IPRangeExplorer

/22 vs /26 — Subnet Comparison

A /22 subnet is 16× larger than a /26. Every additional bit in the prefix halves the address space — the 4-bit difference between these two means /22 has 24 = 16 times as many addresses.

/22

1K IPs — medium site subnet

Full reference →
Total IPs 1,024
Usable Hosts 1,022
Subnet Mask 255.255.252.0
Wildcard Mask 0.0.3.255

Typical Uses

  • →Medium office floor VLAN
  • →Application tier with ~500 hosts
  • →Cloud subnet for a single microservice cluster
/26

62 usable hosts — quarter of a /24

Full reference →
Total IPs 64
Usable Hosts 62
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.192
Wildcard Mask 0.0.0.63

Typical Uses

  • →Cloud subnet per tier (web, app, db)
  • →Small department or team VLAN
  • →Security zone isolation

Key Differences

16×
more IPs in /22 than /26
16
/26 subnets fit inside one /22
4
bits of difference in prefix length

How 16 /26 Subnets Divide a /22

Example using 10.0.0.0/22 as the parent block.

# CIDR Network First Usable Last Usable Broadcast Hosts
1 10.0.0.0/26 10.0.0.0 10.0.0.1 10.0.0.62 10.0.0.63 62
2 10.0.0.64/26 10.0.0.64 10.0.0.65 10.0.0.126 10.0.0.127 62
3 10.0.0.128/26 10.0.0.128 10.0.0.129 10.0.0.190 10.0.0.191 62
4 10.0.0.192/26 10.0.0.192 10.0.0.193 10.0.0.254 10.0.0.255 62
5 10.0.1.0/26 10.0.1.0 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.62 10.0.1.63 62
6 10.0.1.64/26 10.0.1.64 10.0.1.65 10.0.1.126 10.0.1.127 62
7 10.0.1.128/26 10.0.1.128 10.0.1.129 10.0.1.190 10.0.1.191 62
8 10.0.1.192/26 10.0.1.192 10.0.1.193 10.0.1.254 10.0.1.255 62
9 10.0.2.0/26 10.0.2.0 10.0.2.1 10.0.2.62 10.0.2.63 62
10 10.0.2.64/26 10.0.2.64 10.0.2.65 10.0.2.126 10.0.2.127 62
11 10.0.2.128/26 10.0.2.128 10.0.2.129 10.0.2.190 10.0.2.191 62
12 10.0.2.192/26 10.0.2.192 10.0.2.193 10.0.2.254 10.0.2.255 62
13 10.0.3.0/26 10.0.3.0 10.0.3.1 10.0.3.62 10.0.3.63 62
14 10.0.3.64/26 10.0.3.64 10.0.3.65 10.0.3.126 10.0.3.127 62
15 10.0.3.128/26 10.0.3.128 10.0.3.129 10.0.3.190 10.0.3.191 62
16 10.0.3.192/26 10.0.3.192 10.0.3.193 10.0.3.254 10.0.3.255 62

FAQ

What is the difference between /22 and /26?

A /22 has 1,022 usable hosts and a /26 has 62. The subnet masks differ: /22 uses 255.255.252.0 while /26 uses 255.255.255.192. Every additional bit in the prefix halves the number of addresses — so the 4-bit gap means /22 is exactly 16× larger.

How many /26 subnets fit in a /22?

Exactly 16 /26 subnets fit perfectly inside one /22 with no wasted space. To split a /22 into /26s, just increment the last 4 bits of the network address for each new subnet.

Which should I choose?

/22 is typically used for: Medium office/application segment. /26 is better for: Cloud per-tier subnet, small VLAN. Choose the smallest prefix that comfortably fits your host count — over-allocating wastes address space, but under-allocating means painful renumbering later.

Related Comparisons

/24 vs /26 /25 vs /26 /26 vs /27 /22 vs /24