Published June 11, 2026

IPv4 vs. IPv6 Lookup

IPv4 and IPv6 addresses both route internet traffic, but they look different and are managed in different address spaces. A good IP lookup tool should support both because modern networks often use them side by side.

An IPv4 address uses four decimal numbers, such as 8.8.8.8. An IPv6 address uses hexadecimal groups, such as 2001:4860:4860::8888. IPv6 was created to provide a much larger address pool than IPv4.

Lookup fields are similar

For both IPv4 and IPv6, a lookup may return country, region, city, ASN, provider, ISP, organization, and approximate coordinates. The field names are familiar, but the database coverage and accuracy can vary by address family.

IPv6 ranges can be very large

IPv6 allocations are often much larger than IPv4 allocations. A single IPv6 range can cover many networks or customers depending on how a provider delegates addresses. That can make precise location inference harder.

Why both still matter

IPv4 remains common because many systems and networks still depend on it. IPv6 adoption continues to grow because it gives networks far more address space and avoids some of the sharing patterns used to stretch IPv4.