Sticky session vs rotating proxies: which mode to choose

Residential and mobile proxies in Proxeta work in one of two modes: “Sticky session” or “Rotation”. The choice determines whether a site sees one IP throughout a session or a new address on every connection. This article covers how the modes differ, which tasks each one suits, and how to pick a mode when you generate proxies.

What is a sticky session and IP rotation

A sticky session (the “Sticky session” option in the Proxeta interface) is a mode that pins one exit IP to a proxy string. According to its description in the generator, the mode keeps this IP for as long as possible, until the provider drops the connection.

IP rotation is a mode in which each new connection uses a new IP from the available pool. There is no binding to an address: every new connection can reach the internet from a different IP.

Both modes are available for residential and mobile proxies billed by traffic. ISP proxies have no such choice: an ISP proxy is a dedicated static address that is assigned to your order for 30 days and does not rotate.

When the IP changes

• Sticky session. The address stays the same as long as the session ID does not change and the session itself is active. If the provider drops the connection, the session ends and the address may change. The generator has no session duration setting, so plan for a possible IP change in your workflow.
• Rotation. A new IP is assigned to every new connection. If your software keeps a connection open (keep-alive) and sends several requests through it, those requests may come from the same address.

What is the difference between a sticky session and rotation

The main difference is when the address changes: in a sticky session, the IP holds until the session ends; with rotation, it changes on every new connection. The other differences follow from this.

When to use a sticky session: accounts, carts, profiles

Choose a sticky session if the site needs to recognize you between requests: after you sign in to an account, during checkout, after you pass a verification check, or across the steps of a form. If the IP changes in the middle of such a flow, the site may treat it as a sign-in from another device and ask for verification again or end the session.

Typical tasks for a sticky session:

• Account work. Signing in, posting, messaging, changing settings: everything that happens after authorization.
• Cart and checkout. A multi-step flow in which the site keeps state between requests.
• Antidetect browser profiles. In Dolphin Anty, GeeLark, Multilogin, MostLogin and similar tools, each profile is usually assigned its own proxy. Open the proxy settings in the profile, choose the type, paste the host, port, login and password, and check the IP. The type must match the string: HTTP for port 8080, SOCKS5 for port 1080. Menu names differ between tools and versions.
• Automation with sign-in. A script or browser workflow goes through every step from one address, and the site sees no IP change between requests.

For teams and agencies that manage clients’ work accounts, a simple rule works: one sticky session string per profile. Follow platform rules and the Proxeta Acceptable Use Policy.

If you need the same address for days or weeks rather than for a single session, 30-day static ISP proxies with unlimited traffic are a better fit.

When to use rotation: scraping and monitoring

Choose rotation if requests do not depend on each other and the site does not need to recognize you between them. Each new connection gets an address from the pool, so requests are spread across different IPs instead of all coming from one.

Typical tasks for rotation:

• Scraping catalogs and search results. Each page is a separate request without sign-in.
• Price and stock monitoring. Regular checks of the same pages from the country or city you need.
• Ad and local search checks. You need to see a page the way users in the selected location see it.
• High-volume requests to public pages. Volume matters more than a stable address.

If you need a new address for every request, disable keep-alive or connection pooling in your HTTP library, or open a new connection for each request.

Do not use rotation for workflows that sign in to an account: an address change between steps can reset the sign-in or the cart. If one project has both a signed-in part and public data collection, generate two lists: one with a sticky session for the accounts and one with rotation for scraping.

How to set the session mode in Proxeta

You set the mode when you generate a list, in the “Session type” field, which offers the “Sticky session” and “Rotation” options. “Sticky session” is selected by default.

1. In your Dashboard, open the “Generate proxies” section.
2. In the “Connection type” field, choose “Residential” or “Mobile”.
3. Set the location in the “Country”, “Region / State” and “City” fields; region and city are optional. To narrow down targeting further, use the “Targeting” block, which offers the “ISP” and “ZIP code” modes.
4. In the “Session type” field, choose “Sticky session” or “Rotation”. Each option has a help tip that briefly describes how the IP behaves.
5. In the “Protocol” field, choose HTTP or SOCKS5, and in the “Number of proxies (1–100)” field, enter the number of strings you need.
6. Click the generate button. You can copy strings one at a time, copy them all with “Copy all”, or download them as a file with “Download .txt”.

For more on choosing a location and working with the list, see the step-by-step guide to generating proxies. If you need fresh strings, the “Regenerate” button requests a new list with the same settings.

How the session appears in the proxy string

A proxy string comes in the host:port:login:password format: port 8080 is for HTTP and 1080 for SOCKS. Targeting parameters and the session mode are passed in the login. In “Sticky session” mode, the login contains the -sid- parameter with a session ID; in “Rotation” mode, this parameter is absent. An illustrative example:

proxy.example.invalid:8080:login-country-us-sid-k7m2q9x4ab:password
proxy.example.invalid:8080:login-country-us:password

The first string is a sticky session, the second is rotation. The rest of the login depends on the location, connection type, IP version and pool optimization.

What this means in practice:

• One string, one session. In a sticky session list, each string has its own ID, so 10 strings are 10 separate sessions, one per profile or thread.
• No need to edit the login by hand. To change the address, take another string from the list or generate a new list.
• Copy values without extra spaces. If a client asks for separate fields, paste the host, port, login and password individually. For details, see the proxy connection guide.

Checklist: which mode to choose

Answer the questions in order: the first “yes” determines the mode.

1. Do you need the same address for days or weeks without interruption? → ISP proxies instead of traffic-billed proxies.
2. Does the workflow start with signing in to an account? → “Sticky session”.
3. Does the site keep state between steps, such as a cart, a form or checkout? → “Sticky session”.
4. Do you need a separate IP for each antidetect browser profile? → “Sticky session”, one string per profile.
5. Is each request self-contained, such as a catalog page, a price or a search ranking? → “Rotation”.
6. Does the volume of requests to public pages matter more than a stable address? → “Rotation”.
7. Not sure? → Start with “Sticky session”: it is selected by default and suits workflows that sign in to an account. Switch to rotation once you are sure the requests are independent.

The session mode does not change the billing model: residential and mobile proxies use a shared balance and deduct the traffic used in both modes. Current traffic pricing is listed on the home page.