Static vs rotating proxies: which one your workload needs
Use a static proxy when one IP must persist for days or be recognized by a system you control, and a rotating proxy when each request stands on its own. Sticky sessions sit in between: a rotating network that holds one exit IP for a lifetime you set.
- Category
- Fundamentals
- Published
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- 6 min
Static vs rotating proxies differ in one thing that shapes everything else: how long you keep an IP address. A static proxy gives you a fixed address that stays yours for as long as you pay for it. A rotating proxy sends your requests to a gateway that picks the exit IP for you. Between the two sits the sticky session: a rotating network, but with one exit IP held for a lifetime you choose.
Static vs rotating proxies at a glance
| Attribute | Static IP | Rotating | Sticky session |
|---|---|---|---|
| IP lifetime | As long as you keep paying for it | Not pinned: the gateway assigns exit IPs | The TTL you set, while that exit IP stays available |
| How you get it | A list of addresses, one host:port:user:pass line each | One gateway host and port, no session parameters | The same gateway, plus -session- and -ttl- in the username |
| Usual billing | Per IP, per billing period | Per GB of traffic | Per GB of traffic |
| Typical workloads | Systems that recognize your source IP; long-running authorized sessions | Independent fetches of public pages | Multi-step flows, test runs and agent tasks |
Static proxies: one IP for as long as you keep it
Static proxies are usually ISP or datacenter IPs that a provider assigns to you. You connect to each address directly, and it doesn't change until you give it up. That predictability is the point: a firewall rule, a partner's access list or a monitoring baseline can refer to a known address.
On netdash, static ISP proxies and datacenter proxies are delivered as a host:port:user:pass list with their own credentials. Each IP stays assigned to you for as long as the subscription renews, and you're billed per IP every 30 days. Self-serve checkout for both is paused, so ask sales about ISP or datacenter availability.
Rotating proxies: the gateway picks the exit IP
With a rotating proxy you connect to one gateway and leave out the session parameters. The gateway assigns exit IPs for you, so you don't maintain a list of addresses, and the exit IP isn't pinned to your client.
netdash doesn't promise a new IP for every request. One protocol detail matters here: requests sent through one HTTPS tunnel share that tunnel's exit IP, and most HTTP clients keep connections open to reuse them. If consecutive requests must share an exit IP, use a sticky session rather than relying on how your client reuses connections.
# Username: USERNAME-cc-US (no session parameters)
curl --max-time 30 -x "http://USERNAME-cc-US:PASSWORD@scale-us.netdash.io:2000" \
"https://api.ipify.org?format=json"The proxy URL starts with http:// even though the website is HTTPS: the connection to the proxy is plain HTTP, and the website's TLS runs inside a CONNECT tunnel. Every host, port and username option is in the proxy format reference.
Sticky sessions sit in between
A sticky session keeps one exit IP across many requests and connections. Add -session- with an ID made of letters and digits, and -ttl- with a lifetime in minutes. Reusing the same session ID keeps the same exit IP for the TTL while that IP stays available; a new ID starts a new session. The dashboard offers presets of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 12 hours and 7 days.
# Username: USERNAME-cc-US-session-a1b2c3d4-ttl-30
curl --max-time 30 -x "http://USERNAME-cc-US-session-a1b2c3d4-ttl-30:PASSWORD@scale-us.netdash.io:2000" \
"https://api.ipify.org?format=json"Run it twice: both responses show the same exit IP while the session lasts and that IP stays available. The sticky session syntax page covers session IDs, lifetimes and presets in detail.
Workloads compared
| Workload | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Signing in and moving through several pages, on a site you're authorized to use | Sticky session | The flow expects one client from start to finish |
| Monitoring public pages on a schedule | Rotating | Each fetch stands alone, so there's nothing to keep between requests |
| Reaching your own staging server that only accepts known addresses | Static IP, through sales | A firewall rule needs an address that doesn't change |
| A localization QA run across a set of pages | One sticky session per run | Each run sees one consistent view; the next run starts fresh |
| An AI agent completing one task | One sticky session per task | Every page the task visits comes from one exit IP |
| Collecting public prices from many pages | Rotating, at a pace the site can handle | The fetches are independent, and rotation doesn't change a site's rate limits |
To see which netdash network fits each of these, compare proxy types.
Cost models
Rotating and sticky traffic on residential and mobile networks is usually billed per GB, so your cost follows the traffic you transfer: heavy pages and media cost more than small JSON responses. Static IPs are usually billed per IP per period, so your cost follows how many addresses you hold and for how long, not how much you send through them.
On netdash, residential and mobile GB are one-time purchases with graduated pricing per order, and purchased GB never expire. ISP and datacenter IPs are billed per IP every 30 days, with no per-GB charge. Current prices are on the residential proxies and ISP proxies pages.
Common mistakes
- Rotating for a signed-in flow. Anything that must stay one client from start to finish needs a sticky session.
- One session ID shared by parallel workers. Workers that share a session ID share the exit IP. Give each worker that needs its own IP its own ID.
- Hyphens in session IDs. The username uses hyphens as separators, so use letters and digits only. The dashboard generates 8 lowercase characters.
- Leaving out
-ttl-. Always pair-session-with-ttl-and a lifetime in minutes. - Treating a sticky IP as permanent. A session keeps its exit IP only while that IP stays available, so long jobs should be able to start a new session ID and continue.
- Writing
UK. Country codes are ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, so the United Kingdom isGB.
Responsible use
Whichever session type you use
Respect robots.txt and each site's terms, keep request rates reasonable and back off when a site slows you down, don't collect personal data without a lawful basis, and don't access content behind logins or paywalls without authorization. netdash doesn't solve CAPTCHAs or other challenges, and your code shouldn't try to get past them: if a site rate-limits or challenges your requests, slow down, check its terms, or use its official API. Read how we expect netdash to be used.
FAQ
netdash doesn't promise that. Rotating means the exit IP isn't pinned: the gateway assigns it. Requests sent through one HTTPS tunnel share that tunnel's exit IP, so if consecutive requests must share an IP, use a sticky session rather than relying on connection behavior.
You set the lifetime in minutes with -ttl-. The dashboard offers presets of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 12 hours and 7 days. A session keeps its exit IP only while that IP stays available, so plan for starting a new one.
Static residential IPs are usually sold as ISP proxies. netdash ISP (static residential) proxies are billed per IP every 30 days. Self-serve checkout is paused, so contact sales for availability.
Related
- Sticky and rotating sessions
Session IDs, TTL in minutes, dashboard presets and when to rotate instead.
- ISP vs residential proxies
Static ISP IPs and rotating residential IPs: assignment, billing and workloads.
- Choosing a rotating proxy provider
A 2026 checklist for pricing, sessions, targeting, documentation and terms.
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