What is an IP Address Calculator and How Does It Work?
An IP address calculator is an essential tool for network professionals to calculate subnets, CIDR notation, and network addresses. Our IP address calculator 2026 uses industry-standard IPv4 algorithms to answer "what is my network IP?" The ip calculator provides network address, broadcast address, usable host range, subnet mask, CIDR notation, and wildcard mask. Whether you're a network administrator, IT student, or certification candidate, this ip subnet calculator delivers enterprise-grade accuracy.
How does the ip range calculator work? Enter an IP address and subnet mask (or CIDR notation). The cidr calculator instantly shows network address, broadcast address, usable host range, total usable hosts, and wildcard mask. The ip network calculator also includes binary display for learning and troubleshooting. The address ip calculator supports three calculation modes: Subnet, CIDR, and IP Range.
How to Calculate Network Address from IP and Subnet Mask
Network address is calculated using bitwise AND operation: IP Address AND Subnet Mask. Example: 192.168.1.100 (11000000.10101000.00000001.01100100) AND 255.255.255.0 (11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000) = 192.168.1.0 (11000000.10101000.00000001.00000000).
Broadcast address is calculated using bitwise OR: Network Address OR Wildcard Mask. Wildcard mask is inverse of subnet mask: 255.255.255.255 - Subnet Mask. Usable hosts = 2^(32-CIDR) - 2.
CIDR Notation Explained
CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) notation shows IP address followed by slash and number of network bits. /24 = 24 network bits, 8 host bits. /24 = 256 total IPs, 254 usable hosts. /16 = 65,536 total IPs, 65,534 usable hosts. /8 = 16,777,216 total IPs.
Usable Host Calculation
/24: 2^8 = 256 - 2 = 254 usable hosts. /25: 2^7 = 128 - 2 = 126. /26: 2^6 = 64 - 2 = 62. /27: 2^5 = 32 - 2 = 30. /28: 2^4 = 16 - 2 = 14. /29: 2^3 = 8 - 2 = 6. /30: 2^2 = 4 - 2 = 2 (point-to-point).
Wildcard Mask
Wildcard mask is the inverse of subnet mask, used in ACLs. /24 (255.255.255.0) → wildcard = 0.0.0.255. /16 (255.255.0.0) → wildcard = 0.0.255.255.
Private IPv4 Address Ranges (RFC 1918)
10.0.0.0/8 (10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255) — 16,777,216 addresses. 172.16.0.0/12 (172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255) — 1,048,576 addresses. 192.168.0.0/16 (192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255) — 65,536 addresses.