How splitting a network works
Every extra bit in the prefix cuts a network in half. A /22 holds 1,024 addresses; as /23s it is two networks of 512, as /24s four of 256, as /26s sixteen of 64. The subnets sit side by side with no gaps: each one starts where the previous one ended, on a multiple of its own size. That alignment is what makes the plan easy to route — the original /22 still describes all of them in one line.
Count
Going from /a to /b gives 2b−a subnets. /16 to /24 is 2⁸ = 256.
Hosts
Each subnet loses two addresses: the network address and the broadcast address.
/31 and /32
A /31 is a point-to-point link with two usable addresses (RFC 3021); a /32 is a single host.
Cloud networks
AWS, Azure and Google Cloud reserve a few extra addresses in every subnet, so plan a size up.
Picking a subnet size
Size each subnet for what it will hold in a few years, not today, and leave unassigned blocks between the ones you use so that a subnet can grow into its neighbour. Equal-sized subnets, as this tool produces, keep the plan simple and summarisable. When sizes differ a lot — a /30 link next to a /22 of workstations — split in stages: carve the big blocks first, then split one of them again for the small ones. That technique is called variable-length subnet masking, and it is just this operation applied more than once.
Frequently asked questions
How many /24 subnets are in a /16?
256. The prefix grows by 8 bits, and 2⁸ = 256. A /20 contains 16, and a /22 contains 4.
Why are there two fewer usable hosts than addresses?
The first address of a subnet identifies the network itself and the last is the broadcast address, so neither can be given to a host. A /24 has 256 addresses and 254 usable hosts.
Can I split a network into subnets of different sizes?
Yes — split it into large pieces first, then run one of those pieces through the tool again with a longer prefix. This is variable-length subnet masking (VLSM).
Is there a limit on how many subnets are listed?
The table shows the first 256 and tells you the total and the last one. The counts above the table are always exact.