About the Random IP Address Generator
Developers and testers often need IP addresses that look real but aren't tied to a particular machine: for mock data, log samples, unit tests, firewall rules and documentation. This generator makes random IPv4 addresses in three flavours, public-looking addresses that skip private, loopback, link-local, multicast and other reserved ranges, private addresses from the 10.x, 172.16 to 172.31 and 192.168 ranges, or completely random four-byte values. It also creates IPv6 addresses in the global unicast range, in full or shortened form. Everything is generated in your browser using secure random numbers.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Random IP Address Generator
- 1Choose how many addresses you want.
- 2Pick IPv4 or IPv6.
- 3For IPv4, choose public-looking, private or any range.
- 4For IPv6, tick the box if you want every group written with four digits.
- 5Press Generate and copy or download the list.
Special IPv4 ranges
- 127.0.0.0/8: loopback (this machine).
- 169.254.0.0/16: link-local, self-assigned.
- 100.64.0.0/10: carrier-grade NAT.
- 224.0.0.0/4: multicast.
- 240.0.0.0/4: reserved for future use.
Choosing the right settings
For mock logs that should look like internet visitors, use public-looking addresses. For a pretend office network, use private ones. To test code that validates addresses, use completely random values, which will include odd cases such as addresses that start with zero. For IPv6, shortened form mirrors what most tools display, while the full form is useful when testing parsers.
When writing examples for teaching or documentation, prefer the reserved example ranges, and for IPv6 the 2001:db8 prefix, over random addresses. Readers who copy a command from your article will then never send packets to a stranger's machine. For mock logs, mix a handful of addresses, repeat some of them to simulate returning visitors, and give each a plausible timestamp, so that any analytics code you are testing sees a realistic spread of traffic rather than a single uniform distribution.
Remember that IPv4 has about 4.3 billion addresses in total, of which around 3.7 billion are usable on the public internet, so a random public-looking address has roughly an even chance of being in use somewhere. IPv6 has so many addresses, about 3.4 × 10 to the power 38, that a random one is almost certainly unassigned. That difference is one reason IPv6 addresses make safer sample data, as long as you keep them out of production configuration.
Privacy and ethics
IP addresses can identify people. Don't present random public addresses as real visitors, and don't use real people's addresses in examples. Generated data is a good way to avoid that problem altogether, which is one reason developers prefer mock data that is clearly artificial.
Related tools
The IP Subnet Calculator works out network sizes, the Random MAC Address Generator makes hardware addresses, the What Is My IP tool shows your own address and the Random Data Generator creates names, emails and other test records.
Features
- IPv4 and IPv6
- Public-looking, private and unrestricted IPv4
- Skips reserved and special ranges
- IPv6 in the global unicast range
- Up to 1,000 per batch
- Copy and download
Frequently asked questions
Are these real IP addresses?
They are valid in form, and a public-looking IPv4 address may belong to a real device somewhere. Never scan, probe or connect to random addresses. For documentation, use the ranges reserved for examples.
Which ranges are reserved for examples?
192.0.2.0/24, 198.51.100.0/24 and 203.0.113.0/24 for IPv4, and 2001:db8::/32 for IPv6. Addresses in these ranges will never be assigned to real devices, so they are the safest choice in tutorials and docs.
What are private IP addresses?
Addresses used inside local networks and not routable on the public internet: 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 and 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255. Home routers usually hand out 192.168.x.x addresses.
What does the public-looking option skip?
It avoids private ranges, loopback (127.x), link-local (169.254.x), carrier-grade NAT (100.64.x), multicast and reserved space (224 and above), the documentation ranges and addresses ending in 0 or 255.
How are IPv6 addresses made?
The first group is picked from the 2000 to 3FFF range, the global unicast space that real internet addresses live in, and the other seven groups are random. They are shown shortened by default, with leading zeros removed.
Can I use them for load testing?
As labels in mock data, yes. As traffic sources or targets, no: sending packets to random addresses is unwelcome and may break rules. Use your own test network.