How to compare IPv4 lease offers: price per IP is not the whole story
When you collect IPv4 lease quotes, the price per IP per month is the number everyone compares first. It matters, but two offers with the same headline rate can differ widely in total cost, flexibility and risk. This guide shows how to put offers side by side properly, with a simple cost formula and a checklist of the factors that change the real value of a lease.
Work out the effective cost, not the headline rate
Headline rates leave out setup fees, minimum terms and payment conditions. Convert every offer into one comparable figure:
Effective cost per IP per month = (setup fees + monthly fee for the block × committed months + other charges) ÷ (number of addresses × committed months)
“Committed months” is the minimum term you must pay for, not the term you hope to stay. “Other charges” covers anything billed separately: ROA or route object changes, rDNS setup, LOA reissues, early-termination fees or non-refundable deposits.
Then run the same calculation for your realistic stay. An offer with a low monthly rate and a long minimum term can work out more expensive than a higher rolling rate if your plans change. Check currency and VAT treatment as well, since a quote net of VAT and one including VAT are not directly comparable.
Compare the terms that decide flexibility
The price is set on day one; the terms decide what happens afterwards. Line the offers up against these points:
| What to compare | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Minimum term | Monthly rolling, or a fixed commitment? |
| Renewal | Automatic? Can the price change, and with how much notice? |
| Notice period | Long enough to renumber? The same for both sides? |
| Scaling | Can you add blocks later, on the same terms? |
| Exit | Is there a wind-down window after termination? |
| Payment | Monthly, quarterly or annual prepayment? Any deposit? |
A slightly higher rate with short commitments, capped renewals and a fair notice period can be better value than a low rate locked behind a long term. Which one wins depends on how certain your own plans are.
Check the quality of the block itself
Two /24s are not equal. Before comparing prices, check what you would actually receive.
- Reputation. Look the range up on major blacklists such as Spamhaus and ask the lessor about its history. A block with past listings can cost you deliverability and support time long after it has been delisted.
- Routing history. Has the prefix been hijacked, announced from unexpected ASNs or left dormant? Public tools such as RIPEstat and BGP looking glasses show past announcements.
- Geolocation. Ask which country the block geolocates to in the main databases and whether the lessor will update it, for example through a geofeed. Wrong geolocation leads to blocked content and support tickets for your customers.
- Registry. Check which RIR holds the block and that it suits your plans. AWS BYOIP, for instance, accepts RIPE, ARIN and APNIC space.
- Contiguity. If you need more than a /24, a contiguous, aligned block can be announced as one aggregate. Several scattered /24s cannot.
Count the registry and support work that’s included
A lease is a service, not just a range of numbers. Ask each lessor what it does, and how quickly:
- Creating the ROA for your ASN and the route object in the IRR.
- Issuing an LOA with the right scope for your upstreams.
- Delegating reverse DNS or setting PTR records.
- Updating objects when you change ASN or add an upstream.
- Passing abuse reports to you promptly and agreeing a process for them.
- Supporting BYOIP validation if you bring the block to a cloud provider.
If any of these cost extra or involve days of back-and-forth, build that into your comparison. A lessor who responds slowly to a routing problem can cost you more in downtime than the gap between two quotes.
Weigh the risk of having to move
The largest hidden cost in leasing is an unplanned renumbering. Moving customers, updating DNS and firewall rules, and rebuilding mail reputation on new addresses all take time and attention. When comparing offers, consider how likely each one is to force that on you:
- Is the lessor the registered holder, or leasing on someone else’s behalf?
- Does the contract give you a clear right to renew?
- How does the lessor handle disputes or abuse reports before suspending a block?
- What happens to your lease if the lessor’s own arrangements change?
A lessor that is itself a RIPE NCC member and the registered holder can make commitments directly. That shortens the chain of parties who could disrupt your service and makes it clearer who is responsible for the registry objects your routing depends on.
A practical way to bring all this together is a simple scorecard: effective cost over your realistic stay, then a pass, caution or fail mark for terms, block quality, included services and continuity. The cheapest offer that passes every check is usually the one to take.
How TACS can help
We are happy to walk you through every line of our offer, including registry work, renewal and exit terms, before you commit. See our lease IPv4 options and pricing, or ask for an IP security audit of any block you are considering.