Wondering why you get a different IP address each time you connect to your VPN? VPNs regularly update their IP addresses and automatically assign their users to a pool of dynamic IPs. They do this to counteract server congestion, boost privacy, and prevent online services from recognizing and blocking their IP addresses.
However, some VPNs also offer dedicated static IPs! Using a VPN is usually the cheapest way to get a dedicated IP, and in this guide, we’ll take a look at how to use them – as well as which VPN services offer dedicated/static IPs.
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The Best VPN with static IP addresses
Here’s a quick breakdown of the best VPNs with static IP addresses. Our research team has thoroughly vetted each service, as well as their bolt-on dedicated/static IPs, to make sure that they’re secure, reliable, and worth the investment. If you’re looking for a more detailed analysis of these services, scroll down for our in-depth summaries.
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VPN services often use dynamic or shared IP addresses to keep a user’s VPN connection private. This might sound counterintuitive, but the idea is that if you share your IP address with other people, you’ll be much harder to track. However, dynamic IP addresses can wreak havoc with certain online services. When using a dynamic IP you may often be required to fill out reCAPTCHA forms. You may also have to accept terms and conditions from websites more often as your IP address changes.
To avoid these issues, or if you use online services that require you to have a fixed residential IP address, then you’ll be glad to learn that the VPNs recommended in this guide have everything you need.
However, before any service claims a top spot in our rankings, we make sure that it comes with the following features:
Static or dedicated IP addresses (in various locations) Fast VPN speeds Strong privacy and security High-quality customer service
Only VPNs that can tick all of these boxes are eligible for inclusion in our guide – so, let’s take a closer look at those that made the cut.
The best Static IP VPN providers | In-depth analysis
We’d recommend checking out any of the VPNs featured below if you’re in the market for a dedicated/static IP address. Some of these services provide access to static IPs for free, as part of their subscription, but the vast majority will require you to rent a dedicated IP.
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What is a static IP address?
Simply put, a static IP address is an IP address that doesn’t change. Internet Service Providers use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) to assign IPs from a larger pool of addresses, and these IPs are dynamic, which means that they might change or be reassigned at any point. Even something as simple as restarting your router (or turning it off whilst you jet away on vacation) could cause your IP address to change.
A static IP address is simply an IP address that doesn’t change over time.
While some VPN providers offer static IPs as a bolt-on feature you can purchase – most don’t.
VPN providers offer their customers access to servers scattered across the globe, and these servers typically contain a massive pool of IP addresses in each location. This is necessary because VPNs need to manage the load on their servers to prevent congestion (which can lead to sluggish speeds).
What is a dedicated IP?
A dedicated IP is a static IP address that’s been reserved solely for your use. The VPN leases you the IP address, in return for an additional recurring fee, and then the address is yours to use as you please. Dedicated IPs come in handy for folks who want to connect to their home network securely, or for anyone who wants to have services running on a home server (like a NAS device) that are always accessible via the internet.
Why do I need a static IP VPN?
As we explained earlier, ISPs provide dynamic addresses, and this is a problem if you need to communicate with your IP address on a recurring basis.
Some people require a fixed IP address because they can’t risk being caught using a VPN, or because they need to regularly access the same IP address from a remote location. Plus, there are several things that you can do with a dynamic/static IP address that you just can’t with a dynamic one. These include:
Others might need the websites they frequent to always register the same IP address when they connect. A good example of this is online poker, where spoofing your location to join games is usually against the Terms of Service – and could even lead to a ban and the confiscation of your winnings.
How to get a dedicated IP
Unfortunately, this is likely going to be prohibitively expensive if you try to get one from your ISP. The good news is that some VPN services give their users the chance to rent a dedicated IP. This IP address will be reserved for your use only, and provide a reliable static address.
All of the VPN services we’ve recommended in this guide have static IPs available, and you can even pick where you want the IP to be located.
Best of all, our recommended VPNs will give you a static IP that is much cheaper than one you can rent elsewhere!
What are the drawbacks of a dedicated static IP?
When you rent a static IP address from a VPN, you’ll be the only person using that IP address. This isn’t as private as using a shared IP, however, because the things you do whilst connected to a static IP could be traced back to you – the subscriber who’s paying for it.
The best VPNs do not keep logs. This means that when a session finishes, there are no records of what you did while connected. However, as the sole user of a VPN IP address, it is possible that a time-correlation attack could be used to track what you did online to the IP address you’re renting.
It is also worth noting that a VPN is technically capable of monitoring connections to its servers in real-time, even if it doesn’t store any logs. In theory, this means that if it is served a warrant, the government could check to see what you’re doing while connected to the VPN.
This isn’t a concern for most folks, seeing as they won’t be using their VPN to do anything that’d attract the authorities’ attention (and that sort of warrant is reserved only for serious criminal activity).
The important thing to remember is that if the government or another interested party investigates a specific IP address, it is possible they could trace it back to whoever paid for the subscription (even if they’re using a zero-logs service). For this reason, a static or dedicated IP isn’t as reliable when it comes to privacy as a regular shared VPN IP address.
That said, most people will be fine using a static dedicated IP for accessing Netflix or poker sites, and you can learn more about this by visiting our static IPs vs dedicated IPs guide.
I am using a static IP VPN but I’m still blocked
Using a non-shared, dedicated static IP, will seem more like a residential IP address. As a result, this kind of VPN IP may provide access to services that usually block VPNs. However, if a static VPN IP comes from a pool of addresses that are too similar to other VPN IPs – it’s possible that it could already have been blacklisted.
It’s important that the static IP address you are using is a clean address that’s never been associated with a VPN provider in the past – this will prevent it from being flagged as a VPN IP address, giving you a much better chance at accessing restricted services. This does incur higher costs, however, and not all VPNs are willing to invest in providing this feature.
You should be okay if you stick to the recommended VPNs in this article. But, depending on the services you’d like to access, it might be worth talking your requirements over with your VPN provider directly – before agreeing to rent the static IP!
Static IP VPN considerations
Purchasing a dedicated static IP address from a VPN will invalidate the provider’s money-back guarantee – which is an important factor to consider if you’re on the fence about which service to go with.
All the VPNs we’ve selected for this guide offer VPN free trials or money-back guarantees (though their lengths may vary). However, if you’d rather pay for your own IP address, this commitment will need to be made for the duration of the agreed contractual period.
We consider many other things when putting together the above list, including which streaming services the provider can unblock, the encryption used, security and privacy features offered, and much more. Check out the table below to compare how the best static IP VPN services size up.
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Is there a difference between a dedicated IP and a static IP?
Yes. A static IP address is the opposite of a dynamic IP address. It is an IP address that remains constant and does not update when you restart your router or connect to the VPN server each time. The clue is in the name static, which describes the state of the IP as constant and non-changing.
A dedicated IP is an address that is reserved for one user only. This ensures that only the customer paying for that IP address can use it. This is useful in situations where the user wants to be certain that they are the only person using that IP.
A dedicated IP also allows the user to use their IP as a secure gateway to resources on their LAN, to remotely access a NAS drive, or to host game servers, for example.
The important thing to remember is that while a dedicated IP will always be static, a static IP does not necessarily have to be dedicated.
Some VPNs provide some static IPs that can be shared by many users, this allows you to get the same IP address every time you connect to the VPN. Only a few VPNs provide these static IPs as part of a regular subscription.
Unfortunately, shared static IPs are not as reliable for bypassing online blocks. This is because they are more easily noticed and blocked by services like Netflix. Thus, many people will prefer a dedicated static IP, which is reserved for their use only.
Static IP VPN FAQs
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Are static IPs better for gaming?” answer=”A static IP address can give you the edge in certain circumstances. For example, using a dedicated static IP address ensures that you’re the only one accessing the game servers with that particular IP address. Therefore, you won’t run the risk of potentially using a blacklisted IP address because of another gamer’s actions.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Does using a static IP increase internet speeds?” answer=”Using a regular static IP address may result in a very minimal increase in your internet speeds, but any speed increase will be negligible at best. It is also important to keep in mind that a VPN will slow down your connection speeds anyway since it will encrypt your traffic and route it via a remote server. Overall though, you’re not likely to see much of a difference either way when using your VPN’s static IP.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Are there any free services that offer a dedicated IP address?” answer=”Unfortunately not. You’ll be extremely hard-pressed to find a <a href=’/vpn/comparison/free-vpn-services’>free VPN</a> service that offers access to dedicated IPs. This is because they’re rather costly!” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”How much does a static IP address usually cost?” answer=”That will largely depend on who you rent it from. ISPs will charge anything from $15 to $75 per month. VPNs offer the same service for far less – between $1.99 and $5 a month. Keep in mind that you will need to pay for each static IP separately, however.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”How do I get a Static IP?” answer=”The quickest and easiest way to get a dedicated static IP is to rent one from your ISP – but it’s also the most expensive option. You can rent one from your VPN, too. You also have the option of setting up a VPS with a static IP, but it’s a more expensive option in the long-run.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”What does MPLS IP VPN mean?” answer=”MPLS stands for multi-protocol label switching. MPLS VPN is a method for transporting and routing several types of network traffic via an MPLS backbone. The commercial VPNs in our guide provide full, securely encrypted VPN tunnels, not MPLS VPN.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”What is a VPN IP address pool?” answer=”VPN providers tend to rent their IP addresses from server farms, who assign them a pool of addresses to use. You can think of this pool as simply a block of IPs that’ve been allocated to a particular provider.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”What does a US IP address look like?” answer=”IP addresses look the same in every country. There’s only a difference between <a href=’/tools/what-is-my-ip’>IPv4 or IPv6 addresses</a>. You’ll find that the US has a huge pool of IP addresses, and in order to figure out if an IP address is from the US, you’ll need to check the individual IP to see from where it originates.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”What is NAT?” answer=”In a nutshell, NAT is a method used to remap a single IP address space into another by modifying network address information within the IP header of a packet in transit. Check out our <a href=’/guides/what-is-nat’>what is NAT</a> guide for more details about this.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Can you get a Static IP VPN router?” answer=”Yes, you certainly can! A VPN router can be set up to connect to any server’s IP address, including static IP addresses.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Are dedicated IP addresses safer than shared IP addresses?” answer=”Safer? Yes. More anonymous? No.
The mere fact that you’re the sole owner of your IP address provides an extra layer of security. For a start, the fewer people involved with the same IP address means the lesser chance of an intruder using it for malicious activities. Threat actors will also have fewer opportunities of finding and targeting you, and you’re also reducing your chances of experiencing brute-force attacks.
Your anonymity, on the other hand, may suffer from static IPs, as all your online requests will be coming from the same IP address. Although websites won’t be able to identify the person behind these requests, they will be able to make connections between them and profile you for marketing purposes.” /]]
[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Are dedicated IP addresses faster than shared IP addresses?” answer=”Dedicated IP addresses can provide somewhat faster internet connections than shared IP addresses. For a start, since you don’t get to share your IP address with other people, you won’t be facing any bandwidth challenges. Also, thanks to having your own unique IP address (sort of an identifier), most websites won’t bother you with time-consuming authentication procedures and annoying captchas – and this can speed up your website access times to an extent.
Bear in mind, however, that although you get an exclusive IP address, the server on which this IP address gets stored is still shared with other people. So, in the end, any difference in speed may not be as significant as one would expect.” /]]
Conclusion
A dedicated or static IP can come in handy for all sorts of folks – whether you need regular access to an IP, a home file server, or want to take part in international poker tournaments. So, now that we’ve covered all you need to know about getting your very own dedicated IP from your VPN provider, let’s review our top picks:
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