Datacenter proxies: how they work
Updated 2 min read
A datacenter proxy is a static server address from a hosting network. It is the plainest proxy we sell, the cheapest, and often all a job needs. You rent each IP for a fixed term.
Who it is for
- The site loads fine from a server, and you need to appear in another location.
- You are learning how proxies work and want something inexpensive to try.
- You call public APIs, docs or forums at a steady pace and want to spread the load over a few addresses.
- You want to see your own site or shop the way visitors in another country see it.
Many websites can tell an address belongs to a hosting company, because those ranges are public. Plenty of sites do not mind. If you get captchas, empty pages or instant blocks, the site is filtering hosting networks, and more datacenter IPs will not fix it. Residential proxies are made for such sites, and they are coming soon. Until then, an ISP IP, registered to a consumer internet provider, is the closest choice we sell. See Which proxy should you buy?.
What you choose when you order
- Location: country, region and city. There is no provider choice on this line.
- Plan: shared, dedicated or premium. A shared IP is used by up to 3 customers. Dedicated and premium IPs are kept for you alone. Plans also differ in how much bandwidth they include.
- Term: 1, 2, 3 or 12 months. Longer terms cost less per month.
- Quantity: how many IPs. The price per IP goes down as one order gets bigger.
The order form shows the total before you pay. Prices are on the datacenter pricing page.
How it behaves
- No rotation. One fixed IP for the term.
- Protocol: HTTP or SOCKS5. You can change it on the proxy's page. See Using SOCKS5 instead of HTTP.
- Any client works that can use an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy: curl, Python requests, Node and most scraping tools.
- When the term ends, the service stops unless you renew it first. See Renewing ISP and datacenter IPs.