What is the difference between a public IP address and a private IP address?

The private IP address of a system is the IP address used to communicate within the same network. When you use a private IP address, you can send or receive information within the same network.

The public IP address of a system is the IP address used to communicate outside the network. The public IP address is essentially assigned by the ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Private IP addresses

• The scope is local

• They are used to communicate within the network

• The private IP addresses of the systems connected in a network differ in a uniform manner

• They only work in LANs

• They are available for free

• You can find out your private IP address by entering “ipconfig” in command prompt

• Range:

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

For instance: 192.168.1.10

Public IP addresses

• The scope is global

• They are used to communicate outside the network

• Public IP addresses may differ in a uniform or non-uniform manner

• They are used to get internet service

• They are not free

• They are controlled by the ISP

• You can find out your private IP address with a Google search for “What is my IP address?”

• Range:

All IP addresses apart from private IP addresses are public.

For instance: 17.5.7.8