Residential proxy pricing in 2026: what is fair and what is hidden

Per-GB, per-IP, per-port — the pricing models are not comparable. Here is how to convert them into a cost per usable address.

Four pricing models, one question

Pools are sold as: per GB, per IP per month, per port, or per request. None of them tell you the thing that matters: cost per usable address-day.

Convert everything to that number

Example, static residential:

• Offer A: $2.5 per IP per month → $0.083 per address-day.
• Offer B: $8 per 10 GB, and one store uses ~3 GB/month → $2.4 per month, but the address is shared.

If the cheap per-GB pool is shared and rotates, it is not the same product as a dedicated address — even if the monthly number looks smaller.

What is usually hidden

1. Replacement costs — a flagged address may not be replaced for free.
2. Shared vs dedicated — “static” often means “stable for you, shared with others”.
3. Bandwidth caps — a “cheap” plan that throttles after 2 GB.
4. Country targeting fees — city targeting is usually fictional.
5. Minimum commitment — quarterly or annual lock-in with no exit.

A sanity check for 2026

• Dedicated static residential: roughly $2–5 per IP per month.
• Rotating residential: roughly $3–8 per GB.
• Mobile: $15–40 per GB, and more for dedicated.

If a “residential” offer is far below these, ask the eight questions from our buying guide — and run the 20-address test.

The cost that dominates

For a store, the dominant cost is not the proxy — it is a burned account. Paying $3 instead of $2 per IP to get a genuinely dedicated address is almost always the better trade.

See also: static vs rotating pools.