A proxy can either give you a new IP address as you go, or keep the same one for a while. Which is better depends on whether the website needs to see one visitor or many.
Rotating
With a rotating proxy, your requests leave from different addresses: a new one on every request, or after a set time. This suits collecting lots of public pages, because no single address sends a suspicious amount of traffic.
Sticky
With a sticky session you keep the same address for a set period, or until you ask for a new one. This suits anything that happens in several steps and expects one visitor: logging in, filling a basket, paying, or working inside an account.
Which should you use?
| You are doing… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Collecting many public pages | Rotating |
| Checking prices or search results from different places | Rotating, or one session per country |
| Logging in or staying signed in | Sticky |
| A multi-step flow such as checkout | Sticky |
| Managing an account over days | A static address (an ISP proxy) |
Note: Providers offer rotation and sticky sessions in different ways, often through settings in the username or the port. Check your provider's instructions for how to ask for each, and for how long a sticky session lasts.
A sticky session that expires mid-task changes your address half way through. If the task is long, pick a longer session, or use a static address.
Try it: Proxy Type Finder — Answer one question about your project and find out which kind of proxy fits it.