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What Is a Public IP Address?

A public IP is the address the rest of the internet sees for your connection. Your devices at home share it through your router, which uses private IPs inside.

By Team of Monkeys Editorial Updated 1 min read Affiliate disclosure

This guide contains affiliate links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. If you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

What Is a Public IP Address illustration: a public IP is the address the rest of the internet sees for your connection 3jdej38j4

The short answer

Your public IP is the address websites see. At home, your router has one public IP, and every device behind it (laptop, phone, TV) uses a private IP such as 192.168.1.20 that only exists inside your network.

Why it matters for proxies

A proxy swaps your public IP for its own. To check that a proxy works, compare the public IP a "what is my IP" page shows with and without the proxy. If they match, the proxy is not being used.

A monkey meets a proxy server for the first time (animated GIF) 3jdej38j4
A monkey meets a proxy server for the first time. GIF via GIPHY

Also known as

External IP, WAN IP, internet-facing IP.

Learn more

Affiliate disclosure: Team of Monkeys is an affiliate of Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. Links and banners marked as sponsored, and links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte in the text, use our referral links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our explanations and comparisons are written to be useful whichever provider you choose.

Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.
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