Top 10 Proxy Terms Everyone Should Know (Countdown)

Top 10 Proxy Terms Everyone Should Know illustration: the ten words that come up in every proxy conversation, from ASN to sticky session, each explained in two sentences with a link to the full answer 3jdej38j4

The countdown

You can buy proxies without speaking the language, but you will overpay. Learn these ten terms and every provider's pricing page suddenly makes sense.

10. ASN

The number that identifies which network owns an IP address. Websites use it to tell home internet from datacenters. What is an ASN?

And now, the countdown (animated GIF) 3jdej38j4 — And now, the countdown. GIF via GIPHY

9. Subnet

A block of neighbouring IP addresses. Spread your proxies across many subnets so one ban does not take out all of them. What is a subnet?

8. Per-GB pricing

Paying for the data you send through the proxy instead of per IP. Standard for residential proxies. Per-GB pricing explained

7. Threads

How many requests you can run at the same moment. Most people need fewer than they buy. What are proxy threads?

Proxy tip: If you want to try these ideas on a real network, Geonode sells pay-as-you-go residential bandwidth that doesn't expire, so a small balance is enough to experiment with rotation, sticky sessions and geo-targeting. See our Geonode proxies guide for how its products fit together.

6. Gateway

The single host and port you connect to while the provider rotates IPs behind it. What is a proxy gateway?

Learning the lingo, one term at a time (animated GIF) 3jdej38j4 — Learning the lingo, one term at a time. GIF via Tenor

5. Sticky session

Keeping the same IP for a set time so logins and carts work. What is a sticky session?

4. Rotation

Getting a new IP on every request or every few minutes. What is a rotating proxy?

3. Geo-targeting

Choosing the country, city or carrier your IP comes from. What is geo-targeting?

Budget tip: If you want a cheap proxy to try this with, Webshare has a free plan with 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB of bandwidth a month, no card required. Paid lists let you pick proxy count, bandwidth and location. See Webshare's free proxy plan.

2. Residential IP

An address an ISP assigns to a home connection. The most trusted kind after mobile. What is a residential IP?

1. Proxy

Something that acts on your behalf. Online, a server that fetches the web for you with its own IP. What does proxy mean?

Residential tip: Rayobyte is worth testing when you need precise targeting: its residential proxies can be pinned to a country, state, city, ZIP code or ASN, with sticky sessions from 1 to 120 minutes. More in choosing the right Rayobyte product.

Learn more

Sources and further reading

Independent references that back up the points above, from standards bodies, governments, universities and non-profits. They open in a new tab.

Glossary: Proxy (NIST CSRC): NIST's definition of a proxy as an intermediary acting on behalf of a client.
Number Resources (IANA): How IANA hands IP address blocks to the regional internet registries.
Proxy servers and tunneling (MDN Web Docs (Mozilla)): Mozilla's developer explainer on forward proxies, reverse proxies and tunneling.
Proxy server (Wikipedia): A broad encyclopedia overview of proxy servers and their history.
RFC 6265: HTTP State Management Mechanism (Cookies) (IETF / RFC Editor): The cookie standard, which ties a session together regardless of IP.

Affiliate disclosure: Team of Monkeys is an affiliate of Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. Links and banners marked as sponsored, and links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte in the text, use our referral links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our explanations and comparisons are written to be useful whichever provider you choose.

Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.