blacklisted or still announced by a previous operator can cost more in remediation than the discount that attracted you. This guide covers the process, the checks that matter and the global IPv4 marketplaces worth shortlisting.
What Does Buying Global IPv4 Actually Involve?
Every purchase runs through a Regional Internet Registry. You open an account with the registry covering your region, ARIN for North America, RIPE for Europe and the Middle East or APNIC for Asia Pacific, then establish a point of contact and an organization identifier.
Next comes eligibility, and it is less onerous than most buyers expect. A recipient with no existing ARIN allocation qualifies for an initial /24 without a utilisation case.
Larger blocks need documentation. ARIN asks either that you show 50 percent of the requested space will be used within 24 months and 50 percent of your previous allocations is efficiently used, or that you demonstrate 80 percent utilisation of prior allocations, which qualifies you for a transfer up to the size of your current holdings and no larger than a /16.
The waiting is the part buyers underestimate. Registry verification alone commonly runs five to ten days, which is why a genuinely managed transfer closes in two to three weeks rather than two to three days.
How We Chose These Global IPv4 Marketplaces
Every platform below was assessed against the same four questions, using each provider’s published information. Confirm current details directly before transacting.
Registry standing. Is it a recognised facilitator or registered broker with ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC or LACNIC, rather than simply listing blocks?
Pricing transparency. Can a buyer see a number before committing, or does the format require bidding?
Reputation diligence. Does the provider screen blocks and clean routing records before listing, or is that left to the buyer?
Transfer ownership. Does it run the registry paperwork end to end, or hand you a contact and step back?
One note on method. Several widely circulated broker lists still name IPv4 Market Group, whose own site now states the company is no longer in operation. Every entry here was confirmed live in August 2026.
Global IPv4 Platforms Compared
| Platform | Pricing model | Registry coverage | Best for |
| IPv4 Connect | Fixed, published | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC | Buyers who want a confirmed price and a managed transfer |
| IPv4.Global | Auction and private sale | All five registries | Large blocks where price discovery matters |
| IPTrading | Negotiated brokerage | ARIN, APNIC, RIPE, LACNIC | Complex or interregional transfers |
| Prefixx | Seller pays commission | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC facilitated | Buyers avoiding brokerage fees entirely |
| InterLIR | Marketplace and auction | RIPE, ARIN, APNIC, LACNIC | European buyers needing compliance support |
| Prefix Broker | Negotiated brokerage | All five registries | Buyers wanting a hands on European broker |
| IPv4Center | Marketplace | RIPE, ARIN, APNIC, LACNIC | Buyers who also need ASN or LIR services |
| i.LEASE by LARUS | Managed transaction | Global secondary market | Asia Pacific operators needing lifecycle support |
| IPv4 Depot | Full service facilitation | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC | Straightforward enterprise purchases |
| IPXO | Leasing subscription | All five registries | Teams that should lease rather than buy |
The Best Places to Buy Global IPv4 in 2026
1. IPv4 Connect
IPv4 Connect is a marketplace built around published fixed prices, which means you can approve a budget before you commit rather than discovering your cost at the end of an auction. It is an official IPv4 facilitator across the North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions, covering ARIN, RIPE and APNIC.
The differentiator is diligence done before listing rather than after purchase. In-house software runs every address against more than 100 global blocklists, and the team removes BGP announcements, stale route objects and old DNS entries ahead of transfer. Every subnet ships with a free blacklist report, and buyers can also request a complimentary report on their own blocks.
Practically, blocks start at /24 with larger contiguous ranges available, you can reserve a subnet without upfront payment while you review terms, and it provides ARIN, RIPE and APNIC pre-approval assistance with settlement through wire or escrow.com. Transfers complete in two to three weeks.
- IPv4.Global
Operated by Hilco Streambank out of New York, IPv4.Global runs the best known auction platform in the market and states it has completed more transfers than any other party worldwide. It publishes historical sale prices, which makes it the most useful reference point when you are trying to sanity check what a block should cost.
Alongside the auction it offers privately negotiated sales for large blocks, escrow, leasing and ProVision IPAM software, with brokerage fees generally paid by the seller.
3. IPTrading
IPTrading is among the first registered and authorized brokers in the ARIN, APNIC, RIPE and LACNIC registries, and it is an ARIN Qualified Facilitator. Its policy involvement is unusual, having authored ARIN’s interregional transfer policy and the LACNIC intraregional transfer policy.
The firm brokered the world’s first interregional transfer in 2012 and has since handled over 1,000 private transfers across more than 75 countries, in sizes from 256 addresses up to four million. That makes it a strong fit for transfers crossing registry boundaries.
4. Prefixx
Prefixx is a Miami based boutique brokerage founded in 2018 by a team working in address space since 2007, registered with ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC and facilitating LACNIC transfers. Its commission of 3 to 8 percent is charged to the seller only, so buyers pay the block price and escrow fees and nothing else.
Funds stay in independent escrow until the relevant registry confirms the transfer. Its white glove service includes blacklist scanning, geolocation correction, RPKI setup and reverse DNS management at no extra cost, on blocks from /24 to /16.
5. InterLIR
InterLIR GmbH is a Berlin based marketplace and RIPE NCC registered broker, also registered with ARIN, LACNIC and APNIC. It covers buying, selling and leasing, with transactions secured by escrow under German law.
Stock runs from /24 to /16 across multiple registries and requests are typically served within 24 hours. An automated reputation system lets you check blocks against spam lists on demand.
6. Prefix Broker
Prefix Broker BV operates from Heiloo in the Netherlands and works across all five internet registries, with over a decade coordinating IPv4 transactions. Its Prefix Broker Express service lets buyers browse available offers directly, avoiding an auction cycle.
The brokerage handles the parts buyers rarely have capacity for. It researches whether the supplying party genuinely holds right to use, checks for other limitations on the addresses, negotiates price, timing, governing law and currency, then assists in securing registry approval.
7. IPv4Center
Run by Centerium LLC in Delaware, IPv4Center combines a buy, sell and lease marketplace with the surrounding registry services many buyers discover they need late. Those include ASN registration, sponsoring LIR arrangements, RPKI and ROA configuration, rDNS management and LIR registration.
It also publishes free diligence tooling, including a blocklist check, an IP due diligence report and a transfer contract generator.
8. i.LEASE by LARUS
i.LEASE is a global IPv4 trading and management platform for the secondary market, powered by LARUS. It supports buying, selling, leasing in and leasing out, alongside RIR membership support and compliance coordination.
Customers retain ownership and control of their resources while i.LEASE provides the execution layer. Support continues past closing through registry updates, routing coordination and WHOIS management, which suits operators with a heavy Asia Pacific footprint.
9. IPv4 Depot
IPv4 Depot is an ARIN approved IPv4 address facilitator handling buying, selling, leasing and transfers across the ARIN, RIPE and APNIC regions. Its registration within ARIN’s Specified Transfer Listing Service means transfers run inside the registry’s own framework rather than around it.
It suits enterprises wanting a straightforward full service purchase without a marketplace interface.
10. IPXO
IPXO is the honest answer for teams that should not be buying at all. It runs a leasing marketplace rather than a transfer brokerage, with automated LOA, ROA and WHOIS handling and instant subnet provisioning once a company is verified.
You can filter inventory by size, registry and geolocation, and a REST API supports programmatic provisioning. If your address requirement is under roughly three years or genuinely uncertain, leasing avoids a capital purchase you may regret.
How to Choose Between Them
Start with the constraint that actually binds you. If procurement needs a number for approval, a fixed price marketplace is the only workable format. If you are moving a large block and can absorb price uncertainty, an auction may serve you better.
Then check reputation handling before anything else. Ask whether blocklist screening happens before listing or after purchase, and whether the provider removes prior routing announcements. Geolocation is worth asking about too, since databases resolve to infrastructure rather than people and corrections take time to propagate, a limitation covered well in this look at IP geolocation accuracy.
Finally, confirm who does the registry paperwork. A broker who submits tickets, chases documentation and coordinates both sides removes most of the delay risk.
The Bottom Line
Buying global IPv4 is a compliance exercise wrapped around a purchase, and the platforms that do well treat it that way. Verify registry standing, insist on documented block reputation and confirm who owns the transfer process before you fund anything. Get those three right and the price becomes the easy part.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to buy global IPv4 addresses?
A fully managed transfer typically completes in two to three weeks, with registry verification of the seller accounting for roughly five to ten days of that.
Do I need approval before buying IPv4 addresses?
ARIN and APNIC both require a documented business case before approving a transfer. RIPE does not impose the same pre-approval requirement.
What is the smallest IPv4 block I can buy?
A /24, which is 256 addresses, is the smallest block most buyers can independently route and remains the most commonly traded size.
How do I know the IPv4 block is not blacklisted?
Ask for a blocklist report before you sign. Providers such as IPv4 Connect screen every address against 100+ global blocklists and supply the report with the subnet.
Should I buy IPv4 addresses or lease them?
Buy if your requirement is stable and stretches beyond about three years. Lease if the need is short term, seasonal or uncertain, since leasing avoids a capital purchase and a registry transfer entirely.