Many virtual private network services offer VPN static IP addresses, but not all. In fact, when I started using a VPN service after my move to China, I had not idea there was a difference. And I think that many users will be perfectly happy without a static IP, or at least not knowing the difference. Some VPN services use static IP addresses by default, so if you've used a VPN service before, you may have used one already! For reasons of quality, and reliability of online presence, you may need to seek out a static IP as opposed to a dynamic one. Because of bandwidth, you may not.

Reliability in anonymity

This is not to say that dynamic IP addresses are unreliable. It's just that when your IP address is different each time you sign into a website, your online identity is unreliable. I know that's kind of the point of using an anonymous IP address - to hide your real identity, but here's what I mean. When I was in China, using a dynamic VPN IP address, it was fine when I wanted to stream YouTube videos or check my Facebook account. But each time I signed into my online banking accounts, or Paypal account, red flags went off. I don't know how many times I had to get on the phone with my bank or Paypal to get my account unflagged and my status returned from 'restricted' to 'normal'. The reason behind this was that my IP address was changing to rapidly.

Not only was my IP address changing during the period of time I was signed into my account, but it was also changing each time I logged in. In fact, when I went back to The US for a few weeks, my Paypal account got fully blocked because I tried to send money to a contractor with my US IP. Luckily I was able to solve this by calling them and answering a few security questions.

If you travel along, and especially if you have an online business, you know that having a secure, anonymous IP can protect your identity on open networks and other unsecured network networks. But without the reliability of a stable IP address, you may face a new set of challenges. Having a static, but anonymous IP can help solve these problems.

Quality

Of course virtual private network services are abused by hackers and other types of cyber criminals. Copyright infringement, fraud, spam and other types of cyber crime are done through VPNs. When you share an IP address with these kinds of users, it may taint your online reputations. There have been several times where I've been 'temporarily banned' from websites due to using an IP address that is a 'known spammer'.

Sometimes that is due to websites blocking all anonymous IPs, but sometimes it is really about who has been using and abusing the current anonymous IP that you're using. Today you are surfing with this ID, but who know what the guy before you was doing. After a period of time, IP addresses are retired and new ones are created, so this isn't such a big problem, but with a VPN static IP, you can be assured of the quality of your IP, because it's yours, and yours alone.

Bandwidth

One downside to using a static IP is bandwidth limitations. This is not always the case, but some websites may limit the amount you can download. This is of course recorded by IP address, because creating new user accounts is too easy. If you download torrents online, then you may not want your gigabytes upon gigabytes of movies and music to be associated with one IP address. If an IP address gets red flagged, your VPN service may be contacted. Depending on the nature of the offense, the country location of your VPN, and the local laws, they may be forced to turn over your personal information. If you frequently change IP addresses, you can avoid these bandwidth limitations and red flags, which is one of the biggest advantages to using a dynamic IP address.

Conclusion

If your VPN service provider doesn't state whether their standard VPN package is static or dynamic, don't assume either way. Contact the support team and ask. They may offer both types of IP addresses, or have PPTP on dynamic IP servers, and OpenVPN on static ones. In general, VPN static IP addresses may be more expensive that dynamic ones. Price plans will vary based on service. There may also be other limitations associated with dynamic IPs like bandwidth limitations, server location limitations, or number of server switches limited per month. For torrent downloaders and VOIP software users, I would suggest a static IP address because you are going to be sharing files with other users over an extended period of time. If you want to unblock sites, bypass firewalls, or generally browse anonymously, then a dynamic IP address will be best.