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NAT IPv4 vs a dedicated IP — what budget VPS buyers should know

IPv4 addresses are scarce and expensive, so many budget VPS ship with a shared (NAT) IPv4 rather than a dedicated one. Here's what that actually changes — and what it doesn't.

Why hosts use NAT IPv4

The world ran out of fresh IPv4 addresses years ago; they now trade on a secondary market for real money. To keep a VPS cheap, many hosts put several VPS behind one public IPv4 and give each customer a range of forwarded ports — that's NAT (Network Address Translation). It's not a scam; it's how affordable hosting stays affordable.

What NAT IPv4 means in practice

You share a public IPv4 with other VPS on the node, and you get your own dedicated ports mapped to your machine. For example, your SSH might live on a high port like :53022 instead of the default :22. Outbound traffic works normally; inbound traffic reaches you on your assigned/forwarded ports.

What works perfectly fine on NAT

What really wants a dedicated IP

The honest summary: NAT IPv4 is great for most hobby and small-production workloads, and a dealbreaker for a couple of specific ones (notably self-hosted mail). Know which camp your project is in before you buy.

How ours works

overnight.host VPS currently use shared IPv4 (NAT) with a dedicated SSH port; additional port forwards are available via support, and game servers get proper port allocations. Per-VM public IPv4 is on our roadmap. We put this on the order page and our offers before you pay — no surprises after checkout. If your use case needs a dedicated IP, email [email protected] and we'll be straight with you about what's possible today.

FAQ

Can I host a website on a NAT VPS?

Yes — the cleanest way is to put Cloudflare or a reverse proxy in front, or use a forwarded port. Plenty of small sites run happily on NAT VPS.

Can I run my own mail server on NAT?

Not recommended. Mail deliverability relies on reverse DNS on a dedicated IP. Ask support about options before trying.

Will my game server work on NAT?

Yes. Game servers get proper port allocations and players connect on your assigned port.

Does overnight.host offer dedicated IPv4?

Per-VM public IPv4 is on the roadmap; today VPS use shared IPv4 (NAT) with a dedicated SSH port plus forwards on request. We disclose this up front.

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