What is a NAT VPS?

A plain explanation of NAT VPS hosting: how it works, what it is good for, and when you need something else.

A NAT VPS is a virtual private server that does not get a public IPv4 address of its own. Instead, many servers share one IPv4 address, and each one gets a block of ports on it that is forwarded straight to that server. IPv4 addresses are scarce and expensive, so sharing one is what makes a NAT VPS cost a fraction of a normal VPS. Most NAT VPS hosts, natbox included, also give every server a block of public IPv6 addresses of its own.

How a NAT VPS works

• Shared IPv4 with forwarded ports. On natbox, every server shares 5.189.155.145 and gets 5 to 30 ports on it, for example 10000-10019. Each port is forwarded, TCP and UDP, to the same port number inside your server. The first port is SSH.
• Websites by domain name. Ports 80 and 443 cannot belong to one customer, so a router sends each request to the right server by its domain name (HTTP Host header, HTTPS SNI). You link your domain in the client area and use your own certificates.
• Routed IPv6. Your server gets a whole /80 of IPv6 addresses. Over IPv6 nothing is shared: every port on every address reaches you directly.
• Outgoing traffic leaves through the shared IPv4 address, or your own IPv6 address.

See the network diagram for a picture of all three paths.

What a NAT VPS is good for

• Bots for Discord, Telegram and others, scrapers and scheduled jobs
• A personal VPN such as WireGuard (guide)
• Small websites, APIs and dashboards on your own domain (guide)
• Game servers for friends, like Minecraft (guide)
• Development and test boxes, CI runners, learning Linux
• IPv6-only services, monitoring probes and network experiments

When a NAT VPS is the wrong choice

• You need a dedicated IPv4 address, or a specific well-known port such as 25, 53 or 3389 over IPv4.
• You want to run your own mail server. Outgoing ports 25, 465 and 587 are blocked (what to do instead).
• You need Docker, a custom kernel, kernel modules or Windows. natbox servers are Linux containers (Incus LXC).
• You need guaranteed performance and high availability for a business-critical service.

Comparing options? Read NAT VPS vs regular VPS.

NAT VPS at natbox

natbox servers start at $1 a month, run in Germany and come with a routed /80 of IPv6, domain routing on ports 80 and 443, and root over SSH. New customers can try one free for a month. See the plans.