IPv6 vs IPv4: what IPv6 is and why your VPS needs it

The short answer to IPv6 vs IPv4: IPv4 has 4.3 billion addresses and ran out years ago, pushing market prices to $30-50 per address. IPv6 has 340 undecillion addresses (a 39-digit number), costs nothing, and fixes most of what NAT broke. If you run a VPS in 2026, you should be running both (dual-stack) and drifting toward IPv6-first for new workloads.

This article explains what IPv6 actually is, how IPv6 vs IPv4 differs in practice, the current adoption picture, and what it means for your VPS.

The IPv4 address shortage, simply explained

Every device on the internet needs an IP address. IPv4, the system from the 1980s, provides about 4.3 billion addresses. That sounded like a lot in 1981. It’s not enough anymore.

The world ran out of new IPv4 addresses years ago. IANA gave away its last blocks in 2011. The regional registries that distribute addresses to ISPs and hosting companies have been running on fumes since.

When something scarce is in high demand, the price rises. IPv4 addresses now trade on secondary markets for $30-50 each. A /24 block (256 addresses) costs $7,500-$12,800, just for the addresses.

IPv6 fixes this with a practically unlimited supply: 340 undecillion addresses. Enough for every grain of sand on Earth to have its own IP, several times over.

IPv6 vs IPv4: what actually changes

Beyond just more addresses, IPv6 changes how networking works in practical ways.

No more NAT

With IPv4, most devices don’t have their own public IP. They sit behind a router using NAT to share a single public IP among many devices. This works, but it breaks things. Peer-to-peer connections, VoIP, gaming, IoT devices needing inbound reachability all become harder with NAT in the way.

IPv6 gives every device a real, publicly routable address. No NAT needed. Direct communication between any two devices, the way networking was originally designed.

Simpler networking

NAT introduces complexity: port forwarding rules, connection tracking, state tables, hairpin NAT for local services. IPv6 eliminates most of it. Your firewall still controls what traffic comes in and out, but you don’t need NAT rules for basic connectivity.

Built-in security

IPv6 was designed with IPsec (encryption and authentication) as a core feature, not a bolt-on.

IPv6 adoption in 2026

IPv6 adoption was slow for years but is accelerating. As of early 2026, about 45% of global internet traffic uses IPv6. In the US, it’s closer to 50%. Major networks like Comcast, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have run IPv6 for their customers for years.

A recent development: Microsoft added CLAT support to Windows, letting Windows devices operate essentially over IPv6 and only fall back to IPv4 when necessary. Since Windows dominates corporate environments, that’s a meaningful push toward broader adoption.

Google, Facebook, Netflix, and most major content providers have been serving traffic over IPv6 for years. If you’re hosting content without IPv6, a growing chunk of the internet has to use translation mechanisms to reach you.

IPv6 vs IPv4 on your VPS

Run dual-stack

The practical answer today is to run both IPv4 and IPv6 on your server (“dual-stack”). Most of the internet still works on IPv4, so you can’t drop it yet. Adding IPv6 means:

• Users on IPv6-only networks reach your services directly
• You’re ready for the continued shift
• You can assign IPv6 addresses to containers, VMs, and services without burning expensive IPv4 addresses

ColossusCloud VPS includes IPv6

Every ColossusCloud VPS plan comes with an IPv6 address at no extra cost. You also get IPv4, so you’re dual-stack from day one.

Need more IPv6? Request a routed /64 or /56 subnet. A /64 alone gives you more addresses than you can use. Included at no extra charge.

IPv6 is great for IoT

If your VPS is a gateway or management hub for IoT devices, IPv6 is a game-changer. Each device gets its own address. No port forwarding, no NAT traversal hacks, no address scarcity. Sensors, cameras, controllers, all reachable directly.

Bottom line on IPv6 vs IPv4

IPv6 isn’t future tech. It’s live, running on most major networks, and adoption keeps climbing. IPv4 isn’t going away tomorrow, but it’s scarcer and more expensive every year.

Running a VPS with IPv6 support is basic infrastructure hygiene at this point. Costs nothing extra, future-proofs your setup, gives you access to a practically unlimited address pool.

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Every ColossusCloud VPS includes IPv6 by default. Enable it and configure subnets through the Client Portal.