First-time residential proxy buying order: exit type, rotating vs static, shared vs dedicated, GB vs IP, regions and payment. Confirm prices in the console. Not for mainland China.
Who this is for
If you are buying residential proxies for the first time—cross-border ops, public data checks, ad or localization QA—you usually hit four questions at once: residential or not, rotating or static, shared or dedicated, billed by GB or by IP. This page gives a fixed decision order and one master table, then deep-links to the dedicated guides. It does not replace Rotating vs static, Shared vs dedicated, or GB vs IP billing.
Lawful, authorized use only. Not supported for use in mainland China. Prices and inventory follow the console; list prices below are reading pointers only.
Decision order (five steps)
- Exit type: residential or datacenter? → Residential vs datacenter
- Session rhythm: rotating, short sticky, or term-long static? → Rotating vs static, Sticky vs static
- Static split (if static): shared or dedicated? → Shared vs dedicated static
- Bill unit: per GB or per IP×month? → Billing guide
- Region and payment: confirm target country on Locations; payment notes on Pricing
Skipping steps usually means either overpaying for residential when datacenter would have been enough, or forcing a GB pool to act like a term-long store identity.
Step 1: Residential or datacenter?
Ask whether the target cares about a residential ISP origin, or a hosting range is acceptable.
| Signal | Lean |
|---|---|
| Multi-region public checks that benefit from residential-looking origin | Residential |
| Authorized store admin needing a relatively fixed residential identity for the term | Residential · static |
| Origin class not sensitive; throughput/cost first and the target clearly allows datacenter | Datacenter may suffice (no datacenter SKU on this site) |
This site focuses on residential (rotating / static). Boundaries: Residential vs datacenter. Do not look for a fictional datacenter plan here.
Step 2: Rotating, sticky, or static?
After you choose residential, decide how long the same exit must stay:
| Need | Lean | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Many exits; public price / ad / SERP sampling | Rotating residential | Billed by GB; exits can rotate |
| One short flow (minutes) needs the same exit | Rotating + sticky session | Sticky ≠ term-long static; see Sticky vs static |
| Relatively fixed exit for the subscription term | Static residential | Billed by IP × month |
Full task table: Rotating vs static residential. Do not buy “more sticky sessions” as a substitute for a true static IP.
Step 3: Shared or dedicated static?
Only after you know you need static.
| Dimension | Shared static | Dedicated static |
|---|---|---|
| List-price intuition | about $1.50 / IP / month | about $5 / IP / month |
| Typical lens | Cost-sensitive; accept shared-exit risk boundaries | Stronger isolation; often evaluated in multi-store planning |
| Next | Shared vs dedicated + Static product | Same |
Figures are list pointers; role price and charges follow the console. Multi-store planning is not “one dedicated IP and done”—read isolation and compliance in the dedicated guide.
Step 4: Per GB or per IP?
| Product rhythm | Common bill | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Rotating (incl. sticky) | Per GB | Traffic is estimable; exits must rotate or stick briefly |
| Static | Per IP × month | You care about fixed exit count more than GB burned |
Estimation framework and 100 TB bundle notes: GB vs IP. Published rotating about $0.40/GB; 100 TB full bundle about $0.20/GB (not splittable; on the order of ~$20,000—confirm in console).
Master selection table
| Task | Exit | Rhythm | Bill intuition | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized store admin; same exit for the term | Residential | Static (then shared/dedicated) | IP×month | Static · zt-02 |
| Public product/competitor price multi-region checks | Residential | Rotating | GB | Rotating · Price monitoring |
| Ecommerce: research rotating, store static | Residential | Split by task | Mixed | Ecommerce |
| Ad creative / landing multi-region previews | Residential | Rotating; sticky for one preview | GB | Ad verification |
| Localization language / checkout checks | Residential | Rotating by region; sticky for short flows | GB | Localization testing |
| SEO / regional SERP monitoring | Residential | Rotating | GB | SEO monitoring |
| Still unsure residential vs datacenter | — | — | — | zt-14 |
| Still unsure rotating vs static | Residential | — | — | zt-01 |
No success-rate, SLA, or inventory promise.
Regions, inventory, and payment
- Regions: Start from Locations (US / JP / SG / UK deep pages, etc.), then confirm live inventory in the console—lists change.
- Payment: Public notes include USDT / USDC; Visa / Mastercard are applying / pending—do not treat card brands as live. Details: Pricing + console.
- Protocols: HTTP / SOCKS5 fields come from the console; see HTTP/SOCKS5 setup and Docs EN quickstart.
How to read price (pointers, not a quote)
| Item | List intuition |
|---|---|
| Rotating residential | about $0.40 / GB |
| 100 TB rotating bundle | about $0.20 / GB (not splittable) |
| Static shared | about $1.50 / IP / month |
| Static dedicated | about $5 / IP / month |
See Pricing; console wins. Do not paste list numbers into a contract without rechecking role price.
Pre-order checklist
- Confirmed residential (otherwise evaluate a datacenter vendor—zt-14).
- Confirmed rotating / sticky / static (zt-01, zt-08).
- If static: confirmed shared or dedicated (zt-02).
- Bill unit matches how you budget (zt-03).
- Target region confirmable on Locations + console.
- Lawful, authorized use; not mainland China.
- Smoke-test small, then scale (quickstart).
FAQ
Which page should I open first when buying residential proxies?
Walk the five steps on this page, then open each deep guide as needed. After rhythm is clear, open rotating or static and confirm on Pricing + console.
Can I mix rotating and static?
Yes—split by task: e.g. research on rotating (GB), authorized store identity on static (IP). Do not expect one “universal plan” to optimize both. Scene split: Ecommerce.
Is a sticky session the same as a static IP?
No. Sticky is a short same-exit window on rotating; static is a relatively fixed IP for the term. See Sticky session vs static IP.
Shared static vs dedicated static—what differs?
Isolation and list-price intuition differ (about $1.50 vs $5 per IP month; console is source of truth). Details: Shared vs dedicated.
How do I estimate cost for GB vs IP?
Ask whether the bottleneck is traffic or fixed exit count. Framework: GB vs IP.
Can I use this in mainland China?
No. All proxy services on this website are not supported for use in mainland China.
Can I pay with a credit card?
Public notes include crypto (e.g. USDT/USDC). Visa / Mastercard are applying / pending—follow live Pricing + console copy; do not treat cards as promised live.
Where are inventory and price of record?
Regions/inventory: Locations + console. List prices: Pricing; role price and charges follow the console.
Next steps
- Lock residential × rhythm × (if static) shared/dedicated × bill unit.
- Open rotating / static and Pricing.
- For scene context: Ecommerce, Price monitoring, and siblings.
- Connect via Docs EN quickstart at small volume.
Finish the checklist → then open Pricing →
Unsure? On-site support or [email protected]. Exit type and session rhythm first; package numbers second.