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IP transit
Backbone-scale internet capacity for data centers, hosting and content, quoted across tier-one and regional networks, with blended, burstable and flat-rate pricing compared on the same footing.
The short answer
Reviewed September 2026
IP transit is wholesale internet connectivity purchased at a data center or network edge, typically at 1 to 400 Gbps port speeds and billed per megabit on 95th-percentile usage or at a flat rate. Unlike dedicated internet for an office, transit is engineered for networks that route their own IP space and need full routing tables from one or more upstream providers.
Typical port speeds
1 Gbps – 400 Gbps
Typical pricing
$0.10 – $1.00 per Mbps per month, by volume and market
Install interval
Days in a carrier-neutral data center · weeks on a private route
Billing
95th-percentile burstable or flat-rate commit
What it is
Transit providers carry your traffic to the rest of the internet and hand you a full BGP routing table. You bring your own ASN and IP space, connect at a colocation facility or via a private circuit, and pay by committed megabits with the option to burst. Tier-one networks (AT&T, Lumen, Verizon, Zayo, Cogent) reach everyone without paying anyone; regional and blended providers mix several upstreams for price or performance.
When it is the right choice
Data centers, hosting and SaaS companies, content and media distributors, ISPs and any organization that runs its own routing. If you have an ASN, or plan to, you buy transit. If you have an office that needs internet, you buy dedicated internet instead.
What we compare
Price per megabit at your commit level, burst overage rate, port fees and cross-connect costs, peering breadth and route quality to your users, SLA on availability and packet loss, and contract flexibility to grow the commit. Two quotes at the same headline price can differ by thousands a month once ports and cross-connects are added.
Carriers we quote
Cogent, Lumen, Zayo, AT&T, Verizon, Megaport for cloud and exchange connectivity, and regional backbones such as FiberLight and Uniti where the route makes sense.
See all carriers
Typical pricing
What IP transit usually costs
IP transit is priced per committed megabit, on a 95th-percentile or flat-rate basis, so published benchmarks are thin and most carriers quote it case by case. As a reference point, a 10 Gbps dedicated port typically runs $1,200–$2,900 a month with a market average near $2,000, and transit delivered inside a carrier-neutral data center usually prices below dedicated internet on the same port because there is no last-mile circuit to pay for. Port size, commit level, the number of upstream networks and whether you bring your own IP space and ASN all move the per-megabit rate.
| Reference | Typical monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Gbps dedicated port | $1,200 – $2,900 | market average ≈ $2,000 |
| Transit in a data center | Below the port rate above | no last-mile circuit |
| 100 G / 400 G | Case by case | commit and 95th-percentile terms drive it |
Industry benchmark ranges for US quotes on 36-month terms, 2025–2026. Reviewed September 2026. Your address, term and whether a carrier is already in the building move the number, and that is exactly what we quote.
Learn the lingo
IP Transit terms, explained plainly.
The words carriers use in quotes and contracts, and what they mean for your bill. Ask us anything we missed.
What is 95th-percentile billing?
The carrier samples your traffic every five minutes, discards the top 5% of samples for the month, and bills the highest remaining value. It lets you burst above your commit for short periods without paying for peaks. Most transit is billed this way against a minimum commit.
What is an ASN?
An Autonomous System Number: a registered identifier for a network that runs its own BGP routing. You need an ASN and your own IP addresses to buy transit and announce them to multiple providers. ARIN issues both in North America.
What is the difference between transit and peering?
Transit is paid connectivity to the whole internet. Peering is a direct, usually free exchange of traffic between two networks, often at an internet exchange. Large networks peer where they can and buy transit for everything else.
What is a tier-one network?
A network that reaches every other network on the internet through peering alone, without buying transit. AT&T, Lumen, Verizon, Zayo and Cogent are tier-one in North America. Buying from a tier-one gives you the fewest hops to most destinations; blended providers can still win on price or specific routes.
What is blended bandwidth?
Internet capacity from a provider that itself buys from several upstream carriers and mixes them behind one port. It can be cheaper and more resilient than a single tier-one, and route quality depends on the blend.
What is a cross-connect?
A physical cable run inside a data center between your cage and the carrier’s equipment, billed monthly by the facility. Cross-connect fees vary widely and are part of the true cost of a transit circuit.
Do I need transit or dedicated internet?
If you operate an office and just need internet, you need dedicated internet. If you operate a network (you have or want an ASN, host services for the public, or need full routing tables and multi-homing), you need transit.