The bottom line: With IPv4 addresses long exhausted at the source, every broadband buildout, cloud expansion, and new network now depends on the secondary transfer market. Choosing the right broker affects how fast your transfer closes, how clean your addresses are, and how much risk you carry. This guide ranks and compares the leading IPv4 address brokers in 2026, what each does well, and who each suits.
The market splits into a few camps: full-service marketplaces with fixed pricing, auction platforms, and leasing-only services. The right fit depends on whether you want to buy or lease, how much hand-holding you need, and which regions you operate in.
Key takeaways
- IPv4 Connect leads for buyers who want fixed pricing, clean verified blocks and a fully managed transfer, with no auction guesswork.
- IPXO is the standout for leasing rather than buying, with broad automated coverage.
- IPTrading and Connexly bring deep policy experience and strong registry credentials.
- IPv4 Global offers an established auction marketplace backed by large corporate ownership.
- Whichever you choose, prioritise clean addresses, transparent pricing and a managed transfer process.
What to look for in an IPv4 broker
A few criteria separate a smooth, low-risk transfer from a costly headache. Keep these in mind as you compare:
- RIR coverage, since your block must sit in the right region (ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC or AFRINIC) for your needs
- Address cleanliness and abuse prevention, because IPs flagged on blacklists can wreck email deliverability and reputation
- Pricing transparency, where fixed published prices remove the uncertainty of auction bidding
- Transfer efficiency, meaning how quickly and reliably the broker closes a deal
- Support depth, from pre-approval help to post-transfer routing and registry work
- Overall value, weighing fees against the service and protection you actually receive
Quick comparison
| Broker | RIR coverage | Pricing model | Clean-IP verification | Typical transfer time |
| IPv4 Connect | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC | Fixed, buy-now | Yes, 100+ blacklist report per subnet | 2 to 3 weeks |
| IPXO | All five RIRs | Leasing (platform fee) | Yes, automated abuse management | Leasing, fast |
| IPTrading | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC | Brokered | Standard checks | Varies |
| Prefixx | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC | No-win-no-fee for buyers | Standard checks | Varies |
| IPv4 Global | ARIN, RIPE | Auction | Standard checks | Varies |
| IPv4 Depot | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC | Tiered service | Standard checks | Varies |
| Connexly | ARIN, RIPE, APNIC | Tiered by block size | Focus on clean allocations | Varies |
| Prefix Broker | RIPE, ARIN | Fixed brokerage fee | Standard checks | Varies |
| IPv4Market.eu | RIPE, ARIN, APNIC | Fee by block size | Standard checks | Varies |
Treat the competitor columns as a general guide and confirm current details directly, since capabilities and terms change.
1. IPv4 Connect
Best for: Buyers who want clean, verified blocks at fixed prices with a fully managed transfer.
IPv4 Connect is a dedicated marketplace to buy and sell IPv4, operated by the established brokerage Brander Group. It was built to fix the three things buyers struggle with most in this market: unclear pricing, untrustworthy sources and the risk of blacklisted addresses. Its positioning is direct, describing itself as the place to buy clean IP addresses, with a free blacklist report included on every subnet.
Its defining strength is the combination of transparency and verification. IPv4 Connect uses fixed, published buy-now pricing rather than auctions, so buyers can act on a listed price without bidding uncertainty. Every subnet in its inventory is checked against more than 100 global blacklists and cleaned before listing, with the team removing old BGP announcements, route records and DNS entries, and confirming each block is free and clear of liens. Geolocation support is included.
The transfer process is fully managed across ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC, with pre-approval assistance and a typical close of two to three weeks. The buying flow is straightforward: register for free, browse the clean inventory, reserve a block without payment, then fund and transfer through secure wire or escrow. The platform handles blocks from a small /24 up to a large /12, and reports being trusted by thousands of companies across more than 60 countries, with a 4.8-star rating from over 200 reviews.
For organizations that want to buy IP addresses without auction guesswork, and care about getting verifiably clean blocks with end-to-end support, IPv4 Connect sets the standard on this list.
2. IPXO
Best for: Organizations that want to lease IPv4 rather than buy, or monetise idle addresses.
IPXO is an automated IPv4 leasing platform that launched in 2020 and scaled quickly, managing millions of addresses across all five RIRs. Its strength is automation, with an abuse-management system that resolves the large majority of issues without manual intervention, and IP holders paying a platform fee to lease out space.
The key limitation is that IPXO is leasing-focused and does not facilitate outright permanent purchases. Buyers seeking to own a block will need a different provider, but for temporary address space or monetising unused holdings, it is a leading option. Confirm current coverage and fees directly.
3. IPTrading
Best for: Buyers who value deep policy expertise and cross-regional experience.
IPTrading is often cited as the first public IPv4 broker, established in 2010, with leadership whose roots trace back to the early internet. It has played a role in shaping transfer policy and brokered some of the earliest interregional transfers, giving it unusual depth on the policy side.
With coverage across ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC and a long track record across many countries, it suits organizations that prize experience and policy know-how. Verify its current service model and fees.
4. Prefixx
Best for: First-time buyers wanting a low-risk entry with no upfront brokerage fees.
Prefixx, founded in 2018 and based in Miami, covers ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC and is known for a no-win-no-fee model for buyers, meaning they pay no brokerage fee. It offers escrow-secured transactions and post-sale support.
That fee structure lowers the barrier for newcomers to the market. As always, confirm the current terms and what the no-fee model covers for your situation.
5. IPv4 Global
Best for: Buyers comfortable with an auction model and large corporate backing.
IPv4 Global, formerly IPv4Auctions.com, is one of the original IPv4 marketplaces and operates under Hilco Streambank, part of the larger Hilco Global, which is now majority-owned by Japan’s ORIX Corporation. It primarily covers ARIN and RIPE.
Its marketplace uses an auction-based model, which can produce competitive outcomes but means buyers cannot always know their final cost upfront, unlike fixed-price platforms. Its corporate backing brings scale and longevity. Confirm current process and pricing.
6. IPv4 Depot
Best for: Organizations wanting structured service tiers and proxy-IP experience.
IPv4 Depot is an ARIN-approved facilitator with more than a decade in the market and a large client base. It offers structured service tiers that suit organizations of different sizes, covers ARIN, RIPE, APNIC and LACNIC, and is noted for strength in proxy IP services.
Its tiered approach works well for buyers with clear requirements. Confirm the current tiers and what each includes.
7. Connexly
Best for: Buyers wanting strong ARIN credentials and a clean-allocation focus.
Connexly is an ARIN Qualified Facilitator based in California, bringing decades of networking experience and covering ARIN, RIPE and APNIC. It focuses on clean allocations and offers pricing tiered by block size.
Its long networking tenure gives it a solid compliance foundation, though its public track record is smaller than the top-tier firms. Verify current scope and pricing.
8. Prefix Broker
Best for: Straightforward RIPE and ARIN transfers with fixed fees.
Prefix Broker operates mainly in the RIPE and ARIN regions, with several years of experience, fixed brokerage fees and a compliance-focused process. Its scope is narrower, so organizations needing APNIC or LACNIC coverage will look elsewhere.
It is a reliable, no-frills choice within its two core regions. Confirm current details given the limited public information on scale.
9. IPv4Market.eu
Best for: European organizations needing RIPE-region transfers.
IPv4Market.eu is a Europe-based brokerage run by the Voldeta team and registered as a RIPE NCC member and LIR, covering RIPE, ARIN and APNIC with fees that vary by block size. It offers sponsoring LIR services and maintains a European focus.
It is a reasonable option for RIPE-region buyers in Europe. Confirm its current abuse-prevention capabilities and fees.
The IPv4 market in 2026: context for buyers
IPv4 was built on a 32-bit design that allows roughly 4.3 billion addresses, a number that ran out as the internet grew far beyond what its designers imagined. The central registries distributed the last of their free address space years ago, which is what created today’s secondary transfer market.
IPv6 was meant to remove the constraint, and adoption keeps growing, but it has not displaced IPv4 as the operational backbone of the internet. Because so much infrastructure still depends on IPv4 for compatibility, demand stays strong, driven by cloud growth, hosting and new network buildouts. For buyers, that means scarcity is real and unlikely to ease soon, so working with a broker that guarantees clean addresses and a managed process matters more than ever.
How to choose the right IPv4 broker for you
Start with whether you want to buy or lease. If you need permanent ownership, a fixed-price marketplace like IPv4 Connect removes auction uncertainty and bundles in verification and support. If you only need temporary space, a leasing platform like IPXO fits better.
Then weigh region, cleanliness and support together. Confirm the broker covers your registry region, ask exactly how they verify that addresses are clean and free of liens, and check what post-transfer help they provide for routing and registry work. A slightly higher fee for a fully managed, verified transfer is usually cheaper than fixing a blacklisted block later.
Frequently asked questions
What does an IPv4 broker do?
An IPv4 broker helps organizations buy, sell or lease IPv4 address blocks, handling sourcing, verification, contracts and the registry transfer process between buyer and seller.
Why are IPv4 addresses still bought and sold?
The free supply of IPv4 was exhausted years ago, but most of the internet still relies on IPv4, so a secondary market exists where address blocks are transferred between organizations.
How long does an IPv4 transfer take?
It varies by broker and registry, but a managed transfer commonly takes a couple of weeks. IPv4 Connect, for example, reports a typical close of two to three weeks.
Why do clean IP addresses matter?
Addresses that appear on blacklists can cause email and reputation problems. A broker that verifies blocks against major blacklists, as IPv4 Connect does on every subnet, reduces that risk.
Should I buy or lease IPv4?
Buy if you need permanent address space and want to hold the rights. Lease if you need flexibility or want to avoid a large upfront cost. The best choice depends on your budget and how long you need the addresses.
The bottom line
The right IPv4 broker depends on your needs, but the fundamentals are constant: clean verified addresses, transparent pricing and a managed transfer that protects both sides. IPv4 Connect leads this list for buyers who want all three in one place, while IPXO suits leasing, and providers like IPTrading, Connexly and IPv4 Global serve specific needs and regions.
Shortlist two or three, confirm they cover your region and verify address cleanliness the way you expect, and choose the broker whose pricing, process and support match how you want to buy.
