VPN With a Public IP: Which One Do You Actually Need?
People search for "a VPN with a public IP" when they want one of two different things. Some want an address that only they use, so websites stop treating them like a crowd. Others want an address people can reach them at, to run a server, a game or a camera recorder. Most VPNs do neither. Here is how to tell which one you need, and what each one costs with us.
Why an ordinary VPN does not give you either
A normal VPN puts you behind an address it shares with many other users. That is the point of it: your traffic comes out from the VPN's address instead of yours. It also means the address is not yours, other people's behaviour follows it around, and nobody can connect in to you through it. There is no port to open on an address you share with strangers.
Want 1: an address only you use
You want your traffic to come out from one fixed address that nobody else uses: for a login that checks your address, an allow-list at work, or simply fewer captchas. Two of our plans do this:
- TunnelNet VPN, $30 a month. Your own server in the city you pick, with its own address, used only by you. It works on a phone or a computer. The address belongs to the server's provider, so some streaming services and banks may treat it with suspicion. There is one server, so there is no failover: if it restarts, you are offline until it is back.
- TunnelNet Full, $20 a month. Your own fixed address from our own address block, and your traffic goes out from it. Today that works on Linux and on an iPhone. On Windows, Mac and WSL you still get the address, so people can reach your computer, but your traffic goes out through your own internet connection.
Want 2: an address people can reach you at
You want to run something at home that people connect to: a game server, a website, Home Assistant, a camera recorder. If your provider uses CGNAT, port forwarding cannot work, and an ordinary VPN cannot help either.
- TunnelNet IP, $10 a month. A public IPv4 address of your own, routed to your computer through a connection your computer opens to our network. No router changes and no port forwarding. It runs on Linux, Windows, and a Mac with Apple Silicon. Everything except SSH stays closed until you open a port yourself.
- TunnelNet Full, $20 a month does the same, and on Linux and iPhone your outgoing traffic leaves from that address too.
A phone cannot host a server, so Want 2 is for computers. Android phones are not supported on our address plans yet.
Side by side
| TunnelNet IP | TunnelNet Full | TunnelNet VPN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $10 a month | $20 a month | $30 a month |
| People can reach you at it | Yes | Yes | No |
| Your traffic leaves from it | No | Linux and iPhone today | Yes, phone or computer |
| Whose address | Ours, used only by you | Ours, used only by you | Your server's, used only by you |
| Runs on | Linux, Windows, Mac (Apple Silicon) | Linux, Windows, Mac; outgoing on Linux and iPhone | Phone or computer |
Before you buy
- Private, not hidden. We keep no activity logs, but an address used by one person points to that person. If you want to disappear into a crowd, a shared VPN is the right tool, not this.
- Our hubs are in Chicago and Newark. If you are far from there, it adds to your ping.
- No protection from flood attacks (DDoS) on the address plans.
- Port 25 (sending mail) is blocked, and what you run on your address is your responsibility. See the acceptable use policy.
Which one?
Want your traffic to come from one address only you use, on any device: TunnelNet VPN, $30. Want people to reach a computer of yours: TunnelNet IP, $10. Want both on Linux or an iPhone: TunnelNet Full, $20. Plans and prices.