The state of IPv4 and IPv6 in 2025
IPv4's 32-bit address length limits it to roughly 4 billion unique addresses. IPv6 came along in 1998 with a 128-bit address format that gives us about 3.4×10 38 possible addresses — practically unlimited. While there are differences between IPv4 and IPv6, they are mostly irrelevant to a proxy user. There are only a few instances where the subtleties have any bearing, which we'll discuss.
IP address requirements keep growing fast. The US alone has over 1.5 billion addresses assigned. This means that there is a tradeoff to be made at a global level between continuing to find creative ways to recycle IPv4 or commit to IPv6. Adoption is increasing, though, reaching a peak of 48.83% at the end of April.
In this article we'll discuss the difference between IPv4 vs IPv6 and explain what relevance they have for proxy users in 2025.
Choosing between IPv4 and IPv6 proxies depends on target compatibility, network support, and the type of workflow you are running. For related basics, read our guide on public and private IP addresses and what an IP address is. For scraping decisions, compare protocol support inside HTTP proxies and SOCKS proxies.
What Makes IPv4 and IPv6 Proxies Different?
The most basic differences between IPv4 and IPv6 are the length and format of their addresses. At the technical level, they have some differences in their protocol features at the architectural level, which has some bearing on their proxies.
- IPv4 proxies use the fourth version of Internet Protocol with a 32-bit addressing system. This system creates approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses (2³²) shown in dotted decimal notation (like 192.168.1.1). Each address has four octets separated by dots, and each octet can have values from 0 to 255. IPv4 has been the main protocol since 1983, but its limited address space has become a big problem.
- Through things like network access translation (NAT), IPv4 exhaustion has been mitigated, allowing private IPs within a network to be non-unique, with each network only having one public IP address. While NAT has reduced the urgency of transitioning to IPv6, it also complicates a whole range of activities like connecting to a device with SSH.
- The IPv4 headers contain many fields such as version, header length, type of service, total length, and header checksum. These fields need processing time and can slow down routing.
- As a result, IPv6 has an almost endless supply of unique IP addresses, which would make things like NAT unnecessary — every device could have its own unique IP. This is how it used to work up until the early 90s, for example.
- IPv6 also has a simpler header structure with fewer fields than IPv4. It doesn’t have a checksum field, which makes packet processing faster.
Pros and Cons of IPv4 vs IPv6 Proxies
IPv4 proxies continue to be the ubiquitous proxy available, which makes them the most practical choice for many reasons. IPv6 brings its own benefits — but also a handful of nuanced drawbacks.
Compatibility
IPv4 is widely supported by virtually every website, API, and online service. Users rarely face compatibility issues or service limitations with IPv4 proxies.
Geolocation accuracy
IPv4 geolocation data is well-established and precise, making IPv4 proxies highly reliable for tasks that depend on accurate country or city-level targeting, such as ad verification or location-specific web scraping.
Stable performance
The IPv4 infrastructure is mature, stable, and extensively tested, providing consistent performance and minimal latency issues.
Less scrutiny
Due to their prevalence, IPv4 proxies blend seamlessly into normal internet traffic patterns, reducing the likelihood of triggering anti-bot or anti-abuse mechanisms.
NAT side-effects
IPv4 proxies have very few disadvantages other than having to account for NAT in some specific instances. Their address scarcity isn’t something that impacts proxy users directly, as the entire internet is geared to solve this problem.
IP reuse from shared pools
An often-cited problem is reuse of IPs, which can lead to blocks and bans for the activity of a previous user. This is a far more acute problem due to shared proxies rather than something that is due to IPv4 itself.
IP abundance
IPv6 addresses are abundant and, in theory, more cost-effective to procure, allowing proxy providers more flexibility on pool size and rotation.
Future-proofing
IPv6 proxies align with the long-term direction of internet infrastructure, providing ongoing compatibility as more services adopt IPv6 support.
No NAT translation
IPv6 isn’t affected by NAT, which means communication with servers can be significantly easier and end-to-end addressing is preserved.
Compatibility issues
IPv6 is not universally supported. Certain websites, particularly older or legacy platforms, APIs, or niche services, may restrict or entirely lack IPv6 support. Some countries or ISPs may not have IPv6 support either.
Potentially increased scrutiny
IPv6 traffic patterns may occasionally trigger heightened scrutiny from anti-bot detection systems due to their relative rarity compared to IPv4 traffic. This is only really relevant when rotating through them quickly, e.g. rotating every request.
Less granular geolocation
While accurate at the country level, IPv6 geolocation data can be less accurate at city-level targeting. This is only an issue if granular geotargeting is relevant to your use case.
IPv4 and IPv6 Use Cases and Performance
You can choose the right protocol by understanding how IPv4 and IPv6 proxies work in specific situations. Based on a few nuances and differences, there are some situations in which one is clearly a better choice than the other.
Choosing IPv4 or IPv6 in 2025
At the end of the day, your choice between IPv4 vs IPv6 comes down to whether or not you have a use that only an IPv6 proxy can provide. In almost all other cases you're better off using an IPv4 proxy.
Device and ISP compatibility
Your devices, ISP, and chosen proxy protocol must work together smoothly. Most modern operating systems now support dual-stack implementation, though Windows, macOS, and mobile platforms handle IPv6 differently.
You should verify your devices and ISP's IPv6 protocol support before investing in IPv6 proxies. Google's statistics show that IPv6 usage is set to cross 50% in 2025, but there are notable differences across countries and providers.
Future trends in IPv6 adoption
IPv6 adoption keeps growing faster, and global user traffic should pass 50% in 2025. Several governments have mandated IPv6 deployment, which means that IPv6 proxies will slowly become the standard as time passes.
Global IPv6 user traffic is on track to pass 50% in 2025, with adoption uneven across regions.
IPv4 vs IPv6 Proxies Comparison
A quick reference for the practical differences proxy users actually care about.
Source: Proxidize.com
So, IPv4 or IPv6 in 2025?
IPv6 adoption is steadily rising, with it expected to surpass 50% this year. The internet is slowly transitioning itself to support IPv6, but for the individual proxy user, this is still largely irrelevant. The decision between using IPv4 or IPv6 proxies isn't critical, nor does the global context of IPv4 exhaustion meaningfully impact your day-to-day proxy usage.
When it comes down to practical proxy use, you may find that some differences between IPv4 and IPv6 are relevant to your specific use case. IPv4 proxies continue to offer broad compatibility, established geolocation accuracy, and stable performance. IPv6 proxies, on the other hand, provide slightly lower latency and eliminate certain complexities associated with NAT, but come with occasional compatibility hurdles and slightly less precise geolocation data.
Choosing an IPv6 proxy only makes sense if you need features unique to IPv6. In most scenarios, either type will fulfill your needs without significant advantages or disadvantages.
Key takeaways
What to remember about IPv4 vs IPv6 proxies
- IPv6 adoption is increasing globally, but this does not practically impact individual proxy users
- IPv4 proxies remain highly compatible and reliable, especially for mainstream websites
- IPv6 proxies offer virtually unlimited addresses but occasionally suffer from compatibility issues
- The practical differences between IPv4 and IPv6 proxies are minimal for most users
- Choose IPv6 only if your specific use case requires its unique characteristics