- You pay for traffic when you need many different addresses and your workload is uneven
- You pay for an address when you need the same IP constantly and for a long time
- With a subscription, the unused balance usually expires at the end of the period
- Count what you will actually use in a month, not the price per unit
Two services can sell the same proxies and still charge for them in completely different ways. One bills for every gigabyte, another for an address per month, a third for a subscription with a traffic package. The model affects not only the final amount but also how much you pay for idle time.
Four ways to count the money
| Model | What you pay for | What happens to the unused part |
|---|---|---|
| Per traffic | The gigabytes that passed through the proxy | Depends on the service: it stays or expires |
| Per IP | A specific address for a week or a month | The term runs even if the address sits idle |
| Per port | A connection point for a term | Unused days are not refunded |
| Subscription | A month of access with a gigabyte limit | The balance is usually reset at the end of the period |
Paying for traffic
You buy a volume, say 20 or 100 GB, and get access to the whole address pool at once. How many addresses you use does not matter: only the transferred volume is counted. The address can change on every request or hold for several minutes.
When it fits: data collection, price monitoring, rank tracking, checking ads in different countries, anything that needs hundreds or thousands of different IPs. And any uneven work: an active week, then a pause.
What to look at: whether the purchased gigabytes have an expiry date. If a package expires after 30 days, you pay not only for traffic but also for the calendar.
Paying per IP
You rent one specific address for a term. It does not change between requests and sessions and is assigned to you for that time. Traffic through such an address is usually not counted.
When it fits: work that runs from one account for weeks, services that allow access only from a list of approved addresses, large volumes of data through a single address.
What to look at: the term runs out whether or not you used the address. And the count: ten accounts mean ten addresses and ten payments.
Paying per port and subscriptions
A port is a connection point behind which addresses can change. You pay for the port itself for a term, not for volume. A subscription is simpler: a fixed amount per month and a gigabyte limit inside it.
Both models share one drawback: you pay for time. If there was little work this month, the money for the unused part is not refunded. The spend is predictable, though, which suits those whose workload is the same from month to month.
How to work out which costs less
- Estimate your monthly volume. How many pages you open and how much each one weighs: the traffic calculator will help.
- Count how many different addresses you need at the same time. One or two permanent ones is an argument for paying per IP. Hundreds is an argument for traffic.
- Check how even your workload is. The more pauses you have, the more time-based models cost you.
- Compare the monthly total, not the price per unit. A cheap gigabyte in a package that half expires ends up costing more than a regular one.
How it works at Prokso
Residential, mobile and datacenter proxies are paid for per gigabyte. There is no subscription and there are no automatic charges, and purchased traffic never expires: the balance stays on your plan until you use it. The price per gigabyte is the same for any volume and is listed on the pricing page.
If you are not sure which type of address your task needs, answer three questions in the proxy finder.
FAQ
Which costs less: paying per gigabyte or per IP?
It depends on the task. If you open many pages from different addresses, pay per gigabyte. If you work from one address for weeks and transfer a lot of data, pay per IP.
Does traffic expire when you pay per gigabyte?
It varies by service: in packages and subscriptions the balance is often reset. At Prokso, purchased gigabytes stay on your plan with no time limit.
Can the two models be combined?
Yes, and people often do: a permanent address for a working account and rotating traffic for data collection.
