Shared vs Dedicated Proxies
Short answer: use dedicated proxies when you need reliability, a clean IP history and consistent performance, and use shared proxies when budget matters more than control and the target is not sensitive. The difference is simply whether other people use the same IPs as you.
What each means
- Shared proxies: the same IPs are used by multiple customers at once. Cheaper, but you inherit whatever the others do on those IPs, and you compete for bandwidth.
- Dedicated (private) proxies: the IPs are assigned to you alone. You control the reputation and get the full speed.
How they compare
| Factor | Shared | Dedicated |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
| Speed | Variable | Consistent |
| Ban risk | Higher (others can burn the IP) | Lower (you control usage) |
| Best for | Light or non sensitive tasks | Accounts, checkouts, reliability |
When shared is fine
- Low volume scraping of easy sites
- Testing and one off tasks
- Budget sensitive projects where an occasional block is acceptable
When you need dedicated
- Managing accounts that must stay trusted
- Checkout and sneaker copping where a burned IP costs you a sale
- Anything where consistent speed and a clean IP history matter
Note that ISP proxies are effectively dedicated static residential IPs: you get one IP that stays yours, with datacenter speed. ShiftProxies ISP proxies work this way, available at dashboard.shiftproxies.com.
A simple rule
If a burned or slow IP would cost you money or an account, pay for dedicated. If you just need cheap IPs for light work, shared is fine.
Summary
Shared proxies trade control for price; dedicated proxies give you a clean, fast, private IP. Match the choice to how much a bad IP would cost you.