Lease vs buy IPv4 addresses: how to decide
Buying IPv4 addresses makes you the registered holder through a registry transfer. Leasing lets you use addresses that stay registered to someone else, for as long as the lease runs.
This guide compares the two on cost, registry rules, control, reputation and exit, and gives a simple way to decide. It doesn't quote market prices; ask us for a current quote for the size you need.
In short
- Buying: a registry transfer. You pay once, plus registry fees (at ARIN, a recipient fee from $187.50 for a /24 and an annual fee from $275 in 2026), and you can sell the block later.
- Leasing: the lessor stays the registered holder and authorizes your network to announce the addresses. You pay for as long as you use them, then return them.
- Registry rules differ: ARIN allows leasing of legitimately obtained space that later became unused, but never as justification for more (ARIN); RIPE NCC policy doesn't address leasing; APNIC policy has no provision for it.
- Rule of thumb: buy for long-term, core use; lease for short projects, testing, or as a bridge until a purchase or IPv6 is ready.
- Either way, screen the block: leased prefixes are more likely to be blocklisted on average (TMA 2025).
How buying and leasing work
Buying
The seller transfers the registration to you through the registry. At ARIN you qualify first (a first /24 needs no justification; larger blocks need a plan to use at least half within 24 months), usually through pre-approval. Once ARIN has the signed Registration Services Agreement and all fees, it completes the transfer within two business days (ARIN). In IPv4 Depot's experience, an ARIN transfer typically takes 7 to 10 business days when both parties move promptly. From then on the block is yours: you create your own ROAs and route objects, set reverse DNS, and pay the registry's annual fee. See ARIN transfer fees.
Leasing
The registry record doesn't change hands. The lessor, as registered holder, gives your network permission to announce the block: typically a letter of authorization for your upstream providers and a ROA naming your network's AS number, since only the registered holder can create ROAs in the registry's RPKI system. ARIN asks lessors to record leased addresses as reassignments or reallocations in its Whois (ARIN). When the lease ends, the lessor withdraws those authorizations.
Lease vs buy, side by side
| Buy | Lease | |
|---|---|---|
| Registered holder | You | The lessor |
| Up-front cost | Purchase price, plus the registry's transfer fee | No purchase price; terms are set in the lease |
| Ongoing cost | The registry's annual fee for your total holdings | Lease payments for as long as you use the addresses |
| Registry qualification | Yes: you qualify under the registry's transfer policy | No transfer, so no qualification by the lessee |
| Time to start | ARIN transfer: typically 7–10 business days when both parties move promptly (IPv4 Depot's experience), after any pre-approval | As soon as the lessor's authorization and records are in place |
| Control | Full: your ROAs, route objects, reverse DNS and Whois | Shared: the lessor controls the registry records and can withdraw authorization |
| Reputation | Yours to keep clean once you hold it | Shared with the lessor; leased space is blocklisted more often on average |
| At the end | Keep it, or sell it (at ARIN, once 12 months have passed since you last received IPv4) | Renew, or return the block and renumber |
What ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC say about leasing
ARIN
- Leasing can be done if the addresses were legitimately obtained and later became unused (ARIN, February 2023).
- An intention to lease, or utilization based on addresses leased out, is not justification for IPv4 from ARIN's waiting list or the transfer market; ARIN excludes it when evaluating requests.
- Some space is never eligible for leasing: critical-infrastructure and exchange-point micro-allocations (NRPM 4.4) and space reserved for IPv6 deployment (NRPM 4.10).
- Lessors must record leased space as reassignments or reallocations in ARIN's Whois.
RIPE NCC
The RIPE NCC's IPv4 policy (ripe-826) has no section on leasing. Members (LIRs) can make assignments and sub-allocations of their space to other organizations and register them in the RIPE Database; the LIR remains responsible for the space.
APNIC
APNIC's policies have no provision for leasing. Two proposals have tried to settle the question, and neither reached consensus: one to state explicitly that leasing is not permitted (prop-148), and one to allow temporary transfers instead (prop-157). Members delegate addresses to their customers as part of APNIC's normal allocation and assignment rules.
Six questions to decide
- How long will you need the addresses? Work out the break-even point: purchase price plus one-time fees, divided by (monthly lease cost minus one-twelfth of the annual registry fee). If you'll need the addresses for longer than that, buying usually costs less. Leave out any resale value to stay conservative.
- Can you qualify for a transfer? At ARIN a first /24 needs no justification. Larger blocks need a 24-month plan; if you can't show one yet, leasing can cover the gap.
- How much control do you need? Customer-facing services, email platforms and anything with long-lived allowlists benefit from addresses only you control.
- What would renumbering cost you? If moving off the addresses at the end of a lease would be disruptive, that cost belongs in the comparison.
- How will it be treated in your accounts? A purchase and a lease can be treated very differently for budgeting and tax. Ask your accountant before you decide.
- Is IPv6 on your roadmap? If you expect to need less IPv4 in a few years, a shorter commitment may fit, though IPv4 is still needed to reach much of the internet.
Whichever you choose, check the block before you commit: blacklist screening before you buy or lease.
Leasing or buying through IPv4 Depot
IPv4 Depot buys, sells and leases IPv4 blocks from a /24 to a /15, with short- and long-term leases. As an ARIN Qualified Facilitator and APNIC registered broker, we handle purchases and transfers in ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC, with payment by escrow or direct invoice. We screen blocks against Spamhaus, Barracuda and SpamCop, plus proxy-detection databases. Clear quotes, no hidden fees.
Lease vs buy FAQ
Is it better to lease or buy IPv4 addresses?
It depends on how long you need the addresses and how much control you need. Buying costs more up front, makes you the registered holder and lets you sell the block later. Leasing costs less to start and needs no registry transfer, but you pay every month, the lessor stays the registered holder, and you renumber when the lease ends. For long-term, core infrastructure, buying usually fits; for short projects, testing, or a bridge until a purchase or IPv6 is ready, leasing often does.
Is IPv4 leasing allowed by ARIN, RIPE NCC and APNIC?
ARIN says leasing can be done if the addresses were legitimately obtained and later became unused, but an intention to lease, or addresses leased out, never count as justification for getting more IPv4 from ARIN. RIPE NCC's IPv4 policy has no section on leasing; RIPE NCC members register space they provide to other organizations as assignments or sub-allocations. APNIC's policies have no provision for leasing; a 2022 proposal to state explicitly that leasing is not permitted (prop-148) did not reach consensus and was abandoned.
Do I need ARIN approval to lease IPv4 addresses?
Not as the lessee: no registry transfer takes place, so you don't go through ARIN's transfer qualification. The lessor stays the registered holder, and ARIN asks lessors to record leased addresses as reassignments or reallocations in ARIN's Whois. If you buy instead, you qualify under ARIN's transfer policy: a first /24 needs no justification, and larger blocks need a plan to use at least half within 24 months.
Can leased-out addresses justify buying more IPv4?
Not at ARIN. ARIN says any utilization justification based on leasing is excluded when it evaluates requests, and that providing false justification can lead to a review under NRPM Section 12. Certain ARIN space, such as critical-infrastructure micro-allocations (NRPM 4.4) and IPv6-transition space (NRPM 4.10), is never eligible for leasing.
What happens when an IPv4 lease ends?
The lessor withdraws its authorization for you to announce the addresses, typically by removing the ROA and letter of authorization it provided, and takes the block back. You either renew, move to another block, or renumber onto addresses you own. Plan the renumbering time into any lease you might not renew.
How do I compare the cost of leasing and buying IPv4?
Add up the lease payments over your planning horizon, then compare them with the purchase price plus the registry's transfer fee and annual fees over the same period, minus what you could reasonably expect to recover by selling the block at the end. A quick check is the break-even point: the purchase price plus one-time fees, divided by the monthly lease cost minus the monthly share of the annual registry fee. If you expect to need the addresses for longer than that, buying is usually cheaper.
Who handles abuse complaints for leased IPv4 addresses?
Abuse reports go to the contacts in the registry's Whois record. For leased space, that is often the lessor, unless the lessor registers the lessee as a reassignment with its own contacts. Researchers have noted that the organization using leased addresses can use them without being recorded in Whois, which makes abuse complaints harder to act on.
Sources
Registry facts on this page come from ARIN's, RIPE NCC's and APNIC's own documents and statements, checked on November 9, 2026. Registry policies and fees change; where this page and the registry differ, the registry is right.
- ARIN blog: ARIN and IPv4 Address Leasing (Feb 23, 2023)
- ARIN: Transferring IP Addresses & ASNs
- ARIN NRPM section 8: Transfers
- ARIN: Fee Schedule
- ripe-826: IPv4 Address Allocation and Assignment Policies for the RIPE NCC Service Region
- APNIC prop-148: Leasing of Resources is not Acceptable
- APNIC prop-157: Temporary IPv4 Transfers
- Degen et al., From Scarcity to Opportunity: Examining Abuse of the IPv4 Leasing Market (TMA 2025, PDF)
Not sure whether to lease or buy?
Tell us how many addresses you need, for how long, and in which registry. We'll quote both options so you can compare.