Proxies are a popular tool for guaranteeing anonymity on the internet. It’s only right they exist, given the increasing incidence of cyber-attacks, the popularity of online scams, and the proliferation of cyber threats. However, there are many types of proxies, and two of those types are private and shared. They have different advantages and disadvantages, though. Therefore, they are not ideal for all the same situations. In this article, we will explain both proxy types, their pros and cons, and why you should buy them from Proxy Cheap when you need them. 

Why Do We Need a Proxy?

Proxies operate by rerouting user traffic and web requests through proxy servers in other locations. As such, these intermediary servers change and hide user IP addresses, thus granting them anonymity when they are online. Some other functions proxies provide during this rerouting include caching of frequently visited web pages for future visits, content filtering, and access control. 

All proxies conform partly or wholly to the above definition. However, proxies can differ in their abilities to perform some of these functions and how perfectly they can do so. Thus, we can classify them into types. For instance, based on the types and source of their IP addresses, they may be mobile, residential, or datacenter proxies.

Another popular classification is based on the level of anonymity they can provide. Based on this, proxies may be elite, anonymous or transparent. Regarding classifications based on the number of users, though, we can only have private or shared proxies. These are two we hope to shed more light on.

What is a Private Proxy

A private proxy is a proxy assigned to a single user for the period of their purchase. Sometimes called dedicated or premium proxies, when purchased, no other user can utilise the proxy at the same time, nor is it part of any proxy pools. 

Pros

1. Improved Speed and Performance. No other users share the proxy server, which means its resources and bandwidth are free from excess traffic. Consequently, they are faster and perform better than other proxies.
2. Enhanced security and privacy. Private proxies do not suffer the risk of interference that shared and public proxies do. When obtained from reliable vendors, they also do not have damaging histories. Therefore, they are more secure and freer from baggage than other proxies. Additionally, there is also less risk of unauthorised access.
3. Greater Customizability and control. The exclusive access offered by private proxies means users can establish greater control over their settings. In other words, they can configure them for specific needs with views to long-term usage of the proxy.
4. Reduced risk of IP bans. There are many reasons why users get banned from websites and web applications. With shared and public proxies, many users on the same proxy increase the likelihood of someone triggering a ban. The same problem doesn’t exist with private proxies.
5. Consistent connection from a single IP. Some online tasks might require consistent access from a single proxy. The exclusive nature of private proxies makes them the ideal proxy type for such tasks. Examples of situations requiring the consistency of a private proxy include access to corporate resources, secure communications, etc.

Cons

1. Higher cost. There’s a financial consequence of having a proxy all to yourself. So, users have to shell out more to enjoy the exclusivity and enhanced performance they get from these proxies.
2. Limited IP pool. The nature of private proxies means that users can access a limited number of them. It complicates things for people conducting tasks requiring IP rotation, like web scraping.
3. Potential overhead for maintenance. Proxy providers might need to spend more on maintaining the security and relatively untainted private proxies. This contributes to the cost of the proxies as well.

Use Cases

1. Creating and managing multiple social media accounts. Social media platforms sometimes employ IP-based restrictions to limit the accounts a single user can create and manage. This presents a dilemma for marketers and social media managers with the need for multiple accounts. Private proxies can help solve this dilemma by providing the resources to create and manage accounts using different IP addresses.
2. Competitor and market research. Businesses need to monitor the competition and market to stay abreast of current trends, strategies, and developments. International businesses especially need to do so in many regions and locations. Private proxies grant them the exclusive identity to conduct this research for long periods without risking their anonymity.
3. Secure online Transactions and Communication. It is tricky enough to manage financial transactions over the Internet. Proxies take a little bit of the risk out of it, though, by masking user identities and potentially encryption data transmissions. Regarding communications, companies may use private proxies to secure communication and access to resources when dealing with remote and hybrid workers.
4. Gaming. Professions and casual gamers can benefit from using private proxies with proximity to game servers. This can reduce latency and lower king times between the servers. The proxies can also serve as security against potential pranks from fellow gamers, like doxing and swatting.

What is a Shared Proxy?

Shared proxies are the opposite of private proxies. Where private proxies are the exclusive property of a single user for the duration of the subscription or purchase, shared proxies are usable by many users simultaneously. Even within this definition, though, shared proxies can be limitedly shared or public proxies. The latter are open to anybody at any time, while vendors restrict access to the former to a limited list of users.

Pros

1. Cost-Effectiveness. These proxies are cost-effective and much cheaper than private proxies. As a result, they are thought to offer fair value to users requiring proxies for basic tasks.
2. Sufficient for low-intensity tasks. Shared proxies also offer good value for users needing proxies for low-intensity tasks. Such tasks are unlikely to require the enhanced soles and performance of private proxies.

Cons

1. Variable performance. The speed and performance of shared proxies can depend on the number of users utilising them at a certain time. As such, it can vary from session to session and sometimes even during sessions.
2. Lower security. Because many users are connecting with the proxy simultaneously, there is the risk of interference between the activities of users. A user participating in illegal activities can, thus, compromise the security of other users.
3. Higher risk of IP bans. Another possible problem stemming from interference between user activities is the higher risk of IP bans. Users cannot control the activities of others. So, any activity that compromises access to a site or resources affects everybody. The more users, the higher the chances someone would do something to trigger an IP ban on a popular platform.

Use Cases

1. Data collection. These proxies are useful for web scraping and data collection. Shared proxies are the proxy types that form IP address pools that power the IP rotation of rotating proxies.
2. SEO research and monitoring. Shared proxies are ideal for SEO keyword and rankings research because these tasks require less security and are less intense. 
3. Content aggregation. These proxies can crawl through websites aggregating content for their users. The type of content they collect and index may include travel fare details, news from selected sources, financial information from banks and other institutions, etc.

Comparison – Private Vs Shared Proxy

Risk of blocks

Private proxies serve only single users who control their online behaviour and activities. This is in contrast with shared proxies, which support many users,  one of which has control over the others. Consequently, the risk that one user will do something worthy of a ban is much higher with shared proxies than private ones.

Control

Being the only users, owners of private proxies are allowed more power over the configuration and customisation of their proxies. On the other side of the divide, shared proxy owners are allowed limited control because they aren’t the only users and changes that satisfy one user might inconvenience others.

Speed

Private proxies are faster than shared proxies. This is because these proxies are exclusive to individual users who do not share their bandwidth. In contrast, multiple users share the bandwidth of shared proxies. The more users are simultaneously connecting through the proxy, the slower it will be.

Security 

When using private proxies, there is no risk of a user’s activity interfering with that of another user because there’s no sharing. That cuts out a major security risk that affects the users of shared proxies. Where users share proxies, a user’s activity can potentially compromise the safety of other users’ data transmissions and activities.

Pricing

Due to their exclusivity, private proxies are more expensive than shared proxies. As such, they might not always represent the best value for money spent. For example, a user needing a proxy server to stream a trending movie show from another region is better served by opting for a shared proxy instead of paying more for a private proxy.

Reliability

As a result of sharing resources and bandwidth with a variable number of users, the performance of shared proxies is not nearly as consistent as that of private proxies. Private proxies suffer less downtimes, interruptions, and latency than shared proxies.

Anonymity

Anonymity is roughly more dependent on whether the proxy IP addresses are residential, mobile, or datacenter. However, shared proxies have more activity on them, which could lead to the development of unwanted targeted ads.

Size of IP pool

There is a limited range of addresses that proxy providers reserve for use as private proxies due to their premium status. On the other hand, the vast majority of proxies on the market are shared to one degree or another. This reduces the pool of addresses available even if clients requiring private proxies have all the money in the world.

Cost

The exclusivity, security, and relatively better performance of private proxies make them more expensive than shared proxies. 

Is a Private proxy better than a shared proxy?

Yes, a private (dedicated) proxy is generally considered better than a shared proxy in several important aspects. They are exclusively owned, more secure, perform better, and grant users more control over possible customization options. 

On the other hand, shared proxies are not all useless. They have their advantages over private proxies. For instance, they are more and, as such, provide access to larger IP address pools. They also offer better value for tasks that require basic performance, speed, and security. 

These differences in both proxies make them ideal for different scenarios. Private proxies are more suitable for sensitive tasks requiring top-shelf proxy performance, speed and security. By extension, they are preferred for creating and managing multiple social media accounts, online gaming, professional streaming, and performing secure online transactions.

Shared proxies, though, are ideal for basic tasks requiring anonymity and large IP pools but not very consistent performance or rapid speeds. They are more suited for web scraping, expanding the boundaries of content hunting, and casual web surfing.

Where to Buy Proxies

There are many proxy providers on the market. However, none matches Proxy Cheap premium proxies for value. We offer best-in-class proxies at affordable rates and with pricing flexibility for prospective customers wanting more. The proxies we currently offer are:

• Proxy Cheap Static Residential Proxies, which offer elite anonymity to users.
• Proxy Cheap Rotating Residential Proxies, which offer automatic IP rotation and are perfect for scraping because of their improved anonymity on residential proxies.
• Proxy Cheap Datacenter IPv4 Proxies, which offer unrivalled performance using addresses from the Internet Protocol version 4 communication protocol.
• Proxy Cheap Datacenter IPv6 Proxies, which utilises addresses obtained from the Internet Protocol version 6.
• Proxy Cheap Mobile Proxies, which offers similar anonymity to residential proxies using IP addresses associated with mobile device use in the location of your choice.

When using any of the above Proxy Cheap proxies, users can rest assured that they will enjoy: 

1. Responsive Customer Support. We offer experience-specific onboarding to help prospective buyers facilitate purchases and 24/7 support to help users get the best out of our proxies.
2. Cost-Effective Proxy Solutions. Proxy Cheap offers quality IP addresses, free from damaging histories and constantly updated to ensure activity and expanding coverage. Best of all, though, is the affordability of these proxies and the possibility of bulk purchase deals to sweeten things for users. Put simply, with Proxy Cheap, you get market-leading proxies at a reasonable price for the present and long term.
3. Broad Geographical Coverage. Proxy Cheap proxies provide access to 10M+ IP addresses in over 125 locations. We allow our customers to connect to websites and platforms from almost any country. 
4. User-Friendly Interface. Our friendly interface allows users to purchase, customise, and manage their proxies easily. This interface includes a proxy dashboard through which users can top up their accounts and view their purchased proxies, among other things.

Frequently asked questions

What proxy type is better for Facebook?

The best proxy type for Facebook is a private proxy or a dedicated proxy. These proxies give users the chance to consistently associate their Facebook account with a fixed IP address. They enhance the management of Facebook accounts with reliability and stability, better security, consistent performance, and a reduced risk of triggering a ban.

Are Shared Proxies Safe?

Shared proxies are safe when purchased from reliable proxy providers like Proxy Cheap. These providers can monitor, maintain, and update the proxies to ensure that the active ones are all secure. However, shared proxies are generally not as safe as private proxies despite the best efforts of their providers.

Is a Dedicated Proxy Safer Than a Shared One?

Yes, a dedicated proxy is safer than a shared proxy. Its exclusivity protects users from the security risks of shared proxies, and proxy providers tend to reserve their best and most secure for use as private proxies.

Will Shared Proxies Work on Instagram?

Yes, shared proxies will work on Instagram, provided that another user hasn’t triggered a ban on the platform. That said, even when they work, they are still more susceptible to IP bans, inconsistent performance, and lower security.

Can I change my dedicated IP?

Yes, you can change your dedicated IP address with most providers.  However, the specifics of a change will depend on the policies of the provider and how much you are willing to pay in the form of additional costs.