![\"how](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sharedproxies-howitworks-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow Do Shared Proxies Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If a proxy server<\/a> is an intermediary you connect to in order to borrow its IP and geolocation, then a shared proxy is a server that multiple people at once connect to. Any traffic from those connected is rerouted through the proxy, which queues and forwards the traffic on to the internet. The server then receives the responses and forwards those to the right user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Via connection multiplexing, the server is able to juggle the simultaneous requests, keeping users\u2019 concurrent sessions separate. This only became possible following the introduction of HTTP\/2, which introduced multiplexing to HTTP. It allowed multiple requests and responses to be made over the same TCP connection. Each session is tagged with identifiers so the server can sort out whose traffic is whose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shared proxies aren\u2019t limited to HTTP proxies<\/a>. SOCKS5 proxies<\/a> support multiplexing too, allowing multiple types of traffic (TCP, UDP, etc.) to pass through the same connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing it this way is more resource efficient. It cuts down on latency compared to simply processing each request and response in sequence, avoiding having to constantly open and close connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most proxy providers\u2019 pricing structure consists of charging users for access to their impressively large shared proxy network. These proxy pools will have IPs numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands. By placing reverse proxies between the user and the shared proxies, these proxy services are able to more efficiently allocate resources as needed, ensuring no one server gets overloaded. This lets the whole system be scaled up and down and for traffic to be redirected if a shared server fails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside offering access to a large pool of IP addresses, individual proxies can rotate their IPs automatically as a consequence of their IP source. Mobile proxies will rotate their IPs most frequently, residential proxies next most, and datacenter proxies may rotate their IPs or be static.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In theory, shared proxies could have their efficiency boosted even further by caching frequently accessed resources, but that would necessitate not just reading the traffic being processed but also storing data linked to user activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost Effective:<\/strong> Shared proxies allow multiple users to share the proxy infrastructure otherwise allocated to a single user. This inherently brings with it cost benefits which is why shared proxies are significantly cheaper, sometimes by a factor of 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accessible:<\/strong> Shared proxies offer access to up to tens of thousands of IPs almost instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Convenient:<\/strong> Most proxy providers operate on a pay-as-you-go or pay-by-the-GB model, only charging for data used rather than access to specific proxies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The combination of a low initial investment and a large pool of proxies to access makes shared proxies an attractive option for those who prioritize above all else the price of a proxy on the one hand and diversity of IPs on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bandwidth Overload:<\/strong> Everyone who connects to a shared proxy is sharing the same resources; the server has to be able to allocate enough bandwidth and processing power to everyone. This can result in slower speeds and less reliable proxies, particularly for popular servers or locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bad Neighbors:<\/strong> By far the most common use case for proxies are web automation<\/a> and web scraping<\/a>. The internet is exceptionally unfriendly to bots at the best of times and not everyone successfully avoids the ire of websites\u2019 anti-bot measures<\/a>. This can result in IPs being flagged and placed on blacklists or blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This problem can be compounded by explicitly bad actors and malicious users capitalizing on shared proxies\u2019 accessible price. Their actions have resulted in IPs being flagged by anti-fraud measures and placed on more serious blacklists. The end result is that shared proxies can be low quality, i.e. more likely to be rate limited and blocked by websites or more likely to trigger anti-bot measures like CAPTCHAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, all the things that make shared proxies shine are also the source of their drawbacks. Their low barrier to entry and affordability can result in overburdened servers, slower speeds, and IPs with a higher likelihood of having been flagged in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shared proxies\u2019 affordable price relative to more exclusive proxies makes them a great entry point for a range of web automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lowest intensity web automation or web scraping can in theory take place from your own IP at first. You\u2019ll eventually want to secure another IP as your project scales up; if not to protect your own IP then because you\u2019ve already been blocked \u2014 ask me how I know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some websites don\u2019t have aggressive or robust anti-bot features, so a shared proxy might be all you need to start scaling up your scraping. The same might also be true for some of the more obscure social media sites, allowing you to start automating on those platforms too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a small business, you might not be able to directly compete with the multinational ecommerce platforms. However, routinely scraping your local competitors\u2019 websites for market research and price monitoring could make a shared proxy useful to you without the higher price point of a dedicated proxy<\/a>. They\u2019re also useful when you need a proxy in a specific country (e.g. to access geo-restricted content) and can sacrifice quality for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve tried a shared proxy and you want more \u2014 faster speeds, higher quality proxies, more control, etc. What are your options? If a shared proxy is one extreme of the spectrum, where many people share a proxy, dedicated proxies or private proxies are on the other end of the spectrum. This is a proxy you have sole access to and greater control over. Let\u2019s discuss alternatives to a shared proxy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Private Proxies:<\/strong> Also known as dedicated proxies, private proxies are to which a user has exclusive access. They offer enhanced anonymity as there is no overlap of IPs with other users. This also reduces the risk of being rate limited or banned. By not having to share a proxy server\u2019s resources with other users, a dedicated proxy offers faster speeds, more stable connections, and is generally better suited to more intense automation. They are significantly more expensive than their shared counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Semi-Dedicated Proxies:<\/strong> These proxies are a compromise between the performance of a private proxy and the affordability of a shared one. By limiting the number of users using the proxy to only a few you\u2019re able to mitigate some of the most impactful drawbacks of shared servers while maintaining the advantages of dedicated ones as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Pros](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sharedproxies-benefitsanddrawbacks-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat Are the Pros and Cons of Shared Proxies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advantages of Shared Proxies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Disadvantages of Shared Proxies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"shared](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/sharedproxies-whentouse-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen Should You Use a Shared Proxy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shared Proxy Alternatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n