Rotating vs sticky sessions

Rotating proxies give you a new IP for every request. Sticky sessions keep one IP for a while. Most residential and mobile plans let you choose for each request, usually through the username you connect with.

Rotating

The provider's gateway picks a different exit IP for each new connection or request. Use it for crawling many pages that don't depend on each other: each request looks like a different visitor, and limits per IP stop mattering.

Sticky

You keep the same exit IP for a number of minutes, so the website sees one visitor. Use it for anything that spans several requests: logging in, adding to a cart, paging through search results, passing a challenge and then loading the page.

You usually ask for a sticky session by adding a session ID to the proxy username, and change the ID when you want a new IP. Each provider spells it differently, so check its docs. A typical example:

http://USER-session-a1b2c3:PASS@gate.example.com:7000

Two things end a session: the provider's time limit, and the device behind the IP. A residential IP is someone's phone or router, and it can go offline before the limit. Have your code notice when the IP changes and start the flow again.

How long can you keep an IP?

41 of the 58 residential providers we track state how long a sticky session can last:

Longer isn't automatically better: a long session on a residential IP depends on one household's connection staying up. Each provider's limit is on its page here, under sticky sessions.

When you need the same IP for days

Use ISP or datacenter proxies. They're static: the address stays yours for the whole rental, which suits logged-in accounts and IP allow-lists.

Which to use

The proxy code generator writes the connection code for curl, Python, Node.js, Playwright and more once you paste your proxy.