The price difference between two proxy packages with identical technical specifications usually comes down to one thing: how many people it is shared with. It may not look like a technical specification, but it directly determines your success rate.
Three Levels
As sharing increases the price falls and the risk rises. The critical question: can you accept your neighbors' behavior reflecting on you?
The Shared Reputation Problem
The reputation of an IP address is determined by the sum of all traffic leaving that address. If you are using a shared IP, you can be blocked because of someone else's behavior even if you follow every rule to the letter.
The only way to manage this risk is to reduce sharing. Correcting your own behavior does not change your neighbor's.
Comparison Table
| Criterion | Dedicated | Semi-dedicated | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of users | 1 | 2–3 | Many |
| Reputation risk | None | Low | High |
| Bandwidth | Full | Shared | Heavily shared |
| Speed stability | High | Medium | Variable |
| Price | High | Medium | Low |
| Account operations | Suitable | With caution | Not suitable |
Which One for Which Job?
Using a shared IP for account operations means tying your account's security to the behavior of people you don't know.
Cost Comparison
The price gap may look large, but on a "cost per successful request" basis dedicated usually comes out ahead: the failure rate on a shared IP is far higher.
Make the comparison not on the monthly fee but on cost per successful request . A cheap package running at a 40% success rate can cost more than an expensive one running at 95%.
Sharing in Residential Pools
In residential pools the notion of "dedicated" works differently: in the gateway model the exit IP is picked from the pool, and another customer may be using that same IP at that moment. Some providers offer "dedicated residential" — meaning specific IPs are allocated to you, but that product is closer to a static ISP proxy.
For static and allocated solutions, see ISP proxy page.
Questions to Ask When Buying
- How many users is this IP shared with? Is that number committed to in writing?
- Are the other customers using the same IP restricted in what they may use it for?
- If the IP gets burned, is it replaced, and is there an extra charge?
- Which target sites is it prohibited on?
- How do you intervene when abuse is detected?
Summary
The level of sharing is one of the biggest variables in a proxy's price, and it translates directly into reputation risk. For account operations and identity-bearing scenarios dedicated is mandatory; for regular data collection semi-dedicated strikes a good balance; at the learning and testing stage, shared or free addresses are enough. Making the comparison on cost per successful request rather than monthly price leads you to the right decision.