Static vs rotating proxies: which one fits your job?
Short answer
A static proxy gives you the same IP address for as long as you rent it, while a rotating proxy draws addresses from a pool and can change the IP on every request. Choose static when a service has to recognise one address over days or weeks, such as an IP allowlist. Choose rotating when you need many addresses, short sessions or billing by bandwidth.
Static vs rotating proxies at a glance
| Feature | Static proxy | Rotating proxy |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Specific IP addresses reserved for a rental period | Access to a pool of IPs through a gateway |
| How long one IP lasts | The whole rental | One request, or a sticky session |
| Number of IPs | As many as you rent | Drawn from the pool as you send requests |
| Reserved for you | Yes, for the rental (dedicated mobile can also be shared) | No: a pooled product, not a fixed IP |
| Billing at BuyProxy | Per IP and per period, from 1 week to 12 months | Per GB of traffic; pay-as-you-go GB never expire |
| Renewal at BuyProxy | No auto-renewal: buy a new rental when it ends | Pay as you go: buy more GB when you need it |
| Typical uses | Allowlists, long-lived logins, dashboards checked from one place | Data collection across many pages, price and ad checks by location |
When to use each
Use static proxies when
- A service or firewall allowlists your IP addresses
- A login or session should keep one address for days
- You check dashboards or storefronts from one fixed location
- You want a known set of IPs assigned to specific tools or tasks
Use rotating proxies when
- You collect public data across many pages
- You check prices, ads and content in many locations
- Your traffic comes in bursts and you don't know how many IPs you need
- A flow needs one IP only while it runs (turn on a sticky session)
What static and rotating mean
A static proxy is one IP address, or a set of them, reserved for you for a rental period. Nothing changes until the rental ends, so every site you reach through it sees the same address.
A rotating proxy is a gateway to a pool. Each request can leave from a different IP, or you can turn on a sticky session to hold one IP for a while. You don't pick individual addresses, and you usually pay for bandwidth rather than per IP.
Static residential is not static ISP
Many providers sell static ISP proxies as "static residential". At BuyProxy they are different products. A static ISP proxy is an ISP-registered IP hosted on datacenter servers, and you can rent one now. A static residential proxy is a fixed IP on a real home connection, and it is coming soon.
Until static residential launches, a sticky session on Premium Residential is the closest residential option: it holds one residential IP for the length you set, from 3 minutes to 24 hours. The ISP vs residential guide explains the difference in more detail.
Static is not sticky
A sticky session borrows an IP from a rotating pool for minutes or hours, then lets it go. A static IP is yours for the whole rental. If a flow needs one address only while it runs, a sticky session is enough; if a service has to recognise your address next week, rent a static IP. See sticky vs rotating proxies for session lengths.
Per IP or per GB
A static rental is priced per IP and per period, so you know the cost up front. Per-GB billing costs nothing while you aren't sending traffic and grows with it, which suits jobs that need many IPs or come in bursts. Our guide to per-IP vs per-GB pricing works through examples.
Static and rotating proxies at BuyProxy
Rentals are paid once from your wallet with no auto-renewal. Per-GB products are bought from the same wallet, and GB bought from it never expire. Live prices are on each product page.
Static and dedicated IPs (rentals)
- Static ISP ProxiesDedicated ISP-registered IPs that stay the same for the whole rental. Rented per IP for 1 week to 12 months, paid once from your wallet, with no auto-renewal.
- Dedicated IPv4 ProxiesPrivate datacenter IPv4 addresses reserved for you for the rental period, from 1 week to 12 months.
- Dedicated IPv6 ProxiesPrivate IPv6 addresses from 10 IPs per order, for targets that support IPv6.
- Dedicated Mobile ProxiesMobile carrier IPs by country and carrier, dedicated or shared, with the rotation you choose.
Rotating pools (per GB)
- Core ResidentialResidential IPs in 195+ countries with country targeting. Sticky is on or off, usually around 10 minutes.
- Premium ResidentialState, city and ASN targeting, and sticky sessions from 3 minutes to 24 hours.
- ISP RotatingRotating ISP-registered IPs on datacenter infrastructure. Currently exits in the US.
- Mobile ProxiesMobile carrier IPs with country targeting in 100+ countries.
- Datacenter IPv4Datacenter IPv4 billed per GB with no per-IP fee. Currently exits in the US.
- IPv6 ProxiesIPv6 datacenter proxies at our lowest per-GB rate, for targets that accept IPv6. Currently exits in the US.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between static and rotating proxies?
A static proxy is a specific IP you rent, and it stays the same for the whole rental. A rotating proxy draws IPs from a pool and can change the address on every request, or hold one for a sticky session.
Is a static proxy the same as a static residential proxy?
Not always. Many providers call static ISP proxies "static residential". At BuyProxy, a static ISP proxy is an ISP-registered IP hosted in a datacenter, available now, and static residential means a fixed IP on a real home connection, which is coming soon.
Are static proxies shared with other customers?
Static ISP, dedicated IPv4 and dedicated IPv6 IPs are rented to one customer at a time for the period you pay for. Dedicated mobile proxies come in two kinds: dedicated to you, or shared with other customers at a lower price.
How long can I rent a static proxy?
From 1 week to 12 months: 1 or 2 weeks, or 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. You pay once from your wallet and the rental doesn't renew automatically.
Do rotating proxies change IP on every request?
By default they can. If you need one IP for a short flow, turn on a sticky session when you generate the line: around 10 minutes on Core Residential, or a length you set from 3 minutes to 24 hours on Premium Residential.
