Are you confused by the SOCKS5 rotating vs. static proxy categories and want to make an informed decision? No worries! Today, we’ll talk about what static and rotating proxies are, their uses, benefits, downsides, and differences.

To summarize:

• ­Static proxies maintain the same IP address across multiple connection requests and/or websites.
  
• Rotating proxies change the IP address after every connection request or based on an interval, depending on how you customize it.

This is the main difference between the two proxy types. But if you want to learn the nitty-gritty and make an educated decision, read below!

What Is a Rotating Proxy?

In essence, a SOCKS5 rotating proxy will assign a new IP address for every connection request or at regular intervals, depending on how you set it up.

You can read more about rotating residential proxies in another one of our blog posts!

Benefits

SOCKS5 rotating proxies have a few benefits that set them apart from static proxies. Let’s outline them below:

✓ Enhanced Anonymity: Compared to static proxies, rotating proxies are harder to detect and make it harder for websites to track your activity over time. This not only keeps your identity safe from prying eyes but also avoids forming identifiable patterns and eliminates your tracks.

✓ Highly Customizable Rotation Settings: Rotating proxies let you control how often your IP changes. Whether you choose to receive a new IP for every web request or at regular intervals, it’s all under your control. This is useful for bypassing rate limiting configurations on websites.

✓ Sticky Sessions: By rotating the IP at longer intervals, you can use the same IP for longer sessions, making you appear as an authentic user and decreasing the likelihood of a ban. This helps you obtain session persistence, mimicking natural user behavior. This is helpful for more sensitive tasks.

✓ Low Maintenance: If you’re having issues with an IP, like low performance or blacklisting, simply change to a new IP, and that should solve all issues. Static proxies require more fine-tuning and higher maintenance if something breaks.

✓ Typically Less Expensive: Most rotating proxies are cheaper than static proxies. The only exception is an unlimited rotating proxy (with unlimited bandwidth). These are more expensive than static proxies.

Downsides

It’s not all rosy with rotating proxies, as there are downsides to consider compared to static proxies:

×     Unstable Performance: When using a rotating proxy, you’ll burn through countless IPs. And not all of them are equally fast or responsive. You might stumble upon a slower IP from time to time, especially if you need longer session persistence and you use interval rotations. Fortunately, you can switch to a different IP at any time to find a more stable IP

×     Shared IP Addresses Only: Unlike static proxies, rotating proxies are only shared with other users. There’s the possibility of blacklisting because of the actions of other users, and you can’t control this. If someone uses the same IP to engage in aggressive data scraping, websites and services might blacklist the IP and scrutinize it more closely, which ultimately has an impact on you.

×     Higher Risk of Blacklisting When Logged Into a Website: Rotating proxies are more easily blacklisted on services that require a high level of authenticity and legitimacy if you’re logged into them. While changing your IP for every web request is highly suspicious and may result in a blacklist, they can’t know you’re the same user if you’re not logged into the website. 

×     Bad for Strict Geo-Location Requirements: For services that demand a specific geo-location for longer sessions, rotating proxies may not be the best option. You won’t be able to maintain an IP from a specific geo-location for longer periods, which could invalidate your session

Use Cases

SOCKS5 rotating proxies are particularly advantageous in situations that require a frequent IP switch, such as:

• Web Scraping and Data Harvesting: Rotating proxies are better suited to web scraping compared to static proxies. This is because they address some of the common challenges associated with scraping activities, such as rate limits, IP bans (due to the inconsistency of the IPs), and anti-bot measures. These proxies are also more scalable than static proxies because you’re able to distribute the scraping across multiple IPs.
  
• Market Research and Ad Campaign Analysis: Rotating proxies provide a more unbiased experience when doing market research and analyzing ad campaign performance. By switching to different IPs, you avoid forming patterns that might affect the objectivity of the analysis.
  
• Automating Sneaker Copping: Sneaker copping is impossible to do efficiently without a proxy, and rotating proxies are your best bet. That’s because you can distribute the load across multiple servers and track price fluctuations better. Rotating proxies also avoid bans more effectively compared to static IPs and give you uninterrupted monitoring of sneaker prices.
  
• SEO Monitoring: To analyze your SERP ranking across multiple geographic locations, you’ll need a rotating proxy and a fleet of bots. Static proxies would be significantly less efficient, even if you’re using a pool of static IPs. With rotating proxies, you’ll streamline the process and finish much quicker.
  
• Compare Prices: A rotating proxy will help you gather price datasets on your competition without raising any eyebrows. It will avoid the rate limiting configuration and gather the data from multiple IPs for a more streamlined process.

Rotating proxies excel at anonymous data harvesting activities and use cases that require dynamic IPs. They’re not ideal for activities that require persistent sessions, even if you can increase the IP switch interval.

What Is a Static Proxy?

In short, a static proxy will maintain the same IP address across multiple web requests and websites visited unless you choose to change it. It does not automatically assign you a new IP address like a rotating proxy.

Read more about static proxies here!

Benefits

Compared to SOCKS5 rotating proxies, static proxies offer a host of benefits, such as:

✓ More Stable Performance: Static IPs emphasize stability, consistent speed, and reliable performance over longer periods. Session persistence is important to static proxy users, and so the performance has to remain consistent over several sessions. As a result, you get a higher uptime on static proxies because you don’t need to change the IP.

✓ Great for Long-Term Tasks: Anything that requires longer sessions or long-term connections will benefit from a static proxy. For instance, if you want to monitor a set of data continuously over a certain period, a static proxy is better suited than a rotating proxy. The latter might raise some flags for suspicious behavior

✓ Ideal for Strict Geolocation Requirements: Static proxies are much better than rotating proxies for services that require a specific geographic location. You can select a location and use the IP over a prolonged session without interruption. A rotating proxy will change the IP and invalidate the geolocation requirement, disrupting your session.

✓ Option for Dedicated IPs: Aside from shared IPs, static proxies also offer dedicated IPs that only you use. These are more expensive but provide you with exclusivity and better control over your IP address. This will prevent nasty blacklisting cases caused by the misbehavior of other people using the same IP.

Downsides

Just like rotating proxies, static proxies have their downsides, so it’s worth considering them before making a choice:

×     Less Anonymous: Static proxies are less anonymous than rotating proxies because they’re more easily trackable across multiple sessions. You leave behind more visible tracks for anyone to follow, and you form identifiable patterns that bad actors may use against you.

×     More Vulnerable to Anti-Bot Features: The website’s anti-bot measures might flag you if you engage in automated activities using a static proxy. A static IP will be more predictable and thus easier to flag by anti-bot programs. For this reason, static proxies are not a good fit for automated tasks like data scraping.

 ×     Typically More Expensive: Static proxies are generally more expensive than rotating proxies because they’re more stable and reliable, they have dedicated options, and they offer better session persistence and legitimacy.

 ×     Vulnerable to Rate Limiting: Static proxies are extremely vulnerable to rate limiting measures that limit the number of requests coming from an IP address. Websites often use rate limiting to prevent data harvesting or automated activities. And since a static proxy only gives you one IP address, it’ll get flagged immediately by the rate limiting algorithm.

Use Cases

SOCKS5 static proxies have specialized uses, just like rotating proxies. Here’s what you should be using static proxies for:

• Social Media Management: Social media platforms are quite skittish when it comes to quick IP shifts. That’s why static proxies are best-suited for managing social media accounts, scheduling posts, and doing any other task on social media platforms. They’re less likely to flag you for suspicious activities because you retain the same IP, which shows legitimacy and authenticity.
  
• Streaming: Streaming requires a persistent connection without interruptions. You don’t need to be particularly anonymous or perform quick-time automated actions. And similar to social media platforms, streaming platforms frown upon IP changes. Using a static proxy is the better choice because it keeps you out of the algorithm’s crosshairs.
  
• Authentication-Dependent Services: Platforms and services that require consistent IPs for authentication will naturally work best with static proxies. Rotating proxies may disrupt the authentication process and raise some alarms with the platform/service.
  
• Accessing IP-Dependent Content: You may need to access exclusive content that requires a specific IP or set of IP addresses.  You can’t get this from a rotating proxy, even if you choose interval-based rotation. A static proxy is what you need. It maintains IP persistence, giving you unrestricted access to any IP-dependent content.
  
• Online Shopping: You can’t do online shopping with a rotating proxy because the platform will likely ban your account. With a static proxy, you’ll appear as a legit shopper and you will even be seen as a return customer when making repeat purchases.
  
• Banking: Banking services are extremely sensitive to suspicious behavior, and changing your IP every 5 minutes qualifies as suspicious. You need a static proxy to do your online banking. It not only lets you appear as a legitimate user, but you’ll also have a more reliable connection without disruptions.

Static proxies are generally specialized for activities that require longer and more persistent sessions. They’re not good at aggressive data scraping, and they’re also not great at keeping you anonymous.

What Are the Differences Between Rotating and Static Proxies?

Keeping all of the above in mind, there are several key differences between SOCKS5 rotating and static proxies.

Rotating and static proxies each have their benefits, downsides, and use cases. But the differences are often the ones that help you make an informed decision.

The list above will give you a point-by-point summary of what makes rotating and static proxies good or bad!

Conclusion

SOCKS5 rotating and static proxies are a classification of SOCKS5 proxies based on the persistence of their IP addresses:

• Rotating proxies have low session persistence and high dynamism, switching your IP addresses either per web request or at regular intervals.
• Static proxies have high session persistence and low dynamism, retaining your IP across multiple sessions until you change it manually.

Choosing between one of them depends on your needs. For longer sessions on sites that require legitimacy, use a static proxy. And for shorter sessions where legitimacy isn’t required, or for high-level data scraping activities, use rotating proxies!

It’s all about making an educated decision when choosing between a SOCKS5 rotating or static proxy. And speaking of educated decisions, you should check out my article on how to choose the best SOCKS5 proxies!