Networking Basics
IPv4 vs IPv6: Which Address Format Does Your Hosting Need?
IPv4 addresses are running out and IPv6 adoption keeps climbing — here's what that means for the server your site actually runs on.
4.3B
Total IPv4 addresses ever created
128-bit
IPv6 address length vs IPv4's 32-bit
Dual-Stack
How our servers serve both protocols
24/7
Human support for network questions
In short
IPv4 vs IPv6 comes down to address space: IPv4 uses a 32-bit format with roughly 4.3 billion possible addresses, most already allocated, while IPv6's 128-bit format supplies a vastly larger supply. Most hosting today runs dual-stack, serving both protocols at once, so visitors connect over whichever their network supports without you having to choose one or the other.
For the vast majority of sites, the choice is invisible: your host assigns the addresses, DNS resolves both A and AAAA records, and dual-stack hosting keeps you reachable either way.
When IPv4 was designed in the early 1980s, 4.3 billion addresses seemed inexhaustible. Decades later, regional internet registries have handed out the last free blocks, and IPv4 space now trades on a secondary market or gets stretched further with carrier-grade NAT. IPv6 was built specifically to solve this, offering an address pool large enough that every connected device could have its own unique address without running dry.
That history explains why the IPv4 vs IPv6 question still comes up for anyone choosing a hosting plan. The internet hasn't fully switched over — it's running both protocols side by side, a setup called dual-stack. Understanding how your server handles each one affects reachability, email deliverability, and how future-proof your hosting setup is.
Why IPv4 Addresses Ran Out
IPv4 allocates addresses in a 32-bit format, capping the total possible addresses at about 4.3 billion. That sounded huge decades ago, but the explosion of websites, mobile devices and connected hardware since then consumed that pool far faster than anyone expected. The regional registries that hand out IPv4 blocks to hosting providers and ISPs have exhausted their free supply, meaning new IPv4 space now typically has to be purchased or leased.
In practice, this scarcity is why many budget hosts share a single IPv4 address across hundreds of accounts using name-based virtual hosting, and why techniques like carrier-grade NAT push multiple users behind one public address. None of that breaks a normal website, but it's the underlying reason IPv6 exists at all.
What IPv6 Actually Changes
IPv6 uses a 128-bit address format, written as groups of hexadecimal characters instead of four decimal numbers. The resulting address space is large enough that exhaustion isn't a realistic concern again. Beyond just having more room, IPv6 was designed with simpler routing and built-in support for auto-configuration, which can shave a small amount of overhead off network setup.
For a typical website owner, IPv6 doesn't change how your site looks or what software you run — WordPress, PHP and your database all work identically. What it changes is reachability: visitors on IPv6-only mobile networks or ISPs connect natively instead of passing through a translation layer, and your mail server gains an additional identity that some receiving providers weigh in spam filtering.
Dual-Stack Hosting: Running Both at Once
Rather than forcing a choice, virtually all modern hosting runs dual-stack: your server holds both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address, and DNS publishes both an A record (IPv4) and an AAAA record (IPv6) for your domain. Whichever protocol a visitor's device and network support, they connect successfully — there's no manual switch to flip.
This is exactly how hosting is provisioned here: your account gets a working IPv4 address by default, with IPv6 available alongside it, so you're covered on both sides of the transition without extra configuration or a support ticket.
Does IPv4 vs IPv6 Affect Speed or SEO?
Performance differences between the two protocols are negligible for most sites — the bottleneck is almost always server hardware, caching and code, not which IP version carried the request. NVMe storage and LiteSpeed on the server side matter far more to page speed than the address format used to reach it.
SEO-wise, search engines crawl and index sites over whichever protocol resolves, and having both A and AAAA records doesn't inherently boost or hurt rankings. What does matter is uptime and consistent reachability, which dual-stack hosting delivers by default rather than leaving visitors on an unsupported network unable to connect at all.
Dual-Stack by Default, No Extra Setup
Every hosting account here is provisioned with a working IPv4 address from day one, and IPv6 connectivity sits alongside it rather than being an upsell or an advanced option buried in a control panel.
If you're migrating a site that currently only advertises IPv4, our team can add the AAAA record and confirm dual-stack is resolving correctly as part of a free managed migration — no separate networking project required.
- IPv4 address included with every hosting account
- IPv6 (AAAA record) support available alongside it
- No configuration needed — dual-stack works out of the box
- Free managed migration checks DNS records for you
Why Hosting Cheap
What you get
No forced protocol choice
Dual-stack hosting serves both IPv4 and IPv6 visitors from the same account.
Future-proof reachability
As more networks go IPv6-only, your site keeps connecting without changes on your end.
NVMe SSD performance either way
Pure NVMe storage and LiteSpeed keep pages fast regardless of which IP version served the request.
Free migration handles DNS
Our team checks and updates A and AAAA records as part of your free managed migration.
24/7 support for networking questions
Real humans are available if a specific client, API or mail server needs an IPv6 check.
30-day money-back guarantee
Try hosting with confidence — full refund within 30 days if it's not the right fit.
How It Works
Get set up in a few steps
Check your current DNS
See whether your domain already publishes an AAAA record alongside its A record.
Move to dual-stack hosting
Sign up and our free migration team brings your site over with both address types configured.
Confirm reachability
Test your site from both IPv4-only and IPv6-only connections to verify it resolves correctly.
Included
Everything you need, on every plan
- Confirm your host assigns both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
- Check for an AAAA record alongside your domain's A record
- Test your mail server's reputation on both address types
- Avoid hosts that only offer IPv4 with no upgrade path
- Ask whether IPv6 is included at no extra cost
- Verify your CDN or firewall passes through both protocols
- Keep DNS TTLs reasonable before any migration
- Re-test site reachability after any provider switch
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need IPv6 for my website to work?
No. IPv4 still works everywhere and most hosting defaults to it. IPv6 adds reachability for visitors on IPv6-only networks but isn't required for a functioning site today.
Will switching to IPv6 make my site faster?
Not directly. Page speed comes from server hardware, caching and code — our NVMe SSD storage and LiteSpeed setup affect speed far more than which IP protocol carried the request.
Can I have both IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time?
Yes, this is called dual-stack and it's the standard setup for hosting accounts here. Your domain gets both an A record and an AAAA record automatically.
Does IPv4 vs IPv6 affect my SEO rankings?
No meaningful difference. Search engines crawl over whichever protocol resolves and don't rank sites differently based on address format. Uptime and speed matter far more than IP version.
Is IPv6 more secure than IPv4?
IPv6 has some architectural improvements, but real-world security depends far more on your firewall, SSL setup and software updates than on the IP protocol itself. We include free auto-renewing SSL either way.
What happens if my current host only supports IPv4?
Your site still works fine, though some IPv6-only mobile networks route through a translation layer. If you'd rather have both, our team can migrate you over for free and add IPv6 support.
Ready for Dual-Stack Hosting That Just Works?
Get IPv4 and IPv6 support included, free migration handled by our team, and 24/7 human support if you ever need a DNS check.
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